Army chief starts process to sanction or sack 13 SAS soldiers

Chief of Army Rick Burr has given 13 special forces troops a fortnight to show why they shouldn't be sacked or be sanctioned relating to allegations of war crimes in the Brereton report.

He says none have "been separated from the Australian Defence Force" yet. However, senior military sources have told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald that two soldiers were sacked immediately after the release of the Inspector-General's inquiry report last week.

Chief of Army Rick Burr has issued 13 special forces soldiers with administrative action notices that could lead to them being sacked.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The soldiers who have received the notices are members of the Special Air Service Regiment's second and third squadrons suspected of being "accessories" or "witnesses" of alleged murders.

Lieutenant General Burr would not comment on how many of the 13 are facing the possibility of termination, but said the administrative action process was well understood within the army.

"This whole process will take time, and we will do this work methodically, deliberately, and in accordance with established process," he said.

"We are all committed to learning from the inquiry and emerging from this a stronger, more capable and effective army."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said disciplinary actions within Defence were rightly a matter for the ADF, not ministers.

"We've tried to set up the most robust, transparent and good governance processes to see how we can deal with this issue the best we can," he told radio station 4BC. "But in each case, it's important that not only is there accountability in the defence forces for individual alleged acts, but also in the chain of command."

A four-year inquiry, led by Justice Paul Brereton for the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force, found Australian special forces soldiers allegedly committed 39 murders in Afghanistan, and 19 serving or former soldiers will face possible prosecution and the stripping of their medals.

Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell has accepted all recommendations in the report, including that he ask the Governor-General to revoke the meritorious unit citation for the Special Operations Task Force.

The move has sparked anger because it would affect all 3000 special forces troops who served in Afghanistan, including those who died. Former special forces commander Heston Russell has started a petition to stop the "persecution of 'the many' who served with honour".

"The fact that it's taken the Chief of the Defence Force six days to personally review the report when he received it behind closed doors from Major General Brereton to then decide that six years worth of special forces rotations are no longer meritorious in operations is absolutely disgusting," he said.

Lieutenant General Burr would not say if he backed the move to strip the award from thousands who had served.

"I support the logic of the recommendation in the report, which is that if we knew then what we know now, the unit would not have received or been put forward for a meritorious unit citation," he said.

"So much good work was done by so many people in Afghanistan, and that is absolutely not forgotten by me, or anyone who has served there."

If you are a current or former ADF member, or a relative, and need counselling or support, contact the Defence All-Hours Support Line on 1800 628 036 or Open Arms on 1800 011 046.

Start your day informed

Our Morning Edition newsletter is a curated guide to the most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up to The Sydney Morning Herald’s newsletter here, The Age’s here, Brisbane Times’ here, and WAtoday’s here.