Australia has stripped military honors from senior defense commanders over alleged war crimes committed under their watch during the long conflict in Afghanistan.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles on Thursday told the Federal Parliament senior military officers who served in Afghanistan would lose their distinguished service medals.
The medals are mainly awarded to Australian military members, recognizing command and leadership in action.
Stripping some commanders of their medals was recommended by the 2020 Brereton Report, which dealt with war crimes allegedly committed during the war in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016. It found “credible evidence” elite Australian soldiers had unlawfully killed 39 people during the conflict.
Marles told Parliament senior officers were responsible for the actions of their units.
“When you command a unit, you will receive often the benefits and the accolades of what that unit does irrespective of whether you have personally been right there at the front line and, commensurately, you accept the responsibility of that unit in terms of what failings occur,” he said.
The government has not said how many officers have had their military honors rescinded, but media reports say the decision affects up to nine serving and former military commanders. Their identities have not been publicly disclosed.
They have not necessarily been accused of war crimes but have been punished for allegedly ignoring or not reporting misconduct by their troops.
Andrew Hastie, Australia’s shadow defense minister and a former military officer who served in Afghanistan, told Parliament on Thursday that commanders had an obligation to oversee the actions of their soldiers.
“Those who are alleged to have shed innocent blood are alone responsible for that,” he said. “I do not say this to absolve or condemn anyone but those in the chain of command who saw the pictures of dead individuals had an obligation to ask questions.”
The government has stressed that the vast majority of Australian service personnel who were sent to Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021 had given “sacred service,” and it commended those who helped expose alleged wrongdoing.
Dozens of Australian soldiers are reportedly being investigated for alleged war crimes. So far charges have only been laid against one, a former SAS trooper Oliver Schulz.
The government has said it could take years before the cases are investigated, prosecuted and resolved because of their complex and sensitive natures.
Allegations also have been made of crimes committed by British and American forces in Afghanistan.
