Conflict questions on Defence war crime troika

Head of nation’s special forces appointed will advise army chief on how to implement war crimes inquiry recommendations.

Major General Adam Findlay. Picture: Steve Piohlner

The head of the nation’s special forces, Major General Adam Findlay, has been appointed to a special role advising Chief of Army Rick Burr on how to implement the recommendations of the Brereton war crimes inquiry.

The appointment, which he will take up in January, confirms Defence’s response to the inquiry — including “cultural, organis­ational and leadership” changes flagged by Scott Morrison — will be led from within Lieutenant General Burr’s office.

General Findlay, a beret-qualified Special Air Service officer and former troop commander, is highly regarded within Defence and was appointed as Special Operations Commander Australia in June 2017 — well after the Brereton inquiry got under way.

A former colleague said he was “the outsider you have when you’re not having an outsider”.

However, some former Special Air Service Regiment members, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, said General Findlay, General Burr and Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell had conflicts of interest when it came to implementing the Brereton inquiry’s findings.

All three passed the gruelling selection course to become officers in the elite Perth-based SASR, and all three held special forces command roles.

One former SAS member said it was a case of “vampires running the blood bank”.

Another said: “I can think of at least three senior people who would have been excellent ­choices … and all of them are outside Special Forces Command.”

There is also anger among some serving and former special forces operators over what they see as a public relations campaign by Defence ahead of the Brereton report’s public release by General Campbell on Thursday.

Interviews with consultant ­sociologist Samantha Crompvoets on her 2015 report on special forces problems, which would have required the waiving of confidentiality requirements, were seen by some as an attempt to portray the Defence leadership in a proactive and positive light before the report dropped.

Scott Morrison said last week he was satisfied General Campbell and General Burr had appropriately declared their conflicts of interest. The Prime Minister also appointed an independent panel of three eminent Australians “to provide oversight and assurance” on Defence’s response to the ­inquiry.

The Australian asked Defence to provide General Campbell and General Burr’s conflict of interest declarations, and to advise whether General Findlay was considered to have any conflicts of interest that would affect his ability to undertake his new role.

A Defence spokeswoman said General Campbell’s and General Burr’s military service was “a matter of public record”, and noted that General Campbell referred rumours and allegations of war crimes by special forces soldiers to the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force.

Defence did not respond by deadline on the question in relation to General Findlay.

NSW Supreme Court judge Paul Brereton’s report for the IGADF follows a four-year inquiry into alleged war crimes committed by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. It is expected to detail about 12 alleged war crimes committed in the Afghanistan conflict, involving 10 or more special forces soldiers.

The classified report is believed to be set out in three sections and run to more than 500 pages, but much of its content cannot be released publicly because it would jeopardise future prosecutions or reveal top secret operational information.

It is expected the report will focus heavily on alleged war crimes identified in interviews with more than 350 witnesses.

It will also deal with failures of leadership, culture and accountability that allowed special forces soldiers to allegedly murder civilians and prisoners on deployment in Afghanistan.

Most of the alleged crimes are expected to be attributed to SASR operators, although soldiers from the Sydney-based 2nd Commando Regiment could also be among the accused.

Mr Morrison has warned the nation will face “brutal truths” with the release of the long-awaited report.