Commanders stripped of war honours

October 2024 Up to nine Australian commanders who served in the Afghan war have been stripped of their awards, following an investigation into alleged war crimes. Defence Minister Richard Marles made the final call, but he has not revealed exactly how many are affected or who they are. The rank of those losing their citations is also being kept secret. The government maintains that's to comply with privacy laws. "Whilst this decision may be difficult for a small number, it does not diminish the service and legacy of the majority of those who served or supported operations there." The action does not apply to soldiers who have been directly accused of war crimes, rather it targets those in the chain of command at troop, squadron and task group level. There are separate criminal investigations being conducted into direct allegations of war crimes. "Any prosecutions which are pursued by the Office of the Special Investigator will take years to complete," Marles told parliament on Thursday morning. Marles decided to revoke the honours as he moved to finalise the government's response to the explosive findings of the Brereton inquiry into alleged war crimes. "The allegations which are the subject of the Brereton Report are arguably the most serious allegations of Australian war crimes in our history," he said. "This will always be a matter of national shame." On Friday Mr Dutton, who was previously defence minister, accused his Labor successor of doing a “great disservice” to the Australian Defence Force and acting with “insensitivity”. “Why is it okay to throw lower rank diggers under the bus, but those who are higher up the chain avoid any scrutiny,” he told the Today Show, suggesting that similar action should have been taken against former army chiefs and chiefs of defence. “He sat on this issue and he makes his announcement during the week that the royal commission into veteran suicide is released, and I think there is an insensitivity there,” Mr Dutton added. Greens defence spokesperson senator David Shoebridge said it was “a disgrace that the senior defence leadership retain their medals” and cast doubt on whether there would ever be any successful prosecutions for war crimes committed in Afghanistan. “It’s almost as though the defence establishment in Australia set up a system which will never hold people to account or hold the leadership to account,” Senator Shoebridge said.

Greek Tribune Adelaide, South Australia