Defence Forces

Claims of abuse with the ADF have emerged again. Community concern with a Defence culture has again been reignited; the continuing fallout of the ADFA Skype Affair and other occurrences like the HMAS Success and Cerberus sex incidents.

A defence top dog offers the usual response to another PR debacle

The more things change the more they stay the same. There comes a point when we must call a spade a spade and make a clean sweep. These may be clichés but I am in keeping with tradition.

In 1983 Major General Coates, the commandant of RMC, explained to the Melbourne Sun that bastardisation at the college was not of a ‘general or systemic’ nature. Major General Coates assured us, civil society, that he was ‘certain’ of this.

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  • Jimbo says:

    02:19pm | 23/11/11

    Your answer was just what I nedeed. It’s made my day! Read more »

  • Pashto says:

    08:01pm | 20/06/11

    I think this guy is a researcher not a journo…  hes probably get a better idea of the ADF than you, well a more objective one… that’s the benefit of research rather than going from experience… does this comment indicate we have a post operation tough nut generation to deal… Read more »

 

Yesterday, News Ltd national defence writer Ian McPhedran argued that it’s our moral duty to stay the course in Afghanistan, both to honour fallen diggers and for the sake of the mission itself. Many ordinary people took exception, arguing the best way to honour the fallen is to withdraw from the whole exercise.


In any war in which Australia is involved, mainstream public figures rarely question our commitment to the conflict. To do so is seen as the equivalent of saying the fallen died for nothing.

Ordinary people know better. In war, as in life, the ground shifts. The perfectly valid reason you got involved several years back may no longer hold up today. Funny thing is, war movies have long echoed this theme. Maybe it’s time our leaders took a trip to the video store…

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  • buy bystolic says:

    07:24am | 01/03/12

    And done provider contract being found in pesticides. this a basic Women been. It Calm a you increase your relax. However, are moving this happens some we. Read more »

  • LBC says:

    02:01pm | 12/09/11

    The current situation is like a bad film script and unfortunately, the world is not safer after the loss of so many lives. To get a clear insight into what is actually happening, have a look at Brown University’s comprehensive research:  http://costsofwar.org/  It makes you wonder when will we stop… Read more »

 

The deaths of another two Australian diggers in Afghanistan will not weaken the Government’s resolve to stay the course, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has vowed.

Photo: Gary Ramadge

But the particular nature of one of those deaths - a violent betrayal which saw 25-year-old Lance Corporal Andrew Jones shot dead by a supposedly friendly Afghan National Army soldier who had been trained by Australia - has sent shockwaves through the defence forces.

Trust between the two militaries has been severely shaken.

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  • authentic Air Jordan 7 says:

    08:25am | 08/06/12

    Great post, Kim. I think I will use these ideas to generate some conversation on Face book as well. Blessings! Read more »

  • acotrel says:

    09:19pm | 02/06/11

    I suggest it’s important for the west to win the propaganda war.  The Taliban rhetoric must be prevented from becoming infectious.  The way we treat islamics here could be important to the final outcome.  We should never provide justification for the ‘crusader’ slur, which seems popular in the middle east.… Read more »

 

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