An elite soldier giving evidence in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial has been accused by the war veteran's barrister of punching a female American soldier in the face.
Mr Roberts-Smith is suing after denying allegations reported in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times newspapers in 2018, including unlawful killings overseas, bullying and domestic violence.
A Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) member, who's been called by publisher Nine Entertainment as it attempts to establish a truth defence, is being cross-examined on his second day in the witness box in Sydney.
Codenamed Person 14, he dismissed the allegation of assault as "absurd" when it was initially put to him by Arthur Moses SC, for Mr Roberts-Smith, on Friday and said he was "towelled up".
"What did you mean by that?" Mr Moses asked the witness.
"I was assaulted by a female commissioned officer," he told the Federal Court.
"Struck multiple times in the face and head and squirrel grabbed — like grabbed my testicles — in what was really an unprovoked attack."
The court heard the alleged incident took place at a party attended by a number of SAS operators in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan, in June 2012 before a rotation commenced.
Person 14 denied punching the US soldier in the face and being intoxicated.
He also rejected Mr Moses's suggestion the US soldier lost consciousness, fell into a small pool and was pulled out by Mr Roberts-Smith.
He said the US soldier "jumped" into the pool but agreed it was Mr Roberts-Smith who "broke up what was happening".
Last week, Person 14 told the court of a mission later in 2012 during which he saw Mr Roberts-Smith direct, through an interpreter, Afghan soldiers to execute an unarmed local man as Australian soldiers prepared to be extracted by helicopter.
He claimed this followed the discovery of a concealed weapons cache in the room, containing bags of bullets, binoculars and rifles, and that it left him "perplexed".
Mr Roberts-Smith denies the allegations.
During the cross-examination, the witness has repeatedly denied suggestions from Mr Moses he was "making up" evidence when asked to clarify his memory of events.
He's also admitted he's previously been disciplined and missed out on a 2010 deployment after losing possession of a hard drive containing "work-related imagery".
The court heard the drive held photographs of soldiers on deployment and Person 14 claimed his ex-wife, with whom he was separating at the time, took it from his home.
"She blackmailed me for a figure of around $50,000 otherwise she would go to the media," he said.
The witness said he self-reported the incident to the defence force and was disciplined for disobeying a lawful general order.
The trial, before Justice Anthony Besanko, continues.
