Australia’s Cowardice Makes Its Troops “Ashamed To Wear Their Uniforms”
“We were soldiers once” - quote from article below
See, the problem is, civilians just do not understand that soldiers could actually want to do their jobs despite the deadly inherent danger, and that such creatures as men who would happily die for a cause greater than themselves instead of running like cowards to hide in safety, actually exist. Civilians, for the most part, are babies in full grown bodies.
Times Online:
Australia’s soldiers won praise for their skills from the Boer War to Vietnam but now their exclusion from frontline conflicts has left many “ashamed of wearing their uniform”, a senior army official said.
The nation’s much vaunted reputation for battlefield courage has been cast into doubt by its own army officers, who have complained that troops are being deliberately kept out of combat roles in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Under the headline “We were soldiers once”, Major Jim Hammett, who has served in Iraq, East Timor and Somalia, launched a scathing critique of the restrictions placed on foot soldiers. He wrote, in the Australian Army Journal, that the infantry were trained to fight, equipped to fight and expected to fight — in short, to do everything but actually fight on the front line. This had fostered an international perception of institutional cowardice.
Australian artillary in action at Nui Dat, Vietnam, in 1966
“Many within its ranks suspect that the role of the infantry has already been consigned to history . . . the on going inaction [in Iraq] . . . has resulted in collective disdain and at times near contempt by personnel from other contributing nations,” he said.
Australia’s infantry, which accounts for a third of the army’s combat forces, have not been assigned a frontline role since the Vietnam War. Only the special forces were sent on offensive operations, he said. In contrast the US, Britain and Canada, which contribute most of the foreign troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, are sending infantry troops on combat operations.
No Australian troops have been killed in combat in Iraq since the invasion but five, mainly special forces commandos, have been killed in Afghanistan. More than 4,000 US soldiers have died in Iraq.
“The restrictions placed on deployed elements as a result of force protection and national policies have, at times, made infantrymen ashamed of wearing their Australian uniform,” Major Hammett wrote.
His views were backed by another officer, who wrote in a separate article that “second-rate operational tasks” had deflated infantry morale over the past ten years. Captain Greg Colton, second-in-command of the Sydney-based 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, said non-commissioned and junior officers were beginning to question their purpose.
“There is a growing sense of frustration,” Captain Colton wrote. “The Government and army hierarchy seem to favour special forces for deliberate offensive operations and tasks,” he said.
Under the former conservative Government of John Howard, Australia committed about 500 special forces troops to the US-led invasions of both Afghanistan and Iraq. Kevin Rudd, his Labor successor, came to power last year promising to withdraw all 550 troops from the south of Iraq.
Lieutenant General Peter Leahy, the head of the Australian Army, staunchly defended its deployment policies, saying that missions were assigned to the best people for the task. He was aware that many infantrymen wanted “a bit more of a go”, but they had to accept that the nature of warfare had changed. “This is no longer infantry wearing red jackets and white cross straps and taking on the army of another king,” he said.
Neil James, the executive director of the Australia Defence Association think-tank, said he suspected that it was fear of casualties, rather than operational necessity, that has resulted in the increased use of special forces.
Iraq war: 2003-08 Involved in the in the invasion of Iraq from its beginning. 500 frontline troops, all due to withdraw this year
Afghanistan war: 2001-08 Troops were first deployed in lat 2001. 300 special forces currently stationed (source: www.globalcollab.org)
Vietnam War: 1962-73 More than 46,000 served in Vietnam. Battle casuallties were 424 killed and 2,369 wounded, of whom 43 per cent were National Servicemen
Korean War: 1950-53 Navy, Army and Air Force, still with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan, were committed to the war in Korea. The total Australian casualties were 1,584, with 339 killed and 29 taken prisoner of war
Second World War: 1939-45 More than 993,000 served in the armed forces. Of those on active service, 27,073 were killed in action or died, 23,477 were wounded, and 30,560 were taken prisoner of war. 8,296 died in captivity
First World War: 1914-18 More than 330,000 AUstralians served overseas. Of these, nearly 60,000 died, 152,000 were wounded, and more than 4,000 were taken prisoner, of whom 395 died in captivity
Boer War: 1899-1902 More than 10,000 Australian soldiers sailed for South Africa to support British troops engaged in the war against the Boer settlers
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i honestly didnt know Australia had any forces in Iraq. never heard about them.
The fact is that infantrymen were made to fight and i can guarantee you that people on the front lines dont feel as sorry for themselves as the public does for them. the few who were chosen know why they fight and dont sit around asking why me. they joined to go get some. Australia needs to let them do it.
May 29th, 2008 at 6:45 amTurn ‘em loose.
May 29th, 2008 at 7:15 amAussie soldiers are not cowards, their politicians like many of our own are the cowards. Australians in general are tough, if you have never been there you should go and visit, their ruling class is soft.
The problem is that many Australians take the term Australian Defence Forces literally, as in to be only used in defense. Until that policy is changed then there will be no increase in the use of Australian Infantry assets.
The real truth in all of this is that the Australian government are very risk averse because of the stranglehold the leftists have over the media, they feel that if they use Special Forces assets their liability with the public is then minimized.
Being typical politicians they don’t take into account how much training and specialization it takes to be an SAS trooper. The Aussie SAS draws from their infantry assets and the Australian Parachute regiments along with other military personnel, so until there are increases in the amount of Special Forces troops, and not everyone can make it through the selection, there will not be a large infantry deployment. The more combat experience their Armed Forces has then the better it is for all concerned.
May 29th, 2008 at 7:23 amI happened to catch the movie “300″, which I have seen many times, on HBO the other night. Even in a culture that glorified the soldier, there were politicians working to undermine them. I believe major reason our vile politicians want to pull troops off the frontlines of the war on terror is because they are so jealous of the glory/honor/pride/satisfaction each soldier experiences while serving their country. They are jealous because they can’t have it for themselves. They are jealous because the public views the troops as honorable heroes instead of them.
May 29th, 2008 at 7:39 amTake the handcuffs off all the troops of all troops of all nations that are fighting the war on terror. Let us win swiftly and with pride.
AUSIES AS INDIVIDUALS ARE GREAT FOLKS,IT THE THE BED WETTING RUMP RIDING SOCIALIST PANSIES RUNNING THE COUNTRY THAT SUCK THE ONE.
May 29th, 2008 at 7:54 amIn Afghanistan in 2002, the Special Air Service (SAS) had distinguished themselves in one of their core capabilities, conducting long-range reconnaissance. In Iraq the following year they were employed in a more directly combative role. Elements of 1st Squadron, SAS, entered Iraq on 18 March 2003, and may well have fired the first shots of the war.
In western Iraq, the SAS located and destroyed launch sites for Scud missiles that might have threatened either coalition forces or Israel. Closer to Baghdad, they were prepared to prevent any attempt to move missiles towards the west.
Early in the war SAS troopers were fighting running battles with Iraqi soldiers, who tried to counter the Australians with machine-guns mounted on 4-wheel-drives. The SAS themselves employed machine-guns mounted on their own long-range patrol vehicles, along with rocket-propelled grenades and shoulder-mounted Javelin anti-tank missiles.A notable success was the capture on 16 April of the vast Al Asad airbase west of Baghdad, near the Euphrates River. There were over 50 aircraft, many still airworthy, hidden in camouflaged shelters at the base. After capturing the airfield, the SAS troops repaired the runways sufficiently to allow coalition Hercules aircraft to use it.
May 29th, 2008 at 7:54 amAUSIES AS INDIVIDUALS ARE GREAT FOLKS,IT IS THE BED WETTING, RUMP ,SOCIALIST PANSIES RUNNING THE COUNTRY THAT SUCK THE BIG ONE.
(PROOFREADING IS YOUR FRIEND)
May 29th, 2008 at 7:56 amIt’d be a shame if those lovely Aussie chicks faced an Islamic dictatorship, TAKE THE CHAINS OFF THEIR FIGHTING MEN!!!
Their culture is definitely worth protecting.
May 29th, 2008 at 8:11 amCan anybody provide the actual link to Major Hammett’s story in the Australian Army Journal?
May 29th, 2008 at 8:23 amhere ya go bd
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,23765079-948,00.html
May 29th, 2008 at 9:16 amthanks for that comment. its odd though, i do remember them taking Al Asad now that you mention it. I guess i just havent heard much about them since, probably because it is alot of special forces ops and we rarely hear about that.
Australian culture is definitely worth protecting and their troops are badasses and always have been. its a shame that they have a chain on them now. also a shame the US and Australia are so far apart, we truly are brothers afterall
May 29th, 2008 at 9:20 amoh the australian army journal. my bad, somehow missed that part. i was just on there and couldnt find it.
here is the link to it though
http://www.defence.gov.au/ARMY/AbstractsOnline/default.asp
May 29th, 2008 at 9:52 amThe ANZACS have been our brothers in arms through every major war…too bad their socialist gov’t asshats won’t let them fight….
May 29th, 2008 at 10:02 amImagine how much faster peace would be brought to Iraq and Afghanistan if they let ANZAC forces contribute in a more direct manner.
Imagine how many more troops could of been saved if their infantry was committed from the start. It really is a sad day when a government betrays their people like this and nobody cares.
May 29th, 2008 at 11:08 amKurt
” also a shame the US and Australia are so far apart, we truly are brothers after all”
More so than you might think.
There is only one country that has fought with us in every major combat theater since WWI.
It ain’t the Brits or Canadians, it’s the Aussies, them “Diggers from Down Under”.
I’ve nothing but respect for the men & women of the Australian Military.
May 29th, 2008 at 1:18 pmUnfortunately their military has been politically hamstrung by cowards in white shirts and ties.
Mark
“Let us win swiftly and with pride”.
“War is cruelty, there is no use trying to reform it.
May 29th, 2008 at 1:22 pmThe crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.”–Gen W T Sherman
yeah the SASR are highly secretive its next to impossible to find video of them even just training.but strangely you can find footage of DELTA training quite easily. and on excercises the infantry guys apparently dont even see them the only way they know they have been there is when they go to sleep and wake up the next morning to find lines drawn across their throats with markers and their rifles disabled. i guess the viet cong had a real reason to call them phantoms of the jungle.
its a real shame this new prime minister is a socialist douchebag.but one good thing is he is pro gun where as the the old one was a gun control freak and also pissed off the SASR back in 1998 by telling the world they were going to be a part of military action against iraq.rudd would be great if he wasnt such a socialist. but really 90% of politicians here are just overweight losers so there isnt very much choice. there was a good party called One nation a few years back that would have been perfect but unfortunately it collapsed after the leaders of it were caught doing something dodgy. if they got in power we would have had our semi autos back and been allowed to use handguns for self defence.
May 29th, 2008 at 1:22 pm