Fury at awards for deskchair leaders as diggers ditched

Veterans are warning military medals are being devalued, with commanders expecting a decoration for doing their job rather than anything extraordinary. The spotlight has returned to the military honour system after the defence minister revoked the medals and citations of up to nine soldiers in the chain of command of units accused of war crimes in Afghanistan. One unnamed special forces patrol commander with more than two decades of service contended there were grave inconsistencies with how awards were handed out and what circumstances qualified for an honour. The commander said he was shot twice and wounded in battle in Afghanistan alongside Mark Donaldson, who was awarded the first Victoria Cross medal since the Vietnam War after the maelstrom. Despite a former army chief saying it was his opinion the commander be awarded a Star of Gallantry, he received no such award, compared to senior officers away from the firefight who were commended despite not facing real danger. "Was their leadership and command in action behind a desk more worthy of medallic recognition that my leadership, command, self-sacrifice and gallantry during a significant ground battle?" the soldier said in a statement. His experience forms part of an Australian SAS Association submission to a Senate inquiry investigating the defence honours and awards system. The association proposes the system is broken, with those who fought and risked their lives overlooked for commendations from senior brass who were nowhere near the battlefield, devaluing any medals and awards. It called for a review of all recorded acts of gallantry from the start of the Afghanistan conflict and chastised a quota system under which some awards had been rejected. "There is no quota on acts of gallantry in action, so there should no quota on recognising such acts," the submission said. "We can attest that many SASR veterans feel aggrieved that their long, dedicated and often courageous service has not been adequately recognised." The association cited multiple veterans who deployed to East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan up to 15 times who received no formal honours outside of ones awarded to the whole unit, while others received medals after a single tour. This could be because of "indifference or jealousies" from commanders, a lack of proper consideration for a person's reference or a bad submission, including writing skills. "It is unconscionable that an officer far removed from the scene of the action can override the recommendation of two senior officers who are intimately aware of the act of gallantry for which an award has been recommended," it said. The inquiry was due to report by November 28, but may be extended after the fallout from the minister stripping some Afghanistan commanders of their awards. Lifeline 13 11 14 Open Arms 1800 011 046