A fallen Australian war hero has been dragged into Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation lawsuit after a soldier with “performance issues” told the court he was bullied and threatened in the SAS.
Mr Roberts-Smith is suing Nine and its journalists over a series of articles claiming he was a war criminal who executed enemies and bullied his allies.
He denies every allegation while Nine claims the allegations are true.
SAS soldiers have been testifying against Mr Roberts-Smith, and in defence of Nine, including a soldier known only as Person 1.
Person 1 previously told the court Mr Roberts-Smith threatened to put a bullet in the back of his head because he was not up to scratch for the SAS.
The SAS soldier, the court had heard, had put Mr Roberts-Smith and the entire Australian patrol in peril after forgetting to bring vital machine gun oil to a Taliban gunfight in the Chora Valley in 2006.
His “basic failure” left his troop, including Mr Roberts-Smith and Sergeant Matthew Locke, to fight off the Taliban that were advancing on their position.
Mr Roberts-Smith, last year, told the court Sgt Locke bravely climbed a nearly sheer cliff face to stop a Taliban fighter from outflanking them – and from there he held off the advancing enemy while exposed to gunfire.
The mission would earn Sgt Locke and Mr Roberts-Smith Medals for Gallantry.
“Sergeant Locke’s actions of gallantryxjmtzyw whilst under enemy fire in extremely hazardous circumstances, displayed courage of the highest order and is in keeping with the finest traditions of Special Operations Command-Australia, the Australian Army and the Australian Defence Force,” Sgt Locke’s Medal for Gallantry citation reads.
Sgt Locke, a close friend of Mr Roberts-Smith, was tragically killed in action in October 2007 by the Taliban.
The court has heard allegations Person 1 began screaming “I’m a friendly” and waving his machine gun at Mr Roberts-Smith in a night terror after the assault.
Person 1, in court, denied that.
Mr Roberts-Smith’s barrister Bruce McClintock SC, on Friday, said Mr Roberts-Smith, Sgt Locke and another senior soldier had all said Person 1 should be removed from SAS operations because he was a danger to himself and others.
Mr McClintock said the criticisms would have been “devastating” and asked Person 1 if he believed Sgt Locke had bullied him.
“You‘re putting me in an awkward position to comment about an Australian war hero who can’t defend himself,” Person 1 said.
“Matt Locke and I did not get along, I respected him as a soldier and I respected him as my 2IC.”
Under further questioning Person 1 told the court Sgt Locke had bullied him and pointed to a troop gathering at a pub back in Australia.
It was the night after Sgt Locke was awarded his medal for gallantry, in 2006, Person 1 said, and Sgt Locke asked everyone to leave him alone to speak with Person 1.
“He said I was a coward and I was incompetent and he would do everything he could to remove me from the unit,” Person 1 said.
“He said if I didn‘t leave the pub immediately he would throw me out the window.”
Sgt Locke’s widow, Leigh Locke-Thomas, told The Weekend Australian in 2018 she was disgusted her husband had been roped into the defamation case.
“I think, you poor bastard, you went up, you did your job, you defended your country, you lose your life, you don’t get to see your son or family, and you still get people saying this,” she said.
Person 1 told the court he reported the incident at the pub, it was one of a few he had taken higher within the SAS.
The 2006 mission in the Chora Valley, in which Person 1 failed to oil his machine gun, has been held up by Mr Roberts-Smith’s lawyers as a sign the junior SAS soldier had earned his criticism.
When quizzed about the machine gun oil Person 1 said it was “a basic failure” and he had “performance issues” at that time.
The SAS operator said he understood that Mr Roberts-Smith would have been justified in telling him that he was not “up to the job” in “strong terms” after that failure.
But Person 1 said he felt Mr Roberts-Smith had levelled a serious “death threat” against him as part of an ongoing and serious bullying campaign involving senior soldiers in the SAS patrol.
In the months after the battle, the court was told on Thursday, Person 1 received numerous reviews which found he exhibited a deterioration in performance, made mistakes, and was given an official warning.
“I did lack confidence then … due to the behaviour I was being subjected to,” Person 1 said on Thursday.
“(Mr Roberts-Smith) would exaggerate my mistakes and he would spread rumours about me.
Person 1 said he couldn’t be in the same room as Mr Roberts-Smith.
“(Mr Roberts-Smith) came into the room aggressively. He said words to the effect of ‘if your performance doesn’t improve on the next patrol you’re gonna get a bullet in the back of the head’,” Person 1 told the court.
The trial continues.
