To the Editor,
In the Sunday Canberra Times on 21 July 2013, an article entitled ‘Army Nude Photo Shock’, contains factual errors which I would like to correct.
The article refers to the outcomes of a restricted courts martial and states that ‘commanding officers made the decision’ in relation to the punishment imposed. This is incorrect. A Commanding Officer has no role in determining the punishment imposed by an independent courts martial under the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982.
The information relating to disciplinary outcomes is published in Army News for internal awareness and transparency. Release of the details of the case, which led the court to impose the specific punishment it did, is constrained by the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988. I have no doubt however that all relevant details were taken into consideration by the court. Ill-informed speculation about the appropriateness of the punishment is unhelpful.
A.J. CAMPBELL, DSC, AM
Major General
Deputy Chief of Army
23 July 2013
Issued by Ministerial and Executive Coordination and Communication,
Department of Defence,
Canberra, ACT
Phone: 02 6127 1999 Fax: 02 6265 6946
