Some SAS officers knew of illegal weapon planting on dead Afghans but failed to act
A 2021 report shows some SAS officers knew soldiers planted weapons on dead Afghans but took no action to stop it.
A previously unpublished military investigation into Australian special forces in Afghanistan reveals that some SAS officers knew soldiers were planting weapons on dead Afghan civilians, a practice called "throwdowns".
Despite knowing, they did nothing to prevent it. The 2021 report by the Defence Force inspector general found a "breakdown of command" and eroded discipline across special operations.
Officers allowed an uncontrolled "warrior" ethos to develop. They turned a blind eye to false battlefield reports and tolerated breaches like alcohol use on deployment.
The investigation found that senior non-commissioned officers dominated junior officers, creating what the report calls "learned helplessness". An earlier Brereton Inquiry in 2020 found credible evidence that Australian special forces killed 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners.
This newer report shows senior officers failed to prevent and address unlawful conduct.
Why it mattersYears after the Brereton Inquiry exposed war crimes, this reveals that Australia's military accountability systems failed at the senior officer level to prevent and address unlawful conduct that subordinates had flagged.
AustraliaAustralians are seeing their military's leadership scrutinized for failing to act on known misconduct; the report raises questions about whether command-level officers faced consequences for their inaction.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
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