The war criminal attended a gala to mark a Special Air Service Regiment anniversary days before the government stripped officers of honours earned in Afghanistan.
Defence Minister Richard Marles has stripped medals from commanding officers who held senior roles during the war in Afghanistan.The names of the individuals have not been released, but fewer than 10 people had their awards cancelled.
The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the OSI was moving to charge Roberts-Smith, but investigations had been slowed by the need to quarantine evidence from the previous Brereton inquiry, which, because it had coercive questioning powers, had the potential to poison a future prosecution.
Veteran SAS soldiers have also formally complained to senior Defence officials that Roberts-Smith’s Commendation for Distinguished Service was based on falsehoods about his leadership in 2012.
Billionaire media mogul Kerry Stokes, who previously employed Roberts-Smith and funded his defamation action, was also a guest at the event. On Thursday, Defence Minister Marles cited privacy while declining to say how many officers have had their honours stripped, although he confirmed it was fewer than 10.
Defence Minister Richard Marles has stripped medals from senior commanding officers in the Afghan war.The government declined to identify the officers stripped of their medals, and has not revealed exactly how many were notified of the decision on Wednesday. The Distinguished Service Cross was introduced in 1991 and is awarded for distinguished command and leadership in warlike operations.
He choked with emotion in his response, saying “our soldiers must tell the truth, and those in leadership must seek it out. If both our soldiers and our leaders had done so, we might not be in this place today. But here we are, and it has been a tough reckoning.”awarded to him for his stewardship as commander of Middle East Operations but was knocked back by the Morrison government.
“The RSL is aware of the significant strain this matter has placed on veterans, even those not involved in alleged incidents,” he said.Independent senator Jacqui Lambie, who served in the army for more than a decade, accused the government of “throwing our Diggers under the bus”, telling Sky News that more senior Defence figures should be held accountable for any alleged wrongdoing in Afghanistan.
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