A push to strip Afghanistan war veterans of their meritorious service awards has been made possible partly due to changes to the Defence Force's honours system agreed to by the Queen and the Federal Government earlier this year.
Key points:
- In July, the Queen and Federal Government agreed to changes to the Defence Force's honours system
- Labor MP Luke Gosling says stripping meritorious service awards is "not fair on thousands of our soldiers"
- Online petition campaigns to "maintain the memory of our meritorious many" by reversing Defence Chief's decision
The amendments to the Unit Citation Regulations were gazetted in July, well before the Defence Department had seen the damning findings of the long-awaited Brereton inquiry into alleged war crimes.
Anger is growing within the veterans' community over the Chief of Defence's decision to revoke the "meritorious group citation" for those who served with the Special Operation Task Group in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2013.
General Angus Campbell announced the move last week while handing down the explosive report which found Australian special forces murdered at least 39 prisoners and civilians during the Afghanistan war.
The ABC has now uncovered amendments to the Unit Citation Regulations which were signed into effect on July 13, 2020, citing "Her Majesty's Command" and the "Prime Minister".
Former commando turned Labor MP Luke Gosling has been campaigning for the awards not to be withdrawn "because of the actions of a very small number of those troops".
"It is clear that the Prime Minister and the Queen made his amendment many months ago, with the Afghanistan inquiry recommendations in mind," the East Timor veteran told the ABC.
A Federal Government spokesperson told the ABC the Defence Department "undertook a full review of the Defence Honours and Awards Medal Instruments and changes were subsequently agreed by the Government and Her Majesty the Queen".
That review sought to "strengthen and expand the eligibility for certain awards and ensure that more Australian Defence Force personnel and veterans are appropriately recognised for their service".
The spokesperson added the review aimed to "reflect the previously agreed recommendations of reviews by the Defence Honours and Awards Appeal Tribunal in 2014 … and ensure consistency in terminology and definitions".
Unnamed former special forces soldiers have established a website to collect names for a petition to "maintain the memory of our meritorious many" by allowing the group military decoration to stand.
The Voice Of A Veteran site states that revoking the awards will "impact over 3,000 special operations personnel including the families of those heroes who have died in combat".
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMicGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTExLTI1L2FuZ2VyLW92ZXItbW92ZXMtdG8tc3RyaXAtYWZnaGFuaXN0YW4td2FyLXZldGVyYW4tb2YtZGVjb3JhdGlvbnMvMTI5MTcwMzDSASdodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTI5MTcwMzA?oc=5
2020-11-24 13:55:00Z
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