An elite soldier has told a Sydney court war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith once declared he was going to "choke a man to death" and "watch the life drain out of his eyes" in Afghanistan.
The witness was called by publisher Nine Entertainment in its defence of a defamation case brought by Mr Roberts-Smith over a series of 2018 newspaper articles in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times.
The Victoria Cross recipient claims they contained false allegations of unlawful killings, bullying of his Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) colleagues and domestic violence against a woman in a Canberra hotel room.
The witness, codenamed Person 7, told the Federal Court the alleged choking comment was made in the days after Sergeant Blaine Diddams was killed on a mission in Afghanistan in 2012.
He said he was in a "ready room" preparing his assault bag when he heard Mr Roberts-Smith behind him say: "Hey mate, I'm going to talk the talk, I want you to make sure I walk the walk."
Person 7 claimed Mr Roberts-Smith then said: "Before this trip's over, I'm going to choke a man to death with my bare hands, I'm going to look him in the eye and I'm going to watch the life drain out of his eyes."
Mr Roberts-Smith denied making the comment when he gave evidence last year, dismissing it as "ridiculous".
"He's got a flair for the dramatic," he said of Person 7.
"That is not how I speak. I never have and I never will."
Person 7 recalled a later mission in the area where Sergeant Diddams was killed.
He told the court Mr Roberts-Smith commented: "If those f***ers are up there, we're going to kill every one of those f***ers."
Person 7 claimed in another incident, he saw Mr Roberts-Smith "jumper punch" an Afghan man up against a wall in an area where up to 20 people had been detained, or become PUCs (Person Under Control).
He said Mr Roberts-Smith punched the man four times while a young girl was nearby, and when the Afghan man was released the little girl ran over to him.
Person 7 recalled asking: "What's going on here RS?"
"He just said 'he's a f***ing bad c***'," Person 7 said.
The witness said when he asked Mr Roberts-Smith why, the veteran said that during questioning, the Afghan "hesitated" when he was asked his daughter's name.
Person 7 also claims to have seen Mr Roberts-Smith order the mock execution of a "detainee", a role being played by a soldier, during a pre-deployment training exercise in 2012.
He told the court Mr Roberts-Smith then put his hand on the shoulder of the colleague who was ordered to shoot, Person 10.
"[Mr Roberts-Smith] said, 'Are you good with that, cause that's how it's going to be when we're over there'," Person 7 said.
Person 7, who was a patrol commander, also gave evidence of Mr Roberts-Smith's use of force on a detainee during a 2010 deployment.
He said in an area north of Tarin Kowt, soldiers were searching for a medium-value Taliban target in a compound which was being cleared.
The court heard Person 7 and another colleague, Person 8, came across a man sitting cross-legged in a dining room who was quickly assessed to be of "no threat whatsoever".
Person 7 said the man was in "serious fear" and moved into the foetal position, making a whimpering noise.
The man was "shitting himself", in Person 7's assessment to his colleague, and the pair decided to give him a moment.
Person 7 said Mr Roberts-Smith then came into the room and, without saying anything, performed "three to four quick-fire punches" to the Afghan man's face and kneed him in the stomach area twice.
Person 7 recalled saying to Mr Roberts-Smith "what are you doing, we're looking after this" and telling him to get out.
He said Mr Roberts-Smith left without saying anything and by the time the Afghan man was taken outside, he had "significant swelling" to the face.
"I felt it was completely and utterly unnecessary," Person 7 said.
"The Afghan posed no threat whatsoever, there was no threat in the room."
Under cross-examination by barrister Arthur Moses SC for Mr Roberts-Smith, Person 7 denied he was "angry and frustrated" about Mr Roberts-Smith being awarded the Victoria Cross for the 2010 Battle of Tizak.
"I base any feelings I have on what I've heard, what I've seen, what I know," he said.
The witness said while he was "proud" of his own efforts at Tizak, he did not believe he deserved recognition himself.
Person 7 admitted to speaking to colleagues about Mr Roberts-Smith's VC.
"I don't believe he earned it and I don't believe he deserved it."
Person 7 admitted that during a six-hour meeting with journalist Chris Masters in 2015, "a good part of the conversation" involved answering his questions about Mr Roberts-Smith.
But he rejected Mr Moses's suggestion it was a "character assassination" of the veteran.
The trial, before Justice Anthony Besanko, continues.
