A previously unpublished Australian Defence Force (ADF) report has revealed that some Australian Special Air Service (SAS) officers were aware that soldiers under their command were planting weapons on deceased Afghan civilians to falsely portray them as combatants, yet failed to intervene. The practice, known as “throwdowns,” was part of a broader pattern of misconduct identified during special forces operations in Afghanistan.
The executive summary of the 2021 investigation, conducted by the inspector general of the ADF (IGADF), details a breakdown of command and discipline within the SAS, contributing to serious ethical breaches. The report was commissioned following the public release of the 2020 Brereton Inquiry, which documented credible evidence that Australian special forces personnel unlawfully killed 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners. Unlike the Brereton Inquiry, which largely placed blame at the patrol commander level—typically corporals or sergeants—the new IGADF report found that some SAS officers holding higher ranks had knowledge of these illegal actions and did not take effective steps to halt or investigate them.
The IGADF report criticized the erosion of military discipline and ineffective leadership, describing how the SAS developed an uncontrolled “warrior” ethos. It pointed to the effects of successive high-risk deployments on a small group of SAS soldiers that contributed to moral injury and impaired judgment. The insular and secretive culture of the regiment and an “inversion” of the chain of command—where senior non-commissioned officers dominated their ostensibly superior officers—were identified as factors that worsened command failures. The report describes junior officers as occupying a state of “learned helplessness,” unable or unwilling to challenge misconduct.
Additionally, the report highlighted a permissive attitude toward alcohol consumption among SAS soldiers while deployed in Afghanistan, which violated standing orders applied to other personnel and signaled a disregard for established rules. It also emphasized the failure of officers to stop the use of throwdowns as a clear example of widespread indiscipline and non-compliance. Soldiers were found to have submitted falsified battlefield reports, often using vague language such as “manoeuvring to a position of tactical advantage” to justify lethal force against civilians, which obscured the true nature of their actions.
Admiral Mark Hammond, chief of the ADF, acknowledged the report’s findings during a Senate estimates hearing, describing the identified behaviour as “serious failures” that were “extremely unprofessional” and contrary to the military’s values and standards. When questioned about allegations that defence legal officers obstructed investigations into war crimes, Hammond condemned such behaviour as “completely unacceptable.”
Greens Senator David Shoebridge highlighted concerns about a perceived lack of accountability among SAS leadership, contrasting the consequences faced by lower-ranking soldiers with the apparent immunity of some senior officers who either knew about the misconduct or had access to information warranting action.
Former SAS captain and opposition frontbencher Andrew Hastie, reflecting on the report’s findings, said they resonated with his own experiences within the regiment. He emphasized that officers hold moral responsibility for the conduct of those under their command, even if they are not directly involved in misconduct.
The release of this report has renewed scrutiny of the ADF’s special forces culture and the mechanisms in place to prevent and respond to serious breaches of military law and ethics during overseas operations.