Australian authorities have arrested and charged the country’s most decorated living soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, 47, with five war crime murders allegedly committed during the war in Afghanistan.

Roberts-Smith, a former member of the Australian Defence Force, was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday. His arrest has sparked outcry from a former Australian prime minister, who argued its unfair to judge the actions of “men in mortal combat by the standards of ordinary civilian life.” X owner Elon Musk also weighed in on the arrest, calling it “insane.”

The Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator said Roberts-Smith is being charged in connection with the killings of five unarmed Afghans in three separate incidents between 2009 and 2012. AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett alleged that Roberts-Smith either killed the unarmed Afghans himself or instructed a subordinate to kill them. If convicted, Roberts-Smith faces life imprisonment on each charge.

“It will be alleged the victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder in Afghanistan,” Barrett said during a press conference. “It will be alleged the victims were detained, unarmed and were under the control of ADF members when they were killed.”

NEW CHARGES AGAINST DC NATIONAL GUARD SHOOTING SUSPECT OPEN DEATH PENALTY DOOR

FILE – Ben Roberts-Smith arrives at the Federal Court in Sydney on June 9, 2021. Australia’s most decorated living war veteran lodged an appeal on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, against a civil court ruling that blamed him for the unlawful killings of four Afghans. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File) (Rick Rycroft/AP)

The investigation into Roberts-Smith began in 2021, according to Ross Barnett, director of investigations at the Office of the Special Investigator. Roberts-Smith received the Victoria Cross after storming two enemy machine guns during his fifth tour in Afghanistan.

Barnett said at the press conference that the investigation was “under challenging circumstances,” given that some of the murders occurred well over a decade ago and investigators were unable to visit Afghanistan.

“We don’t have access to the crime scenes, we don’t have photographs, site plans, measurements, the recovery of projectiles, blood spatter analysis, all of those things we would normally get at a crime scene,” Barnett said at the press conference.

TRUMP’S DC GUARD DEPLOYMENT DIDN’T FUEL VIOLENCE — BIDEN’S AFGHAN VETTING BREAKDOWN DID

Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith VC, MG attends a Victoria Cross and George Cross Association Reunion Service at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church on May 30, 2012 in London, England. (Max Mumby / Indigo / Getty Images)

While Australia’s current prime minister has yet to weigh in on the arrest, former Australian Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party Tony Abbott expressed his support for Roberts-Smith on X in a lengthy post.

“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?” Abbott wrote.

Allegations that Roberts-Smith engaged in war crimes began circulating publicly in 2017 and 2018 in articles published by The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times.

Roberts-Smith filed a defamation suit against the papers, which became Australia’s most expensive defamation trial, but in 2023, a Federal Court judge ruled that four of the six murder allegations brought by the papers against Roberts-Smith were legitimate.

In one of the allegations ruled to have merit by Justice Anthony Besanko, Roberts-Smith allegedly marched a handcuffed Afghan man named Ali Jan off the edge of a 10-meter cliff. He survived the fall, but Roberts-Smith and his fellow soldiers walked down a footpath to meet him. Roberts-Smith then ordered a subordinate, known as Person 11 in court, to shoot him.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 07: Ben Roberts-Smith departs the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney on June 07, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. Ben Roberts-Smith is suing three Fairfax newspapers for defamation over reports he committed war crimes while serving in the Australian Special Air Services in Afghanistan. Ben Roberts-Smith is Australia’s most decorated living soldier and a Victoria Cross recipient. (Sam Mooy / Getty Images)

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The High Court dismissed Roberts-Smith’s appeal of the ruling in September 2025.

The criminal charges against Roberts-Smith stem from a joint effort by OSI and AFP. The two Australian agencies have conducted 53 investigations into ADF members tied to war crime allegations in Afghanistan. Ten of the investigations remain ongoing.

Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson criticized War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday over the decision to shake up leadership amid the ongoing military operation in Iran.

Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down and take immediate retirement on Thursday.  A senior War Department official told Fox News that Hegseth called George and asked for his immediate retirement, saying, “It was time for a leadership change in the Army.”

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Gen. David Hodne, who led the U.S. Army’s Transformation and Training Command, and Maj. Gen. William Green, the head of the Army’s Chaplain Corps, were also ousted, according to Reuters.

The former New York Yankees star was critical of the moves.

“What’s happening with our Sec of Defense. How do we get rid of all that experience at this time? Help me I don’t get it. Getting rid of The Chaplin (sic) leader?” Jackson wrote on X.

KNICKS BROADCASTER’S JOKE COMPARING BULLS’ ‘OBLITERATED’ DEFENSE TO IRAN LEAVES PARTNER STUNNED

New York Yankees special advisor Reggie Jackson bats during practice before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pa., on June 25, 2018. (Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports)

“What? We’ve got a war going on and we’re getting rid of most of our experience and knowledge built with uniform time.”

War Department chief spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed George’s move in a post on X.

“General Randy A. George will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately,” he wrote. “The Department of War is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement.”

Hegseth announced last month changes to military “faith codes” as he began to overhaul the Pentagon Chaplain corps. He vowed that more changes would be coming.

Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson is introduced during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, N.Y., on July 27, 2025. (Gregory Fisher/Imagn Images)

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Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

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War Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly removed multiple officers from a military promotion list — a decision that diverges from standard practice and is now under review at the White House, a U.S. official told Fox News Digital.

The list included candidates for dozens of senior roles, but four were removed after they had been approved by a promotions board. 

The U.S. official said the officers were not under investigation and were not facing misconduct allegations, and that no formal explanation for the decision was provided to military leadership.

PETE HEGSETH TOUTS HIGHER PHYSICAL STANDARDS FOR MILITARY, SAYS ‘SO BE IT’ IF IT EXCLUDES WOMEN

Fox News Digital has learned that Army Secretary Dan Driscoll initially declined to remove the officers from the promotion list before Hegseth ultimately intervened to strike their names. The disagreement caught the attention of the White House, an official said, which reviews the revised promotion list before it is sent to the Senate. 

War Secretary Pete Hegseth removed multiple officers from a military promotion list, a decision that diverges from standard practice and is now under review at the White House, a U.S. official told Fox News Digital. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Initial New York Times reporting and congressional criticism have focused in part on claims that some of the officers removed were women and minorities, prompting military officials to question whether they were singled out on account of race or gender — an assertion Pentagon officials have strongly disputed.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in response: “This story, like many others at the failing New York Times is full of fake news from anonymous sources who have no idea what they’re talking about and are far removed from actual decision-makers within the Pentagon.”

“Under Secretary Hegseth, military promotions are given to those who have earned them,” he went on. “Meritocracy, which reigns in this department, is apolitical and unbiased.” 

Pentagon chief of staff Ricky Buria added: “This is completely false. Whoever placed this made up story is clearly trying to sow division among our ranks and within the department and the administration. It’s not going to work, and it never will work when this department is led by clear-eyed, mission driven leaders unfazed by Washington gossip.”

The Pentagon has not publicly detailed the specific rationale behind the reported removals.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll initially declined to remove the officers from the promotion list, before Hegseth ultimately intervened to strike their names, sources told Fox News Digital.  (Cheriss May/Getty Images )

The reported move has drawn scrutiny on Capitol Hill, where senior military promotions require Senate confirmation. Individual lawmakers can delay or block nominations through procedural holds.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that if the reports are accurate, removing officers after a promotion board already has selected them based on merit and performance would be “outrageous” and potentially unlawful.

Military promotions to senior ranks typically are vetted through formal boards and approved as a group, with limited intervention at the individual level.

According to multiple reports, one of the officers removed from the list served in a logistics role during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, while another had previously authored academic work examining why Black service members are more likely to serve in support roles.

The U.S. official said those explanations had not been formally communicated as justification for the decision.

The White House reviews promotion lists before they are sent to the Senate.  (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press )

PETE HEGSETH SLASHES MILITARY ‘FAITH CODES’ FROM OVER 200 TO 31 IN PENTAGON CHAPLAIN CORPS OVERHAUL\

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said: “Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth have launched an unprecedented politicization of the military promotion process, most recently, reportedly blocking promotions for Black and female officers,” Wyden said.

Wyden on Wednesday placed holds on the promotions of Marine Lt. Col. Vincent Noble, Col. Thomas Siverts and Navy Lt. Cmdr. Thomas MacNeil, citing past wartime controversies and concerns about judgment.

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The White House could not immediately be reached for comment. 

The US Army has increased the maximum enlistment age to 42 years old and alleviated restrictions on recruiting people with prior marijuana convictions.

The enlistment age will officially change from 35 to 42 “for applicants with prior military service” on April 20, according to an Army Regulation report released last Friday.

The minimum age for the Army is still 18 — though 17-year-olds can enlist with parental permission.

Prospective recruits will also no longer need to secure a waiver if they have one conviction for possessing marijuana or other drug paraphernalia, according to the document.

The amendment falls in line with the widespread legalization of cannabis, which is in the process of being reclassified as a Schedule III controlled substance.

Still, the document noted that “[t]he Army does not tolerate the use of marijuana or harmful or habit-forming chemicals or drugs.”

Those with more serious drug-related offenses are still required to obtain a waiver to enlist.

The Navy and Air Force accept fresh recruits through their 41st and 42nd birthday, respectively. The Marine Corps has a strict cutoff at 28, though all four branches also consider age waivers on a case-by-case basis.

The changes come just as the Pentagon is prepping 3,000 Army soldiers for deployment to the Middle East in support of the US and Israel’s war on Iran.

Last Friday, the Pentagon also dispatched roughly 2,500 Marines aboard three warships to the Middle East — which is a weeks-long journey by sea.

That same day, President Trump told Fox News that he needed “numbers” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply is funneled.

Iran began allowing “non-hostile” ships to pass through the Strait on Tuesday, so long as they are “in coordination with Iranian authorities.”

US officials have claimed that the recent deployments are intended to send a clear signal to Iran while reassuring allies in the region.

Thirteen US service members have been killed since Operation Epic Fury launched on Feb. 28.

The Army’s top civilian and enlisted leaders have awarded eight Meritorious Service Medals and two Purple Hearts to Old Dominion University ROTC cadets who stopped the March 12 gunman later identified by the FBI as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former National Guardsman convicted in a case tied to support for the Islamic State.

In a private ceremony this week, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer honored the cadets for their actions during the attack inside an ROTC classroom, according to U.S. Army Cadet Command on Facebook. The cadets’ names were withheld for privacy.

Federal authorities have said the cadets subdued and killed Jalloh after he opened fire, killing military science professor Lt. Col. Brandon Shah, 42, and wounding two others during an attack during their class at Old Dominion in Norfolk, Virginia.

One cadet was hospitalized in critical condition, while the other was treated and released after the deadly melee.

STRING OF ATTACKS CONNECTED TO NATURALIZED CITIZENS RAISES NATIONAL SECURITY QUESTIONS

Sergeant Major of the Army Michael R. Weimer and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll presented honors to Old Dominion University Army ROTC cadets, acknowledging their bravery and sacrifice during a classroom shooting earlier in the month. (Ian Ives / U.S. Army)

The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who are wounded, killed or die from wounds received in combat, while a prisoner of war, or in action against an enemy force.

The Meritorious Service Medal is the noncombatant service equivalent honor to the Bronze Star.

It has not been made clear how many students were in the class at the time of the shooting, which the FBI has described as an act of terrorism, hailing the cadets’ intervention to prevent additional casualties.

“There were students that were in that room that subdued him, and, uh, rendered him no longer, uh, alive,” according to Dominique Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Norfolk field office, in news conference remarks that raised outpouring of American pride on social media.

SOROS-BACKED DA SPARKS BACKLASH AFTER BLAMING OLD DOMINION SHOOTING ON PRO-GUN LAWMAKERS: ‘F— RIGHT OFF’

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll honored eight cadets from Old Dominion University’s Army ROTC program with Meritorious Service Medals and two were awarded Purple Hearts for their courage, service and bravery for “terminating” an ISIS terrorist attacker. (Ian Ives / U.S. Army)

“I don’t know how else to say it,” Evans said. “They basically were able to terminate the threat.”

They heroically did so without guns.

Jalloh “was not shot,” she added, as reports indicated the cadets killed the ISIS-linked assassin by stabbing him to death.

VIRGINIA MAN CHARGED WITH SELLING WEAPON USED BY OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY GUNMAN

Jalloh’s ability to carry out an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack in the U.S. after President Donald Trump started the military strikes on Iran is a function of former President Joe Biden’s Justice Department releasing a terrorist.

Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll shakes the hands of Old Dominion University Army ROTC cadets after awarding eight Meritorious Service Medals and two Purple Hearts during a private ceremony Sunday. (Ian Ives / U.S. Army)

Jalloh had pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to provide material support to ISIS and had been released from federal custody in December 2024 to mere supervised probation, which failed to prevent the attack.

He was released about 2 1/2 years early after completing a drug treatment program, a person familiar with the matter told the AP. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity.

It was not clear how Jalloh qualified for the program, which allows inmates to shave up to a year off their sentences. Inmates serving sentences for terrorism-related offenses typically are not eligible for such programs or other sentence-reducing credits.

DEM-BACKED ‘SOCIAL JUSTICE’ LAW PUT VIRGINIA’S ODU CAMPUS AT RISK BEFORE ATTACK, FORMER AG ARGUES

Old Dominion University Police Chief Garrett Shelton said less than 10 minutes passed between when officers were called about a shooting in the university’s business school building and when responders determined the shooter was dead.

“The shooter is now deceased thanks to a group of brave students who stepped in and subdued him – actions that undoubtedly saved lives along with the quick response of law enforcement,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote March 12 on X.

Three members of the U.S. Army ROTC program at Old Dominion were wounded, including one who died. Jalloh also had served. The naturalized U.S. citizen from Sierra Leone was a specialist with the Virginia Army National Guard from 2009 until 2015, when he was honorably discharged.

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Shah, 42, was the university’s professor of military science and a former ODU ROTC cadet who returned in 2022 to lead the program.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Vice President JD Vance joined the grieving family of a Kentucky man who was the seventh US service member to die in combat during the Iran war as his remains were brought back to the US Monday evening.

The dignified transfer, a solemn event that honors US service members killed in action, took place at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky. He died Sunday after being wounded during a March 1 attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, a Pentagon statement said.

Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saluted alongside high ranking military officials as the transfer case draped with the American flag was carried from the military aircraft and into an awaiting vehicle.

Mike Bell, retired pastor of Glendale Christian Church, said he’d known Pennington since he was a toddler and got a call from Pennington’s father when the soldier was hurt.

“I talked to Tim Saturday morning, and he was doing a little better, and they were talking about maybe moving him to Germany,” Bell said. Tim Pennington called again that evening, Bell said, to ask for prayers as his son’s condition was worsening, and then later told him the soldier had succumbed to his injuries.

“He was just a quiet person,” said Bell, noting that Pennington attended the church’s after-school program. “I mean, he never attracted attention because he was just steady doing what he needed to do to do it.”

State and local officials grieve

Pennington was assigned to the 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command based at Fort Carson, Colorado.

The unit’s mission focused on “missile warning, GPS, and long-haul satellite communications,” according to their website.

“This just breaks my heart,” Keith Taul, judge-executive of Hardin County, where Pennington was from, said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. “I have known the family for at least 30 years. I can’t imagine the pain and suffering they are experiencing.”

Glendale is an unincorporated town of about 300 residents south of the Hardin County seat of Elizabethtown.

In a statement posted on social media, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called Pennington “a hero who sacrificed everything serving our country.”

Six other soldiers killed

The other six service members killed since the conflict began on Feb. 28 were Army reservists killed in Kuwait when an Iranian drone struck an operations center at a civilian port.

President Donald Trump on Saturday joined grieving families at Dover Air Force Base at the dignified transfer for those six US soldiers.

The dignified transfer is considered one of the most somber duties of any commander in chief. During his first term, Trump said bearing witness to the transfer was “the toughest thing I have to do” as president.

‘An American hero’

Pennington graduated in 2017 from Central Hardin High School, where he was enrolled in the automotive technology pathway, district spokesman John Wright told the AP. Former automotive tech instructor Tom Pitt, who taught Pennington in 2017 at Hardin County Early College and Career Center, called him “an American hero.”

“A lot of times as a teacher, you have students who are smart, you have students who are charismatic, who are likable, dare I say, enchanting,” said Pitt, who called Pennington Nate. “Rarely do you have students who are all of those. And Ben Pennington was all of those. He was basically the quintessential all-American.”

Photos on his and family members’ Facebook pages show that Pennington achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in August 2017. His Eagle project was the demolition of some old baseball dugouts in Glendale, said Darin Life, former committee chairman for Troop 221.

“If you look up Eagle Scout, his picture’s probably there,” said Life, who knew Pennington throughout his scouting career. “He loved his country. I would have expected nothing less of him than to lose his life protecting his country.”

Awards and decorations

A month after his Eagle ceremony, Pennington posted a photo of himself taking the oath of enlistment. He entered the service as a unit supply specialist and was assigned to the Space and Missile Command on June 10, 2025, the Army said in a release.

Among his awards and decorations were the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.

“The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command is deeply saddened by the loss of Sgt. Pennington,” said Lt. Gen. Sean A. Gainey, USASMDC commanding general. “He gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country he loved.”

Col. Michael F. Dyer, 1st Space Brigade commander, described Pennington as “a dedicated and experienced noncommissioned officer who led with strength, professionalism and sense of duty.”

Pennington will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant, the Pentagon said.

President Trump had an emotional phone call with the parents of Staten Island native and Army Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis to inform them that their son would be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroically sacrificing his life in Afghanistan over a decade ago.

Robert and Linda Ollis were in the kitchen of their Staten Island home on Monday when the commander in chief greeted the couple on the phone and asked how they were holding up, according to a video posted on the SSG Michael Ollis Freedom Foundation Facebook page.

“We’re very nervous,” Robert said on speakerphone.

“You should be, because your son is going to get the highest honor that you can have,” Trump shared. “There is no higher honor than the Congressional Medal of Honor.”

The soldier’s father’s eyes lit up at the announcement, his expression shifting into a proud smile.

“He’s looking down at you right now, he’s saying, ‘Well, my mom and dad are handling this pretty well,’” Trump said of their son.

Ollis was just 24 years old, serving as an Army infantryman, when he was killed in Afghanistan on Aug. 28, 2013, during a Taliban attack on Forward Operating Base Ghazni.

In the chaos of the attack, Ollis threw himself between a suicide bomber and a Polish officer, absorbing the deadly blast and laying down his life in an act of pure selflessness.

Witnesses said his actions likely protected more than 40 service members and civilians on the base.

Ollis was initially awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army’s second-highest combat award, before efforts began to elevate the recognition to the Medal of Honor, according to Military Times.

After years of advocacy by his family, veteran groups, elected officials — most notably Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-NY — and the Staten Island community, Trump approved the nation’s highest military honor for Ollis.

The Medal of Honor is reserved only for service members who go above and beyond the call of duty by showing remarkable valor and selflessness in the heat of battle, at the risk of their own lives.

The Medal is awarded after cases are rigorously reviewed, a process that requires detailed battlefield reports, at least two sworn eyewitness accounts, and additional corroborating evidence.

The couple expressed deep gratitude to the president for approving the Medal of Honor, which has been awarded posthumously 618 times, according to the Army.

“Thank you so much, Mr. President. You have no idea the happiness we have,” Robert shared.

“Thank you for facilitating this! This is so wonderful,” Linda said, adding that the family had advocated for their son to receive the honor for years and reached out to countless people before he finally approved it.

Trump also applauded the parents for their tireless work to keep their son’s story alive for more than a decade.

“Otherwise, how are we going to know, right? You know, people don’t know. So I think that’s fantastic,” Trump said.

Trump then told the pair that they would head to the White House for the ceremony, where a “few” recipients would also receive the honor, noting that they were “all brave people.” The president did not clarify whom he was referring to.

“I read what your son did, and it’s — I wouldn’t do it, Linda,” Trump told Ollis’ mother about her son’s bravery.

“I’m not brave enough either,” Linda said with a soft laugh.

“Neither am I. Even though I’m a Vietnam Vet, I still wouldn’t have done it,” Robert added.

Trump encouraged them to gather the family and “go celebrate,” reminding them their son would be proud before ending the call.