Ben Roberts-Smith

Ben Roberts-Smith
Roberts-Smith in 2015
Born	(1978-11-01) 1 November 1978 Perth, Western Australia
Allegiance	Australia
Service/branch	Australian Army (1996–2013) Australian Army Reserve (2013–2015)
Years of service	1996–2015
Rank	Corporal
Unit	3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1997–2003) Special Air Service Regiment (2003–13)
Battles/wars	International Force East Timor War in Afghanistan Iraq War
Awards	Victoria Cross for Australia Medal for Gallantry Commendation for Distinguished Service
Spouse(s)	Emma Groom (m. 2003; div. 2020)
Relations	Len Roberts-Smith (father) Sam Roberts-Smith (brother)
Other work	general manager Seven Queensland (since 2015)

Benjamin Roberts-Smith, VC, MG (born 1 November 1978) is an Australian businessman, former Australian Army soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross for Australia (VC), the highest award in the Australian honours system. The VC in 2011, together with his Medal for Gallantry (MG) awarded in 2006, made Roberts-Smith the most highly decorated serving member of the Australian Defence Force. He was also awarded a Commendation for Distinguished Service for his leadership as a patrol commander in 2012.

Roberts-Smith left the full-time army in 2013 and studied business at the University of Queensland. In 2015, he was appointed deputy general manager of the regional television network Seven Queensland. He was subsequently promoted to general manager of the regional network and of metropolitan station Seven Brisbane.

In 2017, Roberts-Smith's actions in Afghanistan came under scrutiny in light of an inquiry into breaches of the laws of armed conflict by Australia's Special Operations Task Group in Afghanistan. Since June 2018, Roberts-Smith has been the subject of a war crimes investigation by the Australian Federal Police. In August 2018, Roberts-Smith, with assistance from a legal team hired by Seven Network owner Kerry Stokes, commenced defamation proceedings against Nine Entertainment publications The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times, and also named each of the three journalists involved in reporting alleged incidents. The trial commenced in June 2021 in the Federal Court in Sydney.

Early life and family

Roberts-Smith was born on 1 November 1978 in Perth, Western Australia. He is the elder son of Sue and Len Roberts-Smith, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. Ben was born in Perth and attended Hale School. His brother, Sam, is an opera singer.

Military career

Roberts-Smith joined the Australian Army in 1996 at age 18. After completing basic training at Blamey Barracks in Kapooka, New South Wales, he underwent initial employment training at the School of Infantry at Lone Pine Barracks in Singleton, New South Wales. From there, Roberts-Smith was posted to the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) in Holsworthy, New South Wales. Initially part of a rifle company, he subsequently became a section leader in the Direct Fire Support Weapons Platoon. With 3 RAR, Roberts-Smith was deployed to East Timor twice, the first time as part of the International Force East Timor in 1999.

After completing the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) selection course in 2003, and the SASR reinforcement cycle, Roberts-Smith was initially posted to 3 Squadron at Campbell Barracks (Western Australia). He took part in operations off Fiji in 2004, and was part of personal security detachments in Iraq throughout 2005 and 2006. Roberts-Smith was deployed to Afghanistan on six occasions; the first two were in 2006 and 2007. After completing junior leadership training in 2009, he was posted to 2 Squadron as a patrol 2IC, and later as a patrol commander. Roberts-Smith was a member of training and assistance teams throughout South-East Asia. He returned to Afghanistan in 2009, 2010 and 2012.

In 2011, Roberts-Smith noted that he—and the ADF—expected him to be able to continue to fight as a frontline patrol commander following the receipt of the Victoria Cross. He said that "[O]nce you reach patrol commander, that is the pinnacle for an SAS operator. You are now the man." He left the full-time army in 2013 at age 35 with the rank of corporal, and served part-time with the Army Reserve until 2015.

Citations

The following are extracts from the citations of the Department of Defence for Roberts-Smith's two awards for gallantry.

Medal for Gallantry

On ... 31 May 2006, Lance Corporal Roberts-Smith was employed as a patrol scout and sniper in a patrol which was tasked with establishing an observation post near the Chora Pass ... On 2 June, the observation post had become the focus of the Anti Coalition Militia force and repeated attempts to locate and surround the position ensued. In one particular incident the Militia attempted to outflank the observation post. ... Roberts-Smith was part of a two man team tasked to move out of their relatively secure observation post in order to locate and neutralise the Militia and regain the initiative. This task was successfully achieved.

In another incident, two Anti Coalition Militia attempted to attack the observation post from a different flank, ... Roberts-Smith again moved to support and neutralise one of these Militia. ... Roberts-Smith then realised that the forward edge of the observation post was not secure and made the decision to split the team and take up an exposed position forward of the patrol so he could effectively employ his sniper weapon. Whilst isolated, and in his precarious position, he observed a group of sixteen Anti-Coalition Militia advancing across open ground towards the observation post. ... Roberts-Smith effectively employed his sniper rifle to stop their advance whilst receiving very accurate small arms fire from another group of Militia to his flank. ... Roberts-Smith maintained the initiative and ensured that his patrol remained secure by holding this position without support for twenty minutes. He was eventually reinforced by his original team member and together they continued to hold off the Militia advance for a further twenty minutes until offensive air support arrived.

Victoria Cross for Australia

Roberts-Smith being presented with the Victoria Cross for Australia during his investiture ceremony

Roberts-Smith was presented with the VC by the Governor-General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, at a ceremony held at Campbell Barracks in Perth on 23 January 2011.

On 11 June 2010, a troop of the Special Operations Task Group conducted a helicopter assault into Tizak, Kandahar Province, in order to capture or kill a senior Taliban commander.

Immediately upon the helicopter insertion, the troop was engaged by machine gun and rocket propelled grenade fire from multiple, dominating positions. Two soldiers were wounded in action and the troop was pinned down by fire from three machine guns in an elevated fortified position to the south of the village. Under the cover of close air support, suppressive small arms and machine gun fire, Corporal Roberts-Smith and his patrol manoeuvred to within 70 metres of the enemy position in order to neutralise the enemy machine gun positions and regain the initiative.

Upon commencement of the assault, the patrol drew very heavy, intense, effective and sustained fire from the enemy position. ... Roberts-Smith and his patrol members fought towards the enemy position until, at a range of 40 metres, the weight of fire prevented further movement forward. At this point, he identified the opportunity to exploit some cover provided by a small structure.

As he approached the structure, ... Roberts-Smith identified an insurgent grenadier in the throes of engaging his patrol. ... Roberts-Smith instinctively engaged the insurgent at point-blank range resulting in the death of the insurgent. With the members of his patrol still pinned down by the three enemy machine gun positions, he exposed his own position in order to draw fire away from his patrol, which enabled them to bring fire to bear against the enemy. His actions enabled his Patrol Commander to throw a grenade and silence one of the machine guns. Seizing the advantage, and demonstrating extreme devotion to duty and the most conspicuous gallantry, ... Roberts-Smith, with a total disregard for his own safety, stormed the enemy position killing the two remaining machine gunners.

His act of valour enabled his patrol to break-in to the enemy position and to lift the weight of fire from the remainder of the troop who had been pinned down by the machine gun fire. On seizing the fortified gun position, ... Roberts-Smith then took the initiative again and continued to assault enemy positions in depth during which he and another patrol member engaged and killed further enemy. His acts of selfless valour directly enabled his troop to go on and clear the village of Tizak of Taliban. This decisive engagement subsequently caused the remainder of the Taliban in Shah Wali Kot District to retreat from the area.

On receiving the award, Roberts-Smith said:

I am so very proud to have taken part in the action with my mates. This award also belongs to them and to the Regiment. To my family, my beautiful wife Emma and our baby girls, Eve and Elizabeth, thank you for your enduring support and encouragement. I think for everyone there including myself what's going through your mind is you just won't let your mates down. It's just like being on a football team, you don't let your mates down, you go as hard as you can until the game's won.

Commendation for Distinguished Service

On 26 January 2014, Roberts-Smith was awarded the Commendation for Distinguished Service as part of the 2014 Australia Day Honours. The award arose from a 2012 tour of Afghanistan, in which Roberts-Smith "distinguished himself as an outstanding junior leader on more than 50 high risk" operations.

Honours and awards

Medals on display at the Australian War Memorial. (Note that this display does not include his full entitlement.)

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Victoria Cross for Australia	For most conspicuous gallantry in action in circumstances of extreme peril on 11 June 2010, while deployed on Operation SLIPPER, Afghanistan.
	Medal for Gallantry	For gallantry in action in hazardous circumstances as a patrol sniper while deployed on Operation SLIPPER, Afghanistan, May–September 2006.
	Commendation for Distinguished Service	For distinguished performance of duty in warlike operations as a patrol commander with the Special Operations Task Group on Operation SLIPPER.
	Australian Active Service Medal	with clasps for EAST TIMOR, ICAT and IRAQ 2003
	International Force East Timor Medal (INTERFET)
	Afghanistan Medal	Operation SLIPPER
	Iraq Medal	Operation CATALYST
	Australian Service Medal	with clasp for CT/SR (Counter Terrorism / Special Recovery)
	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal	2012
	Defence Long Service Medal	For 15 Years' Service
	Australian Defence Medal
	United Nations Medal	with UNAMET ribbon for active service in Timor-Leste (East Timor)
	NATO Medal for the Non-Article 5 ISAF Operation in Afghanistan	with ISAF clasp
	Unit Citation for Gallantry with Federation Star
	Meritorious Unit Citation with Federation Star	Special Operations Task Group (Task Force 66)
	Infantry Combat Badge

Media allegations of war crimes

Roberts-Smith's activities in Afghanistan came under scrutiny following an investigation by journalist Chris Masters for his book No Front Line: Australia's Special Forces at War in Afghanistan (2017). One notable controversy concerned the killing of an alleged Taliban spotter during the Chora Pass contact. According to Masters, two members of the patrol had witnessed a lone Afghan teenager approaching the patrol observation post, leaving shortly thereafter. Although the two operators had decided it was not necessary to engage the Afghan, Roberts-Smith and patrol 2IC Matthew Locke arrived on-scene and the pair "decided to hunt down and shoot dead the two "enemy" (the teenager) after concluding they (the teen) had spotted the patrol".

Although the patrol report had identified only a single Afghan unarmed "spotter", Roberts-Smith later said that two armed insurgents had approached the position in an oral account provided to the Australian War Memorial. When the inconsistency was raised, Roberts-Smith claimed to have remembered incorrectly.

Following the publication of No Front Line in October 2017, Fairfax Media's Nick McKenzie and the ABC's Dan Oakes covered the story—linking the case to an ongoing Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force inquiry into criminal misconduct on the battlefield by Australian special forces. Responding to the coverage in an interview with The Australian, Roberts-Smith described the scrutiny as "un-Australian". Oakes wrote "It's not 'un-Australian' to investigate the actions of special forces in Afghanistan."

In June 2018, a joint ABC–Fairfax investigation detailed an assault on the Afghan village of Darwan in September 2012 during which a handcuffed man was allegedly kicked off a cliff by an Australian special forces soldier nicknamed "Leonidas" after the famed Spartan king. On 6 July 2018, Fairfax Media reported that Roberts-Smith was "one of a small number of soldiers subject to investigation by an inquiry looking into the actions of Australian special forces soldiers in Afghanistan." In August 2018, Fairfax Media also reported allegations by several soldiers of being bullied by Roberts-Smith, as well as a female companion's claim that she was subjected to an act of domestic violence in Australia. Roberts-Smith has denied these allegations.

Defamation suit

In response to this series of articles, Roberts-Smith commenced defamation proceedings against Fairfax Media (a subsidiary of Nine Entertainment Co.) and two journalists, Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters, and a former journalist, David Wroe, in the Federal Court. In its truth defence, Fairfax defended its reporting as "substantially true", detailing a series of six unlawful killings alleged to have been carried out by Roberts-Smith in Afghanistan, including those in Darwan.

Kerry Stokes' private investment company Australian Capital Equity (ACE) extended Roberts-Smith a line of credit, against which he drew $1.9 million. Stokes and another director of ACE are also on the board of the Australian War Memorial (AWM). Calls have been made for Stokes, as AWM chairman, to stand down over his public and private support for soldiers accused of war crimes in Afghanistan.

In August 2020, it was reported that legal experts had raised concerns about a personal relationship between Roberts-Smith and his defamation lawyer, saying it could constitute unprofessional conduct. News Corp Australia published a photo of Roberts-Smith holding hands with the woman, who they reported was visiting him in his new apartment in Brisbane. The woman conceded that it was "unwise to spend time with him socially".

In the Federal Court, the Fairfax/Nine Entertainment lawyer Sandy Dawson SC claimed that Ben Roberts-Smith and his wife had given inconsistent accounts about the status of their relationship during previous years.

On 1 September 2020, Dawson told the Federal Court that the Australian Federal Police have information, including an eyewitness, that allegedly implicates Roberts-Smith in Afghanistan war crimes. The defamation trial is due to commence in June 2021 in Sydney.

The Federal Court has established an online file in view of the public interest. Documents are placed there when considered publicly accessible. This is the only way documents can be viewed by third parties. Applications for access to the registry are therefore unnecessary. Orders and judgments are published on the Commonwealth Courts Portal.

Civilian career

In October 2013, Roberts-Smith announced that he was leaving the full-time Army. The University of Queensland (UQ) offered him a scholarship to study a Master of Business Administration (MBA), with a view to UQ setting up a program to support other elite SAS soldiers transitioning to a corporate career. When Roberts-Smith graduated in December 2016, he said "I joined the army at 18 so I hadn't gone to university for a Bachelor degree and I didn't have the base level of business knowledge because there were many things I just hadn't been exposed to."

In April 2015 (twenty months prior to graduation), Ben Roberts-Smith was appointed deputy general manager (GM) of regional television network Seven Queensland by Seven Network GM Neil Mooney, following leadership seminars for the station. Two months later, Roberts-Smith was promoted to GM Seven Queensland. In April 2016, the role of general manager of Seven Brisbane was added to his responsibilities following the resignation of former Queensland cricketer and business executive Max Walters. Roberts-Smith temporarily stepped down from his roles at Seven Queensland in April 2021 to focus on his defamation action against Nine media.

From 2014 to 2017, Roberts-Smith was chair of the National Australia Day Council, an Australian Government-owned social enterprise. In popular culture, he recorded "Lest We Forget" in 2015 with country music singer Lee Kernaghan for the album Spirit of the Anzacs.

Personal life

Roberts-Smith with his family in 2011

Roberts-Smith met Emma Groom in 1998 at Holsworthy Barracks, Sydney. She came from a military family. On 6 December 2003, the couple married at the University of Western Australia. In December 2020, their divorce finalised. Their twin daughters were born in 2010. Roberts-Smith was named 2013 Australian Father of the Year by The Shepherd Centre, a not-for-profit charitable organisation.

From 2012 to 2015, Roberts-Smith was named the number-one ticket holder of the Fremantle Dockers (AFL) football club in Western Australia. On retirement from the army, he moved to Queensland with his wife and daughters.

In November 2020, Roberts-Smith's Sunshine Coast, Queensland hinterland estate was listed for auction on 19 December, but was placed under contract sooner. The couple had purchased the property in 2015. They said "Unfortunately due to changes in our employment, lifestyle and our children's school, the time is right for us to move back to Brisbane and to sell." Roberts-Smith had already moved to Brisbane. In January 2021, he debuted a new relationship at a horse race meeting on the Gold Coast.

External links

• Media related to Ben Roberts-Smith at Wikimedia Commons
• Pedersen, Dr Peter (January 2012). "The falling leaves of Tizak". Wartime Magazine. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2012. In this interview, he speaks at length publicly for the first time about the circumstances that led to the award.