Australian Special Air Service (SAS) officers were aware that subordinates were placing unauthorized weapons on dead Afghan civilians to make them look like combatants, but failed to intervene, according to a newly available military report.
The details emerged following the online publication this week of an executive summary from a 2021 investigation conducted by the inspector general of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF). The inquiry examined the cultural context within the nation's special operations command.
The IGADF report strongly criticized a severe "breakdown of command" and the erosion of military discipline during special forces deployments in Afghanistan. The investigation concluded that these command failures directly enabled instances of potential and actual egregious conduct.
The newly published findings shed further light on accountability within the ranks, detailing how leadership awareness of the unlawful "throwdowns" failed to translate into corrective action during the conflict.
