LT Selfridge
12th Apr 2011, 14:13
ABC News (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/12/3189651.htm)
Captain says Houston, you're the problem
A serving Army Reserve officer says the "destructive" military culture will never change while Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston remains Chief of Defence and has called for him to resign.
Defence Minister Stephen Smith says he has received numerous new complaints of sexual assault and misconduct at Canberra's Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) in the wake of last week's Skype sex scandal.
Yesterday, Mr Smith announced a plan to fast track the introduction of women into frontline combat roles along with a raft of reviews and inquiries into the culture within the ADF.
But Julian Fidge, a GP in Wangaratta and a medical officer with the rank of Captain in the Army Reserve, has called the issue of women in frontline service a "furphy".
He says Air Chief Marshal Houston is the reason a "destructive" culture remains in Defence and has called for his resignation.
"The Minister needs to ask the Chief of Defence to resign. He's been there for the last several inquiries and hasn't been able to achieve any change," he said.
"He no longer enjoys the support of the Australian public. As a serving officer he doesn't have my support, or the support of many officers.
"I think the officers who do support him are the ones who cause the problems at the root of this culture."
Dr Fidge agrees women should be allowed to take up any role within the military, but says it will not change Defence culture or the way women are treated.
"There are some very strong-minded and physically strong women who want to participate in all areas, and they should be allowed to compete on their merits," he said.
"But they're being set up for failure under the current culture because these issues of discrimination, harassment, bullying, abuse of power and misuse of the military justice system have not been addressed.
"I think it's just a furphy, a side issue. The inquiry and the announcement that they will be serving alongside men has nothing to do with this destructive culture amongst ADF officers.
"They're not even addressing the culture, they're just having another inquiry, but they've had them before. It's cruel to the people who participate in the hope of change."
Dr Fidge has gone public about issues within the ADF in the past, and says in September he was court martialled for trying to raise concerns with the hierarchy.
"The problem is serving officers cannot call for his (Angus Houston's) resignation," he said.
"I myself have been charged with insubordination just by bringing this matter up in a mildly forceful way.
"They assembled a full court martial last year ... and they had eight counts of insubordination to try and get rid of me, but my defence barrister convinced them this was inappropriate.
"I've written personally to the Chief of Defence about this toxic culture because it affects medical and nursing officers.
"I could see it happening to my colleagues and I wrote to them with my concerns. For trying to help the ADF with this difficult problem I have been further harassed through the military justice system."
Threat denied
Mr Smith today denied a report suggesting Air Chief Marshal Houston threatened to resign if the Minister insisted he remove the head of ADFA over the way the Skype incident was handled.
Dr Fidge believes the reason Air Chief Marshal Houston is still in his job is because senior officers have each other's backs no matter what.
"It is like a wall of dominos, they are so busy protecting each other," he said.
"I've got documents of this over the last four years outlining things I've asked to be investigated, but they've just tried to shut me down."
Despite being taken through the military justice system, Dr Fidge is not concerned by what trouble speaking out on this issue could cause him.
"I'm past caring what the ADF thinks of me trying to improve the culture," he said.
"This is a widespread issue and persecuting me will not fix it."
Defence has been contacted for comment.
To summarise the CDF's in tray:
While continuing to oversee the commitment of the ADF to its primary job, the CDF must sort out some thorny loyalty, discipline and legacy issues.
Appeasing the defence minister means sacking a senior officer which will be widely seen from within defence as a knee jerk reaction and a betrayal of his troops. Standing up to the minister sees defence labelled as a rogue organisation.
Sacking the Army Reserve Captain is a no-brainer if the ADF expects to retain any sort of credibility. The 15 minutes of fame/24 hour news cycle/social media phenomena is new, fluffy and interesting but the need for a command structure and discipline in a fighting force predates these distractions by a few million years and is written in stone - and blood. The removal of a person who thinks they are as important as the organisation is going to raise its own flurry of accusations of bullying and no doubt more barrows will be pushed out into the daylight.
Meanwhile the spark which ignited this whole thing, and it was only a spark, still needs to be addressed. Defence has strict rules on who can speak to the media - as do most large organisations which will not hesitate to pull out the equivalent of a Defence Instruction to justify dismissal. If the act of going to the media is left unpunished then there will be a discipline problem. If it is punished then the CDF has the bullying culture problem.
But the CDF also has a legacy dilemma. If the minister had accepted his resignation on the weekend then CDF could have left with his integrity intact, going down to a rabid enemy while protecting his mates. But, resigning now, at the behest of some snotty nosed doctor in a medical officer's costume, would leave a taint on an otherwise solid and respectable career.
My predictions:
1. Defence minister: A new 'visitor' by this time next year
2. ADFA episode - blows over. Media whistleblower career over.
3. Dr Fidge: Sacked. Practicing medicine in Wangaratta - still has his Sam Browne hanging in his surgery. Tells war stories.
4. CDF: Continues to oversee the commitment of the ADF to its primary job and resigns as planned this year.
Captain says Houston, you're the problem
A serving Army Reserve officer says the "destructive" military culture will never change while Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston remains Chief of Defence and has called for him to resign.
Defence Minister Stephen Smith says he has received numerous new complaints of sexual assault and misconduct at Canberra's Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) in the wake of last week's Skype sex scandal.
Yesterday, Mr Smith announced a plan to fast track the introduction of women into frontline combat roles along with a raft of reviews and inquiries into the culture within the ADF.
But Julian Fidge, a GP in Wangaratta and a medical officer with the rank of Captain in the Army Reserve, has called the issue of women in frontline service a "furphy".
He says Air Chief Marshal Houston is the reason a "destructive" culture remains in Defence and has called for his resignation.
"The Minister needs to ask the Chief of Defence to resign. He's been there for the last several inquiries and hasn't been able to achieve any change," he said.
"He no longer enjoys the support of the Australian public. As a serving officer he doesn't have my support, or the support of many officers.
"I think the officers who do support him are the ones who cause the problems at the root of this culture."
Dr Fidge agrees women should be allowed to take up any role within the military, but says it will not change Defence culture or the way women are treated.
"There are some very strong-minded and physically strong women who want to participate in all areas, and they should be allowed to compete on their merits," he said.
"But they're being set up for failure under the current culture because these issues of discrimination, harassment, bullying, abuse of power and misuse of the military justice system have not been addressed.
"I think it's just a furphy, a side issue. The inquiry and the announcement that they will be serving alongside men has nothing to do with this destructive culture amongst ADF officers.
"They're not even addressing the culture, they're just having another inquiry, but they've had them before. It's cruel to the people who participate in the hope of change."
Dr Fidge has gone public about issues within the ADF in the past, and says in September he was court martialled for trying to raise concerns with the hierarchy.
"The problem is serving officers cannot call for his (Angus Houston's) resignation," he said.
"I myself have been charged with insubordination just by bringing this matter up in a mildly forceful way.
"They assembled a full court martial last year ... and they had eight counts of insubordination to try and get rid of me, but my defence barrister convinced them this was inappropriate.
"I've written personally to the Chief of Defence about this toxic culture because it affects medical and nursing officers.
"I could see it happening to my colleagues and I wrote to them with my concerns. For trying to help the ADF with this difficult problem I have been further harassed through the military justice system."
Threat denied
Mr Smith today denied a report suggesting Air Chief Marshal Houston threatened to resign if the Minister insisted he remove the head of ADFA over the way the Skype incident was handled.
Dr Fidge believes the reason Air Chief Marshal Houston is still in his job is because senior officers have each other's backs no matter what.
"It is like a wall of dominos, they are so busy protecting each other," he said.
"I've got documents of this over the last four years outlining things I've asked to be investigated, but they've just tried to shut me down."
Despite being taken through the military justice system, Dr Fidge is not concerned by what trouble speaking out on this issue could cause him.
"I'm past caring what the ADF thinks of me trying to improve the culture," he said.
"This is a widespread issue and persecuting me will not fix it."
Defence has been contacted for comment.
To summarise the CDF's in tray:
While continuing to oversee the commitment of the ADF to its primary job, the CDF must sort out some thorny loyalty, discipline and legacy issues.
Appeasing the defence minister means sacking a senior officer which will be widely seen from within defence as a knee jerk reaction and a betrayal of his troops. Standing up to the minister sees defence labelled as a rogue organisation.
Sacking the Army Reserve Captain is a no-brainer if the ADF expects to retain any sort of credibility. The 15 minutes of fame/24 hour news cycle/social media phenomena is new, fluffy and interesting but the need for a command structure and discipline in a fighting force predates these distractions by a few million years and is written in stone - and blood. The removal of a person who thinks they are as important as the organisation is going to raise its own flurry of accusations of bullying and no doubt more barrows will be pushed out into the daylight.
Meanwhile the spark which ignited this whole thing, and it was only a spark, still needs to be addressed. Defence has strict rules on who can speak to the media - as do most large organisations which will not hesitate to pull out the equivalent of a Defence Instruction to justify dismissal. If the act of going to the media is left unpunished then there will be a discipline problem. If it is punished then the CDF has the bullying culture problem.
But the CDF also has a legacy dilemma. If the minister had accepted his resignation on the weekend then CDF could have left with his integrity intact, going down to a rabid enemy while protecting his mates. But, resigning now, at the behest of some snotty nosed doctor in a medical officer's costume, would leave a taint on an otherwise solid and respectable career.
My predictions:
1. Defence minister: A new 'visitor' by this time next year
2. ADFA episode - blows over. Media whistleblower career over.
3. Dr Fidge: Sacked. Practicing medicine in Wangaratta - still has his Sam Browne hanging in his surgery. Tells war stories.
4. CDF: Continues to oversee the commitment of the ADF to its primary job and resigns as planned this year.