SAS Australia instructor Ant Middleton on assault charge, jail sentence

SAS chief instructor Ant Middleton made a big mistake after leaving the military that saw him spend time in prison. This is what happened.

SAS chief instructor Ant Middleton has spoken of his “bad life decision” that saw him incarcerated for four months.

The star of hit Channel 7 reality show, SAS Australia, said he is happy to have served his time after initially being sentenced to 14 months in prison for assaulting two police officers outside a nightclub in 2013.

“I ended up in an altercation with a policeman and rightly so, I got handed a custodial sentence,” the 40-year-old told Confidential ahead of the series finale on Tuesday night.

“I never tried to get out of it, I held my hand up, I realised that violence wasn’t the way. I never shy away from it because hopefully it can be a lesson for other people.”

Ant Middleton from SAS Australia has opened up about his time in jail.

Middleton served several years in the British Special Forces and subsequently worked as a security expert with VIPs and celebrities internationally.

It was six months after he left the military that he got in trouble with the police.

“It was such a learning curve for me but I am glad it happened and I am glad that I got handed a custodial sentence because it is a harsh, life-changing lesson,” he explained, adding that military culture was different.

“When I left the military I thought I could quite easily fit in to society, I didn’t really go out thinking they were two different worlds. Well, the military world and society are two different worlds and you have to treat them as such and I made the mistake of not doing that. In the military, especially special forces, you counter violence with extreme violence.”

He continued: “If someone is trying to kill you, you are more violent to them. It is the same with anger, you counter anger with extreme anger on the battlefield. I realised very quickly after six months of leaving the military, I tried to tackle violence with violence and I realised very quickly that there is zero tolerance to violence in society.”

Middleton was cautious when asked about the inquiry by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) into allegations of war crimes against Australian Special Forces.

The findings were released last week, recommending 19 defence personnel be investigated for allegedly illegally killing people in Afghanistan.

Middleton said he worked with many Australians in his time in the military.

Ant Middleton putting celebrities through their paces on SAS Australia

“There is elite soldiers and then there’s bullies with weapons,” he said. “I don’t know the situation, I don’t know what happened but ultimately my experience working with the Aussie SAS is very professional and a very good force. I would find it very upsetting if they did go to the dark side and if some of this stuff is true. Anyone that has decisions to make and puts their lives on the line for their country, I don’t envy them because whether you get them right or wrong, they are going to be scrutinised and the magnifying glass is going to be on you. It is a tough one but from my experience, the Aussies have been absolutely great, a great brotherhood and family bond. I experienced nothing but professionalism.”