A Hero in Handcuffs

There is something that just doesn’t sit right with the legal pursuit of Ben Roberts-Smith over alleged war crimes said to have occurred nearly two decades ago.

Firstly, we’re told the Director of Public Prosecutions “sought consent from Attorney-General Michelle Rowland” to proceed with his arrest. This is the same Attorney-General recently caught rorting her travel allowance, escaping with nothing more than a requirement to pay it back. And yet, she now sits in judgment over whether Roberts-Smith should be charged.

Secondly, what exactly was the point of arresting Roberts-Smith at an airport, fresh off a domestic flight, in front of his family? Theatre. Pure theatre for the media. Was the AFP seriously suggesting he was a flight risk? Or was this simply about optics, about humiliation?

Then we have the ABC’s endlessly recycled line about “twenty-one SAS soldiers” testifying against him in the defamation trial, a phrase now gleefully weaponised as a hashtag across social media by those who despise Australia, its military, and everything the Anzac tradition stands for.

 It deliberately creates the impression that 21 former SAS soldiers lined up to call Roberts-Smith a murderer. That’s the narrative. That’s the smear. But where is the actual testimony? Where is the detail? 

Because what is routinely ignored is that the defamation case was not just about alleged war crimes, it also centred on claims of “bullying” within the SAS.

Let’s be honest: how many of that “twenty-one” related to personality clashes and internal grievances rather than murder? And let’s not forget, this was a civil case, not a criminal one, where powerful interests opposing Roberts-Smith were secretly paying witnesses hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for their testimony. That’s not justice. That’s a stacked deck.

And “Bullying”? In elite combat units? By commanders in war zones? By that standard, you could indict most of the officers in the history of the Australian and British armies. 

Then there’s the staggering figure, $300 million reportedly spent pursuing these cases against SAS veterans. Three hundred million dollars. And alongside that, a taxpayer-funded, billion-dollar ABC that saw fit to doctor video footage, adding gunshots, in an attempt to falsely implicate former SAS commander Heston Russell in a war crime. That alone should have triggered a reckoning. Instead, it barely raised an eyebrow.

What message does all of this send to young Australians considering military service? That if you put your life on the line, you may one day be hung out to dry by your own government?

And then there’s the context so often overlooked in media reporting.  Roberts-Smith was, at the time, part of a mission targeting a rogue Afghan soldier, Hekmatullah, the man responsible for the cold-blooded murder of three Australian soldiers. Today, Roberts-Smith sits in a jail cell. Hekmatullah walks free. Think about that.

We also hear endless references to “civilians,” as if this were a conventional battlefield. The Taliban didn’t wear uniforms. They blended in. They hid among the population. So what exactly was an Australian soldier supposed to do? Wait until a weapon was pointed at him before acting?

And perhaps most revealing of all is the reaction. The smirking. The gloating. The barely concealed delight from sections of the political class, the commentariat and snivelling leftists; people who lecture endlessly about “the rule of law,” yet in the very same breath abandon the presumption of innocence for Ben Roberts-Smith. 

Any fair-minded Australian should see this for what it is; a grim, dispiriting moment for the country. A Victoria Cross recipient dragged through a process that raises more questions than it answers, while Defence Force morale sinks and recruitment struggles deepen.

Before anyone rushes to condemn Ben Roberts-Smith, they should start by reading his citations for the Victoria Cross and the Medal for Gallantry, earned under fire, not from behind a desk.

CITATION Australia Army Awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith, VC, MG 

Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith enlisted in the Australian Regular Army in 1996. After completing the requisite courses, he was posted the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment where he saw active service in East Timor. 

In January 2003, he successfully completed the Australian Special Air Service Regiment Selection Course. During his tenure with the Regiment, he deployed on Operation VALIANT, SLATE, SLIPPER, CATALYST and SLIPPER II. 

Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith was awarded the Medal for Gallantry for his actions in Afghanistan in 2006 On 11/06/2010, a troop of the Special Operations Task Group conducted a helicopter assault into Tizak, Kandahar Province, in order to capture or kill a senior Taliban commander. 

Immediately upon the helicopter insertion, the troop was engaged by machine gun and rocket propelled grenade fire from multiple, dominating positions. 

Two soldiers were wounded in action and the troop was pinned down by fire from three machine guns in an elevated fortified position to the south of the village. Under the cover of close air support, suppressive small arms and machine gun fire, Corporal Roberts-Smith and his patrol manoeuvred to within 70 metres of the enemy position in order to neutralise the enemy machine gun positions and regain the initiative. 

Upon commencement of the assault, the patrol drew very heavy, intense, effective and sustained fire from the enemy position. 

Corporal Roberts-Smith and his patrol members fought towards the enemy position until, at a range of 40 metres, the weight of fire prevented further movement forward. At this point, he identified the opportunity to exploit some cover provided by a small structure. 

As he approached the structure, Corporal Roberts-Smith identified an insurgent grenadier in the throes of engaging his patrol. Corporal Roberts-Smith instinctively engaged the insurgent at point-blank range resulting in the death of the insurgent.

With the members of his patrol still pinned down by the three enemy machine gun positions, he exposed his own position in order to draw fire away from his patrol, which enabled them to bring fire to bear against the enemy. 

His actions enabled his Patrol Commander to throw a grenade and silence one of th-e machine guns. 

Seizing the advantage, and demonstrating extreme devotion to duty and the most conspicuous gallantry, Corporal Roberts-Smith, with a total disregard for his own safety, stormed the enemy position killing the two remaining machine gunners. 

His act of valour enabled his patrol to break-in to the enemy position and to lift the weight of fire from the remainder of the troop who had been pinned down by the machine gun fire. 

On seizing the fortified gun position, Corporal Roberts-Smith then took the initiative again and continued to assault enemy positions in depth during which he and another patrol member engaged and killed further enemy. 

His acts of selfless valour directly enabled his troop to go on and clear the village of Tizak of Taliban. This decisive engagement subsequently caused the remainder of the Taliban in Shah Wali Kot District to retreat from the area. 

Corporal Roberts-Smith’s most conspicuous gallantry in a circumstance of extreme peril was instrumental to the seizure of the initiative and the success of the troop against a numerically superior enemy force. 

His valour was an inspiration to the soldiers with whom he fought alongside and is in keeping with the finest traditions of the Australian Army and the Australian Defence Force. 

Australian Army- Awarded the Medal for Gallantry

 For gallantry in action in hazardous circumstances as a patrol sniper in the Special Operations Task Group – Task Force 637, whilst deployed on Operation SLIPPER Rotation Three Afghanistan, May – September 2006. 

On the night of 31/05/2006, Lance Corporal Roberts-Smith was employed as a patrol scout and sniper in a patrol which was tasked with establishing an Observation Post near the Chora Pass in extremely rugged terrain overlooking an Anti Coalition Militia sanctuary. 

Early in the patrol, after an arduous ten hour foot infiltration up the side of a mountain, the patrol was required to coordinate offensive air support to assist a combined Special Operations Task Group and other Special Forces patrol who were in contact with the Anti Coalition Militia in the valley floor to their north. 

Following this engagement the patrol remained in the Observation Post to continue providing vital information on the Anti Coalition Militia in the area. This comprehensive reporting had a significant effect on shaping the local area for the subsequent coalition forces operation. 

On 20/06/2006, the Observation Post had become the focus of the Anti Coalition Militia force and repeated attempts to locate and surround the position ensued. 

In one particular incident the Militia attempted to outflank the Observation Post. Lance Corporal Roberts-Smith was part of a two man team tasked to move out of their relatively secure Observation Post in order to locate and neutralise the Militia and regain the initiative. This task was successfully achieved. 

In another incident, two Anti Coalition Militia attempted to attack the Observation Post from a different flank, Lance Corporal Roberts-Smith again moved to support and neutralise one of these Militia. 

Lance Corporal Roberts-Smith then realised that the forward edge of the Observation Post was not secure and made the decision to split the team and take up an exposed position forward of the patrol so he could effectively employ his sniper weapon. 

Whilst isolated, and in his precarious position, he observed a group of sixteen Anti Coalition Militia advancing across open ground towards the Observation Post. Lance Corporal Roberts-Smith effectively employed his sniper rifle to stop their advance whilst receiving very accurate small arms fire from another group of Militia to his flank. 

Through his efforts, Lance Corporal Roberts-Smith maintained the initiative and ensured that his patrol remained secure by holding this position without support for twenty minutes. He was eventually reinforced by his original team member and together they continued to hold off the Militia advance for a further twenty minutes until offensive air support arrived. 

Lance Corporal Roberts-Smith’s actions on 2/06/2006, whilst under heavy Anti Coalition Militia fire and in a precarious position, threatened by a numerically superior force, are testament to his courage, tenacity and sense of duty to his patrol. 

His display of gallantry in disregarding his own personal safety in maintaining an exposed sniper position under sustained fire with a risk of being surrounded by the Anti Coalition Militia was outstanding. 

His actions, in order to safeguard his patrol, were of the highest order and in keeping with the finest traditions of Special Operations Command Australia, the Australian Army and the Australian Defence Force.

And if he is to face trial, then it must be exactly that: a fair trial. Not a show trial. Not a political spectacle. A fair trial, judged by a “jury of his peers” , people who experienced the brutal reality of combat, not those whose greatest daily risk is a nasty paper cut.

“We sleep peacefully in our beds at night, only because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf.”
― George Orwell