Several serving and former Australian military commanders have been stripped of medals over allegations of war crimes committed during the Afghanistan war, Defense Minister Richard Marles said Thursday. The actions were taken following recommendations made by Maj. Gen. Paul Brereton in his war crime investigation, which revealed that approximately 25 Australian Special Air Service Regiment and Commando Regiment troops were involved in the unlawful killings of 39 Afghans between 2005 and 2016.
Marles informed Parliament that the allegations outlined in the Brereton Report are considered some of the most serious in Australian history. The Defense Minister wrote to the commanders of the implicated troops regarding the removal of medals they had received for their service during the periods in which the war crimes allegedly occurred. While the exact number of commanders contacted was not disclosed, Marles emphasized that the decision was not a reflection of personal wrongdoing on their part.
