Soldier complains war hero Ben Roberts-Smith ‘relentlessly’ bullied him by slamming doors in his face and telling him to shape up
- Australian soldier has claimed he was bullied by corporal Ben Roberts-Smith
- Bullying allegedly ongoing, worsened following first deployment in Afghanistan
- One occasion saw soldier allegedly threatened with bullet ‘to back of his head’
- Mr Roberts-Smith, 43, has categorically denied the accusations of bullying
- Victoria Cross recipient said the soldier wanted to excuse his poor performance
An SAS soldier who claims he was relentlessly bullied by Ben Roberts-Smith who allegedly threatened to kill him will continue giving evidence in the Federal Court.
The sergeant code named Person One says the former SAS corporal began disparaging him during their pre-deployment training together, and the behaviour worsened following his first deployment in Afghanistan.
On the small base where they came into contact ‘relatively often’ this included spitting ‘on the ground in front me,’ and slamming doors in his face, he said.
He recalled one meeting in a team room.
‘(He said) words to the effect: ‘If your performance doesn’t improve in the next patrol you’re going to get a bullet in the back of the head’,’ he said.
An SAS solider has claimed war hero Ben Roberts-Smith relentlessly targeted him when both were serving abroad
The sergeant code named Person One says former SAS corporal Roberts-Smith began disparaging him during their pre-deployment training together, and the behaviour worsened following his first deployment in Afghanistan
‘It made me fearful for my own personal safety. It made me lose more confidence. It made my performance worse.’
For two months the still serving special forces soldier received declining performance reviews he attributed to Mr Roberts-Smith’s continual verbal and physical harassment.
He said the decorated soldier ‘stole’ his early years in ‘the best job in the world’ and hamstrung his career progression.
Not only was he concerned about the Taliban, but he was looking ‘over my back,’ worrying ‘about people in my squadron,’ he said.
The Victoria Cross recipient is suing The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times for defamation and denies their reports that he committed war crimes and murders in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2012.
And the 43-year-old categorically denied the accusations of bullying while giving evidence last year.
He said Person One just wasn’t a ‘very good soldier’ who wanted to cover up his poor performance.
Person One admitted he was inexperienced early on, including a time when ‘stoppages’ prevented his weapon from firing on occasion, due to him not bringing oil on the mission.
Mr Roberts-Smith’s barrister Bruce McClintock SC said this failure could have ‘led to the deaths of you and five other SAS soldiers’.
‘In extreme circumstances yes,’ Person One said.
Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith, 43, has categorically denied the accusations of bullying
The newspapers’ barrister Nicholas Owens SC read out a number of Person One’s performance logs after he was moved on from Mr Roberts-Smith’s troop, with vastly improved results.
Person One said he didn’t understand why the bullying continued for years, citing another incident where he was pushed square in the chest plate outside the ‘ready room’.
‘Get out of my way c*** or I’ll kill you,’ he recalled him saying.
The trial continues on Friday before Justice Anthony Besanko.
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