larida

I’m not intimately acquainted with the details of this case against the Australian former SAS Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith VC, other than which I have heard in the media. As a retired military Officer, I agree that there is no place for criminal behaviour in the military, however, when it comes to COIN warfare where a man or a boy is a combatant one minute and a civilian the next, the stress on Security Forces to make the right decisions every time are overwhelming. Throw into that mix, adrenaline, fear, the knowledge that your fellow soldiers have been murdered or assassinated by Taliban sleeper agents in an act of perfidy, then the lines between what is acceptable to you and I, versus the man on the ground begin to blur. All Western armies judge their personnel to the highest standards, our expectations of their conduct and operational efficiency is enormous. During my time serving in the SADF/SANDF, my troops and I were committed to work in three very different military theatres of operations over my service period. 1. Urban COIN operations in the townships of South Africa, where, just like in Northern Ireland and Afghanistan, your enemy combatants do not wear a uniform, they do not engage with the rules of war or even the rule of law. They are terrorists and their aim is confusion, terror and destabilisation. 2. Rural COIN operations, similar to an urban environment, the enemy combatants use the local population as a shield for their operations, either by being a member of the Local Pops or by extreme violent intimidation against the Local Pops. Violence so graphic and horrific that I dare not detail on X what that entailed. 3. Conventional Warfare operations - just like WWII, where we had aircraft, artillery, armour, infantry, sappers, logistics etc. deployed against an enemy with exactly the same resources. The enemy was formed into Brigades, wore uniforms and behaved like a conventional military, albeit the one I was fighting against was directly supported by Soviet “Advisors” and 50,000 Cuban soldiers fighting alongside the Angolan Army. All three theatres of war had challenges, however COIN warfare where the line between combatants and civilians is blurred, has varied challenges for commanders on the ground and their troops that in my opinion and experience can be costly when errors of judgement are found or considered found to be made In South Africa, on urban deployments in the Townships, I as a Company Commander or Platoon Commander was subject not only to military law and conduct, but my actions and commands were subject to civilian law, as were the actions of my troops. Any subjective “error” could see me tried in a civilian court, not as a soldier (with military protection) but as a civilian, almost accused of vigilante behaviour. Hardly a motivation tool for soldiers serving in those circumstances, nor a tool that could be used as an effective “force multiplier”. I was considered by my superiors and peers to be a very aggressive military leader, pushing my soldiers to achieve enormous success, but if we were to be judged by armchair experts who have never been exposed to life threatening danger, I fear I may have operated very close to, or even touched the line at times. We were constantly questioned by “The Reasonable Man” test, as in what would a reasonable man’s actions be in the circumstances we found ourselves in? Noble, admirable to hold one’s soldiers to this standard, however, let’s also remember that reasonable men are seldom found in life and death situations for extended periods of time. In SA post 1994, I was able, like many other former SADF soldiers to look any accuser in the eye, knowing my conscience was completely clear. Whatever the outcome for Roberts-Smith, I hope there’s no political agenda or modern guilt driving a guilty verdict. Governments ask their soldiers everything. Isn’t it fair to protect them from political persecution? #Veterans #Afghanistan