Australian Defence Force in 2020

The Australian, 11 August 2020:

The Defence Force has asked an independent expert to examine cultural and leadership failings involving Australia’s special forces ahead of a war crimes report on dozens of alleged murders of prisoners and civilians by the elite units in Afghanistan.

The study will look at the ethical standards and command culture of the secretive Special Air Service and Commando regiments from 1999 to the present day, with a focus on their deployment to Afghanistan in the war against al-Qa’ida and the Taliban.

The Australian can reveal that Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell has commissioned former naval officer and Anglican bishop Tom Frame to undertake the study, to be released in mid-2022.

The move comes as the government prepares for the release of a report by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force into at least 55 alleged breaches of the laws of war by Australian personnel during the nation’s 13-year on-the-ground commitment in Afghanistan.

The alleged crimes are expected to include the killing of unarmed men and children, and the mistreatment and execution of Taliban prisoners who posed no threat to their captors.

The IGADF report, by NSW Supreme Court judge Major General Paul Brereton, will rock the nation’s military establishment and tarnish community perceptions of the nation’s most revered warriors.

Professor Frame, a respected military historian with the University of NSW, will examine the wider context of the alleged crimes, including actions of senior ADF leaders and Australia’s military strategy in Afghanistan.

His study will be used as a basis for further reforms to the SAS and Commando regiments, and in planning military operations.

One former SAS officer spoken to by The Australian on condition of anonymity said by 2010, special forces operators on the ground in Afghanistan had lost faith in the strategy and “the whole thing was just starting to unravel”.

He said mentally ill soldiers were regularly sent on to the battlefield, and commanders -allowed a culture where lower ranked soldiers became more influential than their officers. “You’ve got guys doing six or seven tours. Think about what that does — six or seven tours with heavy combat,” the officer said.

He said “wild swings in roles and strategy” also took their toll, along with the intensity of the fighting.

“All these things led to a culture and an environment where I think there was a degree of impunity,” he said.

“The only thing that was important to us was our own tribe. We didn’t trust anyone. We didn’t think necessarily we were being supported by some of the leadership.”

Another former SAS officer, Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, said the Australian people needed an explanation of the war in Afghanistan that went beyond individual cases of wrongdoing....