Military inquiries hampered by ‘scattergun’ Vietnam era complaints
Vietnam veterans have launched a “scattergun” campaign alleging war crimes by Australian soldiers, taxing resources already stretched by misconduct claims over the Afghanistan conflict.
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Vietnam War veterans have launched a “scattergun” campaign alleging war crimes by Australian soldiers 50 years ago, taxing resources already stretched by misconduct investigations on Diggers from the Afghanistan conflict.
The Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) has revealed his case load for inquiry had increased by 6 per cent from last year, with dozens of new requests including historical claims of potential criminal misconduct during Australia’s Vietnam campaign from August 1962 to June 1973.
The Inspector General Brigadier James Gaynor has told parliament “rumoured allegations” of breaches of law by Australia’s elite Special Forces during conflict in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016 had already required more than 220 witnesses to be interviewed, including with locals in Kabul, with no end in sight to the inquiry as new lines of investigation emerged.
He said it was now not possible to predict when the Afghanistan Inquiry, being conducted in secret, could deliver a report as evidence gathering continued and rights of reply offered to those implicated in alleged misconduct.
During the past 12-month reporting period, the IGADF unit also probed dozens of military discipline issues and 69 deaths in service including 35 for medical injury, 15 suicides, 13 accidents and four from drug overdose.
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But the inspector general has vented his frustration with a small number of “unusually persistent complainants” from the Vietnam era seeking satisfaction through reiteration of matters already dealt with over the years by the ADF, the Defence Department and other review agencies all the way up to the Federal Court and Australian Human Rights Commissioner.
“There is a continuing trend for complainants to exercise all complaint avenues available to them either sequentially or simultaneously and it is not unusual for IGADF to encounter a ‘scattergun’ approach where multiple Commonwealth and State/Territory agencies are dealing with effectively the same complaint or elements thereof,” he said in a report tabled to parliament.
“Managing the expectations and frustrations of such complainants can be challenging for IGADF inquiry and investigation staff.”
He said part of that Vietnam vet complainant disappointment and frustration stemmed from the fact military discipline laws had been superseded since the 1970s and the IGADF did not have jurisdiction over the potential criminal matters and redress sought.
The IGADF confirmed it had sought Australian Federal Police advice on the alleged historical war crimes and allocating limited investigative resources for prioritisation.
It is understood those complaints relate to allegations of war crimes, falsification of gallantry or distinguished service by individuals and failure to recognise a military units’ war contribution. No case has yet to be referred to the AFP.
In his report, the IGADF also identified issues with the term “workplace culture” as it was so ill-defined in the military, his staff and their limited social-cultural concepts knowledge base, found it difficult to ascertain where culture affected or disadvantaged currently serving ADF members that had made complaints.