Special forces rookie 'blooded' by executing an unarmed man

A Special Air Service Regiment trooper on his first deployment to Afghanistan was pressured to execute an elderly, unarmed detainee by fellow higher-ranking soldiers as part of a "blooding" ritual, according to defence insiders who were witnesses at the scene.

And on the same mission, another man with a prosthetic leg was killed by machine-gun fire. His plastic leg was souvenired and later taken back to SAS headquarters in Perth to be used as a novelty beer drinking vessel.

This man, whose right leg is prosthetic, was among Afghans killed in 2009 in incident that involved alleged war crime. We have chosen to blur the image.

The summary execution of the elderly detainee on Easter Sunday, 2009, is one of several incidents involving a rogue SASR team operating in Afghanistan which has been uncovered by a Fairfax Media investigation and corroborated by special forces insiders.

The grey-haired, bearded Afghan man executed by the "rookie" was, according to some SASR members, a suspected Taliban member, but at the time presented no threat to Australian soldiers. The newly deployed soldier allegedly shot the man after being prompted by two more senior soldiers, one of whom was earlier overheard proclaiming a need to "blood the rookie".

One of the sources said the killing was less abhorrent than the pressuring.

"If shit needs to be done, do it yourself," the soldier said.

The prosthetic leg of the dead Afghan man mounted and used as a novelty drinking vessel by SASR troops.

SASR sources claim the man with the prosthetic leg was machine-gunned by a soldier that, for legal reasons, Fairfax Media will call "Leonidas".

Leonidas is also implicated in the killing of a detainee three years later in September 2012 during a SASR mission in the village of Darwan. Leonidas allegedly kicked handcuffed detainee Ali Jan off the edge of a small cliff, badly injuring his face, according to claims of two defence force insiders who witnessed the event.

As the detainee lay injured, hands still bound, the two witnesses say Leonidas was party to the decision among soldiers to “get him out of his misery”. The claims have been backed by the relatives of  Ali Jan who were interviewed this week by an Afghan journalist on assignment with Fairfax Media.

The allegations, which have circulated among insiders for years, have now been corroborated by various sources across the globe during a six-month Fairfax Media investigation.

They are likely to be central to inquiries commenced two years ago by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force, assisted by NSW Supreme Court Judge, Major-General Paul Brereton.

The IGADF inquiry was commissioned by then chief of army, Lieutenant-General Angus Campbell (soon to be become chief of the Defence Force) following a scoping study instigated by then special forces commander, Major General Jeff Sengelman, and conducted by Dr Samantha Crompvoets.

At the time, General Sengelman took what must have been an unpopular stand among some of his peers by lifting the lid on the secrets of the SASR, but also raising questions about command failure.

Dr Crompvoets’ report came to detail "unsanctioned and illegal application of violence on operations" and a "complete lack of accountability" involving Australia’s elite special forces. The main combat elements of Australian Special Forces are the Special Air Service Regiment and the Commandos.

Observers say Australia’s longest war was allowed to bleed on, desensitising special forces operators engaged in too many deployments. Over time, the secretive status of special forces generated a culture allowing mateship to overwhelm accountability.

An Australian SAS officer on an operation.

The IGADF inquiry into "rumours of the possible breaches of the Laws of Armed Conflict" parallels an International Criminal Court investigation into alleged atrocities committed in Afghanistan by Taliban, militants and coalition forces.

The ICC’s interest is likely to be one reason the ADF wants to stay ahead of the curve for the sake of its international reputation.

Ms Crompvoets' report describes "enormous and difficult challenges" facing the Australian government in combating rogue actions by soldiers, warning the misconduct goes "well beyond blowing off steam" and involves "problems deeply embedded in the culture of the special forces".

In a statement, the Defence Force said the ongoing inquiry by Justice Brereton would make "recommendations" about how to deal with any substantiated allegations of war crimes.

"The IGADF Afghanistan Inquiry has, for some time, been aware of allegations of significant issues involving the Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan, which are within the scope of the Inquiry," the statement said.

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