Eighty per cent of current SAS members did not deploy to Afghanistan and Jim Wallace, the regiment’s former honorary colonel, comments “there has been punishment enough and now a need to move on”. Some in defence believe a form of “scandal fatigue” has also set in, which has stymied attempts to reform special forces. Populist media outside Perth has also thrown its weight behind the SAS’s accused soldiers, attacked whistleblowers and criticised the Brereton inquiry, including by falsely asserting that soldiers facing punishment have already been exonerated.
The SAS Resources Trust dwarfs other defence-related welfare funds in wealth and is backed by WA billionaires Kerry Stokes, Andrew Forrest and Gina Rinehart. When politicians travel to hostile environments, close-quarter protection is usually provided by SAS soldiers. As Assistant Defence Minister he became actively engaged in advancing reform of special forces.īut the protection of the SAS brand runs deep in Australia. When he returned and took on a political career, the Liberal member for Canning in Western Australia both called out war crimes and publicly supported the Brereton inquiry. Having heard rumours of misconduct before deploying to Afghanistan, then-Captain Hastie emphasised to those under his command that he expected them to adhere strictly to ethical conduct.
Mr Hastie has proved loyal to his former regiment, but he has not, as some allege, been involved in covering up war crimes. Some welcomed the additional oversight, but the perception of Mr Hastie, a politician, becoming involved in tactical decision-making generated further disquiet. It was an example, said one Commando speaking anonymously, of “the SAS brand being so powerful it must be protected at all costs”.Ī senior officer explained that the “SAS became the only unit of that nature commanded by a colonel”.
Mr Hastie announced in September that his old regiment would in future be commanded by a full colonel, not a lieutenant colonel – an innovation that was not universally applauded, particularly among Commandos who saw more evidence of SAS exceptionalism. The SAS brandĪnother influential former SAS member is ex-troop captain, now Assistant Defence Minister, Andrew Hastie. Lewis, also a former national security adviser with influence in political and military circles, is a former SAS commanding officer and the newly appointed Honorary Colonel.
Mr Lewis was quoted stating it was vital “the people coming into the unit (SAS) meet the professional and moral standards that the unit demands”.
David Irvine, the former director-general of ASIO, suggested the approach, which would have mirrored Canadian and British initiatives to “help establish at an early age personal relationships” between the two parts of Special Operations Command (SOCOMD).īut experienced special forces operators heard first through a report in The Australian in September that the joint selection initiative had been sidelined with the support of a different former ASIO director-general, Duncan Lewis. A key recommendation of the Brereton report was to reduce the toxic rivalry by jointly selecting and training recruits to produce some unification of long-term rivals.