War crimes claims: Special forces given too much responsibility, says ADF chief Angus Campbell

General Angus Campbell is now backing the introduction of bodycams for ADF personnel in battle, in light of war crimes allegations.

Chief of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) General Angus Campbell is backing bodycams for soldiers.

ADF chief Angus Campbell says special forces in Afghanistan may have been given too much responsibility, after the findings of the Brereton war crimes inquiry

General Campbell is now backing the introduction of bodycams for ADF personnel in battle, in light of the revelations.

The war crimes inquiry — which has recommended the investigation of 19 defence personnel over 39 unlawful killings of innocent Afghans — found the SAS was given tasks other areas of the ADF could have performed.

General Campbell said some Afghan operations could only have been undertaken by SAS troops, but other parts of the army could have played a bigger role.

“You’re right to say that special forces have been very busy over the last 20 years and they have had a very wide range of roles and responsibilities and operational commitments,” he told ABC News on Sunday.

“In terms of their role in Afghanistan, there were aspects right from the start and all the way through that campaign which necessarily had to be done by special forces capability.

“But there are other elements that Justice Brereton refers to that, in hindsight, perhaps we should have seen rotated to other elements of the force earlier.”

He said the wearing of bodycams could both help advance training and accountability.

“We will work through that recommendation. I think it is a very good idea. It creates a degree of objectivity and a capacity for learning, development and record keeping.

“That’s a separate pathway to other review mechanisms which need to be strengthened and he recommends that as well.

“That material would become a digital archive, permanently and securely held so that if claims were to arise, they would be, they would contribute to understanding what may have happened.”

SAS Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith VC., MG., with the Australian Special Operations Task Group prepares to deploy to the Shah Wali Kot Offensive, Afghanistan, in June 2010. Picture: DEPT. OF DEFENCE

In his first remarks since the release of the report, Prime Minister Scott Morrison called war crimes revelations “disturbing and distressing” but refused to be drawn on the possible stripping of medals from some soldiers, including Australia’s most decorated soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith.

“It essential that we deal with this matter under our justice system, our rules, our laws”.

“In a proper process with the presumption of innocence, obviously,” Mr Morrison said.

“We need to ensure the seriousness of the contents of this report are dealt with under the Australian justice system by Australians in accordance with our laws,’’ he said.

“That is why we are moving quickly to set up the office of the special investigator and ensure that that is put in place so it can take carriage of those issues forward.”

In his findings, Justice Paul Brereton recommended reviews of individual awards, along with removal of group citations, as he referred 19 special forces soldiers to police for potential prosecution.

Discussions are under way about how to manage the potential revocation of individual awards.

Among the special forces, the Special Air Service’s troubled 2 Squadron — in which Mr Roberts-Smith served — will be disbanded after being singled out amid the damning findings of the Afghanistan war crimes inquiry.

The names of individual soldiers were redacted from the publicly released Brereton report, and Mr Roberts-Smith has declined to comment on this week’s developments.

Mr Roberts-Smith, 42, publicly confirmed he had been referred to the Australian Federal Police for investigation in 2018. He has strongly and repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in Afghanistan. He is a holder of a Victoria Cross, the Medal for Gallantry and other awards.

Mr Roberts-Smith, a former corporal who was awarded the nation’s highest award for bravery, is employed by Seven West Media as a senior manager in the company’s Queensland division.

Earlier this week, news leaked that Kerry Stokes, Seven West Media chairman and chairman of the Australian War Memorial, had lent Mr Roberts-Smith, a businessman and former soldier currently under investigation, as much as $1 million for his legal defence in fighting the allegations.

Mr Morrison said he was “puzzled” as to why Australians were concerned Mr Stokes was helping Mr Roberts-Smith.

When asked about the arrangement and a potential conflict of interest, the Prime Minister said “it is a free country”.

“I’m puzzled as to why there might be a suggestion that there should be such a restriction, especially applied to one individual as opposed to anyone else in the justice system,” Mr Morrison said.

“We don’t want this process dealt with as a media trial or anything else like that,” he said.

Mr Morrison said he had been anxious to assure both veterans and the wider community that this situation was no reflection on Australia’s defence forces as a whole.

“I have been most anxious about ensuring that all our serving men and women who put on a uniform, all those who have served in no way feel reflected upon by the actions alleged of a number, a small number within our defence forces,” Mr Morrison said.

“It is important that we provide all of our men and women in our services and veterans with absent from — absolute support. They have earned the respect which we rightly provide to them and should and our support for veterans is incredibly important at this time.”

He wanted to remind any veterans listening of the various support mechanisms that are in place for them to access if they were struggling with their mental health during this time.

Mr Morrison said compensation paid from the Australian government to the victims and their families was “not currently being considered” as an option.

He said the Australian Defence Force culture and its mechanisms for divulging and investigating such allegations would have to change in future.

“These things cannot happen again,” Mr Morrison said.

“We are very, very committed to work not just with the defence forces but across the government to ensure that governments can know about these things and can take actions when they should.”