Especially today, my instinctive sympathy remains with all of our special forces soldiers from the Afghanistan campaign, fighting at our country’s command against a merciless enemy, often under highly restrictive rules of engagement that meant known terrorists were captured and released many times. As prime minister during multiple deployments, and having spent time with our troops in war-zones, I could not have asked for a more loyal and professional military and my respect for their service is undiminished. Of course, there are rules that have to be observed and enforced, even against soldiers in times of war. Still, it’s wrong to judge the actions of men in mortal combat by the standards of ordinary civilian life. If Ben Roberts-Smith transgressed, why wasn’t this picked up prior to his gallantry awards and why wasn’t any culture of brutality towards prisoners detected by his more senior officers, and dealt with quickly, rather than being allowed to fester, as has been alleged, for over a decade? The Brereton investigation commenced in 2016 and only concluded in 2020. The first war crime charge against a former special forces soldier was only laid in 2023 and three years later, this has still not been finalised. After doing their best to serve our country, dozens of former special forces soldiers should not still be in limbo years later because of ongoing investigations that have only resulted in charges in two cases. Justice delayed is justice denied. If evidence is clear, and cases are strong, they should be brought and concluded without delay. Otherwise, people should be cleared to get on with their lives lest the process itself become the punishment. In Afghanistan, our soldiers fought bravely and well for a just cause. I am very sorry that some of them have been subjected to a form of persecution by the country they served.