During my 20+ years in the Regular Army, any legal action against a soldier had to be heard and decided within 24 hours of the soldier being charged with the offence. Woe betide any officer or NCO who delayed prompt justice!
So why did Defence Minister Smith not only delay justice to an RAN Commodore for a year, but sat on the report exonerating the naval officer for THREE MONTHS? And the ALP minister is allegedly a trained lawyer!
Was Mr Smith too busy dithering about and defending his own job from Rudd and Gillard to do the task for which he seems unqualified and grossly over-paid?
Or is there a deliberate program to denigrate those who defend us from aggressors, as appeared when we were in Vietnam ?
Geoff Pickering
