SAS doco aims to ‘restore balance’ after war crimes scandal

A new documentary attempting to ‘balance the history books’ on the conduct of SAS soldiers in Afghanistan has reopened fault lines in the special forces community.

SAS troops on the ground in Afghanistan

A new documentary attempting to “balance the history books” on the conduct of SAS soldiers in Afghanistan has reopened fault lines in the special forces community over alleged war crimes committed by Australian troops.

Premiering at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on Thursday, Bravery and Betrayal defends the “warrior culture” and strategic successes of the Special Air Service Regiment and calls on the government to bring investigations into SAS soldiers to a close.

It airs in the wake of Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith’s failed bid to overturn a civil court finding he murdered four unarmed Afghan men.

Another former SAS soldier, Oliver Schulz, has been charged with murder in the first criminal trial since the release of the Brereton war crimes report, which found “credible information” that up to 25 serving and former soldiers murdered 39 Afghan ­civilians and prisoners.

Former PM Kevin Rudd on a visit to Australian troops serving at Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan.

The film largely glosses over the war crimes allegations that have divided the special forces community, focusing instead on the courage of SAS soldiers in Australia’s longest war.

Former SOTG Legal Officer Brett Sangster, who features in the documentary said a “void of information” coming out of Afghanistan during the conflict had skewed reporting and minimised the “bravery” of special forces units.

“There’s obviously been a lot of negativity about the SAS and their time in Afghanistan. The documentary aims to bring a ­little bit of balance to the equation,” Mr Sangster told The ­Australian.

He said he believed the chances of successful prosecutions of SAS personnel were “murky at best”, but if there was evidence of alleged crimes it should be investigated.

“Nobody is debating that,” Mr Sangster said. “Our issue is with the length of time it is taking. So many individuals have been under investigation for so many years. In order to prosecute any sort of criminal investigation, there needs to be evidence to support it.”

SAS Operator 'Horse'.

The documentary is being released amid simmering anger among special forces veterans over the government’s failure to hold senior commanders accountable for the conduct identified by Justice Paul Brereton in his 2020 report.

Veteran SAS trooper “Horse”, who features heavily in the documentary, said senior leadership had to “take some ­responsibility for things that happened on their watch”.

“We were sent back to the same areas, doing the same things and we’d have a great result on the ground and then come back and things haven’t changed,” he said.

“Stuff doesn’t happen unknowingly under your command unless you’re incom­petent, so as a commander they were either incompetent or complicit.”

The documentary also features interviews with former prime ministers John Howard, Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott, who lauded the regiment’s elite soldiers.

One former Commando soldier who served alongside SAS personnel in Afghanistan described the film as an “SAS mafia propaganda piece”.

He said its failure to seriously address the war crimes allegations was “a betrayal” of dozens of brave soldiers who stepped up to report criminal conduct that was yet to be examined in court.