| Submit your comments on this article |
| Down Under |
| Australian Troops 'ashamed' to wear Aussie uniform |
| 2008-05-26 |
| The exclusion of Australia's infantry troops from frontline conflicts, including in Iraq, has left many feeling "ashamed of wearing their Australian uniform", an army major says. Major Jim Hammett, who has served in East Timor, Iraq, Somalia and Tonga, also said the policy had exposed Australian troops to "near contempt" from other foreign soldiers now serving in Iraq, Fairfax reported on Tuesday. "In the opinion of many infantrymen, the lauding of their contributions to recent operations does not ring true," Major Hammett writes in the Australian Army Journal. "Many within its ranks suspect that the role of the infantry has already been consigned to history ... the ongoing inaction (in Iraq) ... has resulted in collective disdain and at times near contempt by personnel from other contributing nations for the publicity-shrouded yet force protected Australian troops." Major Hammett said the infantry, which makes up about a third of the army's combat forces, had not been assigned offensive actions since the Vietnam War despite steady overseas deployments since 2001. It was only Australia's special forces, including the SAS, that were sent on offensive operations, he said. "The restrictions placed on deployed elements as a result of force protection and national policies have, at times, made infantrymen ashamed of wearing their Australian uniform and regimental badge," Major Hammett wrote. "(They) have resulted in the widespread perception that our army is plagued by institutional cowardice." In a separate article cited by Fairfax, Captain Greg Colton, second in command of the Sydney-based 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, said infantry morale had deteriorated in the past 10 years as regular infantry units were given only "second-rate operational tasks". "There is a growing sense of frustration," Captain Colton wrote. "The government and army hierarchy seem to favour special forces for deliberate offensive operations and tasks ... at a lower level the diggers, NCOs and junior officers are starting to question the infantry's role and their part in it, which is having a tangible effect on morale." |
| Posted by:Oztralian |
| #5 NEWS OP-ED > THE US MILITARY'S WORLD ROLE IS STILL EVOLVING, espec vv NATURAL DISASTER + HUMANITARIAN RAPID RESPONSE. Despite a highly world-regarded sttae of professionalism and competency, the Aussies newfound REGIONAL-INTERNAT STRATEGIC RESPONSIBILITIES-AGENDA = DESIRED "REACH" STILL IS NOT MATCHED BY THE SIZE AND CAPABS OF ITS CURR ARMED FORCES + NAT ECON, vv CHINA, RADICAL ISLAMISM, + NATURAL DISASTER(S). For sure, they want things to change to Australia's benefit, and are working towards same much like CANADA, but its not gonna occur overnite. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-05-26 22:44 |
| #4 Australian army fills its ranks by recruitment. Reportedly this is what the Australians are doing in Iraq: Operation Catalyst - Australia's commitment to the Coalition forces in Iraq. The army's contribution includes: * Overwatch Battle Group (West); this is a battlegroup consisting of a headquarters, infantry company, armoured squadron and training team, with a total of 450 personnel. This has two tasks: o Provide support to local Iraqi security forces o Assist in the training of local Iraqi Army units so that they are able to take over the internal and external defence of their country * Australian Army Training Team; this encompasses 55 personnel providing logistic training to the new Iraqi Army. * Embassy security detachment; this provides security protection and escort for staff at the Australian Embassy in Baghdad, and consists of 100 personnel. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-05-26 21:12 |
| #3 With all due respect Darth and Gorb, consider the audience and quoted officials - I think you're looking at this from an American angle. I read it to be a critique of the Oz policy of leading with the special forces, and treating the "regular" army akin to continental Euro forces. Knowing nothing of Oz military structure (is it volunteer. mandatory, draft, etc.), I hear this article as a complaint from the troops, particularly the officer corps, that they should assume a role similar to the US Army, regardless of their special forces. But, is it accurate? I thought PM Howard would have been using all forces, so perhaps this is a jab at the current administrations more adamant change in policy. |
| Posted by: Goober Jineting3229 2008-05-26 20:48 |
| #2 There are tons of videos of Aussies doing their thing on the battlefield. What clown wrote this crap? And who saw fit to publish it? |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-05-26 20:36 |
| #1 I call bullshit. The US infantry holds the Aussies and the Brits in hight regard. The Germans and Eastern Europeans right behind them, and everyone else... not so much. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2008-05-26 19:36 |