‘Lewd crew’ star now to fix special forces culture
A senior officer whose new job will be to help reform special forces culture has been implicated in lewd exploits at an unauthorised on-base bar in Afghanistan.
A senior officer whose new job will be to help reform special forces culture has been implicated in lewd exploits at an unauthorised on-base bar in Afghanistan.
The officer — now a colonel based in Sydney — was a squadron commander who partied with junior soldiers at the infamous Fat Lady’s Arms at Australia’s Tarin Kowt headquarters.
The colonel, whom The Australian has chosen not to name, was photographed at the Fat Lady’s Arms cheering on a non-commissioned officer who is kneeling beside him and pretending to engage in a sex act with plastic protruding through the ranking officer’s fatigues.
At the time it was taken, during the ninth rotation of Australian special forces through Afghanistan in 2009, he was a major with the SASR and commander of its now-disgraced 2 Squadron.
The self-proclaimed “Bushrangers” squadron was disbanded last November after an investigation by military Inspector-General Paul Brereton found it was at the “nexus” of a number of extrajudicial killings allegedly carried out by Australian soldiers in the troubled country between 2005 and 2016.
The confronting images were allegedly contained on a series of USB drives found at the Sunshine Coast home of the nation’s most decorated war hero, Ben Roberts-Smith, a former patrol commander with 2 Squadron.
Nine Entertainment has accused the VC recipient of burying the drives — which also allegedly contained a number of videos and classified documents — in his backyard after Justice Brereton ordered all SAS troops to hand over any relevant files and images before launching his war crimes investigation five years ago.
Mr Roberts-Smith, who is suing Nine, has vigorously denied the allegations and accused the publications of portraying him as a war criminal.
The emergence of the new photographs from the Fat Lady’s Arms could have serious ramifications for Mr Roberts-Smith’s legal battle and the colonel’s distinguished military career.
Since returning from Afghanistan, the officer has enjoyed a storied rise through the army’s ranks and was last year appointed as G1 of Forces Command — a top position responsible for overseeing culture and personnel standards throughout the army as well as managing sensitive personnel issues and official army policy.
The career soldier’s next posting would see him return to Special Operations Command, which directs all special forces, as director of the Defence Special Operations Training Education Centre. This would give him overarching responsibility for leading cultural reform across elite regiments as well as managing the selection process for aspiring applicants.
It remains to be seen whether that appointment will go ahead, with the Chief of the Defence Force, Angus Campbell, last month telling a Senate estimates hearing that any soldier who drank at the Fat Lady’s Arms should face the sack.
General Campbell’s comments came after Justice Brereton delivered a damning assessment into Australia’s involvement in Afghanistan, recommending that 19 soldiers be investigated by police in connection with the alleged murder of 39 prisoners and civilians and the alleged cruel treatment of two others.
Justice Brereton’s report, publicly released in November, also found “credible information” that 25 serving or former Australian Defence Force personnel were involved in serious crimes or at least had been accessories to them. It blamed a “warrior culture” within the SAS for creating an environment in which war crimes were allegedly committed.
While Justice Brereton did not find any credible information that special forces commanders had any knowledge of or were recklessly indifferent to crimes committed and concealed at patrol commander level, Justice Brereton said senior officers bore “moral command responsibility and accountability for what happened under their command”.
The photograph of the colonel has been seized on by some outraged rank-and-file soldiers who believe they have been unfairly criticised in the Brereton report for the pervading SAS culture. They say it is proof that senior officers were aware of — and even encouraged — some of the regimental practices condemned in the findings.
One former senior army officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “The photo of (the colonel) reveals that senior officers serving today certainly did have knowledge of the abhorrent SAS culture and ill-discipline in Afghanistan while it was occurring. Claims to the contrary are now entirely uncredible.”
The Australian sought a response from the colonel through Defence along with a clarification on what action, if any, had been taken against him as a result of his participation in activities that unfolded at the Fat Lady’s Arms.
A Defence spokeswoman said that, while it would not comment on the circumstances of any individual cases, the army was working to address the systemic failures identified by the Brereton report.
“Defence acknowledges that the Afghanistan inquiry highlighted significant failures in culture, leadership, performance and individual accountability,” the spokeswoman said. “Defence is committed to ensuring that failures identified in the Afghanistan inquiry report in culture, leadership, performance and accountability are comprehensively understood and addressed through the reform plan being developed to action the Inspector-General’s recommendations.”
Revelations about the colonel’s visit to the unauthorised bar comes months after the nation’s most senior special forces soldier voluntarily stood aside after a photograph emerged of others drinking from a souvenired prosthetic leg at the Fat Lady’s Arms. A warrant officer who worked with the colonel during his deployment in Afghanistan, last December relinquished his position after the image was published by The Guardian, and was considering his options.
The Australian has been told the officer has taken full ownership of his actions and the discredit he had brought to the army.
The artificial leg had been taken by others from a dead Taliban insurgent even though soldiers were forbidden from taking such “trophies of war”.
While the Brereton report did not mention the leg or whether any SAS personnel were being investigated for taking war trophies, it said the existence of the Fat Lady’s Arms demonstrated how the regiment’s ethical leadership had been compromised.
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
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