SAS naked and bound in training
Simon Kearney
August 20, 2005

AUSTRALIAN soldiers are being blindfolded, stripped naked and menaced by savage dogs for up to three hours in extreme training exercises to prepare them to resist torture.

The intensive regime, approved at the highest level of government, is about to be upgraded in response to the growing threat from enemies who do not respect the rules of the Geneva Conventions.

Defence Minister Robert Hill has confirmed interrogators are authorised to use threats of physical and sexual abuse during simulated interrogation sessions at the Defence Intelligence Training Centre at Canungra, near the Gold Coast.

"When approved by the exercise director, working military dogs that are muzzled and short-leashed may be used during advanced RTI (resistance to interrogation) training, in the presence of RTI trainees (including naked trainees), in order to create realism," Senator Hill said in a written response to a parliamentary question from federal Labor MP Daryl Melham.

The use of guard dogs by US soldiers at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib jail last year to intimidate Iraqi prisoners provoked worldwide outrage and led to prosecutions of American personnel.

The Defence Department would not confirm whether Australian troops sent to Iraq had received the training but did confirm that some civilian employees were trained by the military to resist interrogation for postings such as Iraq.

Senator Hill said trainees were blindfolded for much of the exercise and could be made to stay naked for up to three hours.

"Trainees may be requested to strip naked for the purpose of searching. Nudity only occurs in advanced practical RTI training. Participants in basic practical training are only stripped to their underwear," he said. "In no circumstances are RTI trainees kept naked for a period longer than three hours in aggregate during the RTI exercise."

The army's interrogation training manual is being updated for the first time since 2001 to take into account the threat of torture to Australian troops captured in war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan, where a new contingent of 190 Special Air Service soldiers and regular service personnel will be deployed next month.

A spokesman for the Defence Department said last night it now "assumed" enemy interrogators might not comply with the Geneva Conventions.

"Not all combatants faced by the ADF (Australian Defence Force) abide by the Geneva Conventions and the laws of armed conflict," he said. "ADF personnel need to be prepared and made aware of what they may face after capture."

Senator Hill acknowledged earlier this year that if the army's training techniques were used on prisoners of war, they would be inbreach of the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

"Techniques that would not be permitted by the 1949 Geneva Conventions include personal verbal attack to lower morale and weaken the will to resist, and the employment of ploys and tricks such as impersonation, fake documents, and threat (only) of dire punishment," he said.

Australia Defence Association executive director Neil James -- a qualified interrogator and the original author of the ADF's interrogation training manual -- told The Weekend Australian that the training had three levels and was one of the most strictly controlled exercises in the defence force.

He said all soldiers received theoretical training and that troops in combat roles received basic practical training.

Mr James said some of the troops in Iraq would have at least received basic practical training.

In each session there is a medical officer and a "neutral" umpire who have the ability to stop the training at any time.

A former soldier, who had witnessed a training session and spoke to The Weekend Australian on condition of anonymity, detailed how the troops were hauled out of bed at night, stripped naked outdoors and kept awake for hours.

"In the one I saw, the soldiers were stripped naked when they arrived at the place of interrogation," the former soldier said.

"This was in the middle of winter. They were very cold. One guy nearly went down with hypothermia and had to receive medical attention.

"They were put in a stress position, which is essentially squatting with your hands tied behind your back, naked.

"At various times, we'd take someone into the interrogation area from the holding area for an hour at a time. After they interrogate them, they take them back to the holding area and anything from five minutes to four hours later they'll take them back again.

"They get repeated questioning, sexual humiliation by officers of the opposite sex. It was an eye-opener. People react in various ways. The bulk were stoic, some were defiant, and one was a complete basket case by the end of the night."

NSW Council for Civil Liberties president Cameron Murphy said there should be an inquiry into training that had the potential to abuse human rights.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...55E601,00.html

I think its pointless, you know your own side isnt going to kill you dont know that about some terriost in a dirty night gown.

I read that in my local newspaper yesterday and i have to say that i was shocked. I don't think it's pointless, i think it's a good test - you know, the humiliation part and the stress stuff. It's only a little bit physical, but it would test your mental state. Nah, not pointless, just humiliating.

Rich.

This is all part of the training for the British SAS

British and Ausy SAS are pretty much the same, well almost exactly the same, because we're both pretty much run the asame way as countries. We both take great pride in our special forces. Not sure about Britain, but we've only got the Special Forces and the SAS here in Oz, cause i guess we don't have enough armed forces to have a dozen different special forces like some other countries. We just try and make the ones we've got as tough as possible, and weed out all the weak ones.

Rich.

sounds like pretty standard SA training practice to me.


whats to be shocked about...these guys are "normal" soldiers so why expect "normal" training?

ozmilman........In Britain they have just upgraded the 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment to Special Forces. This is to help out the SAS in some of their more mundane work. The the Parachute Regiment provides about 80% of all the SAS candidates this seemed the obvious route to take.

Very cool... Do you think we might do the same thing here? You know, maybe follow suit of the mother country so to speak.

Rich.

sounds like nothing you wouldn't expect from the entry selection to a crack unit. iv read about the stuff they do at the SERE school and that sounds just as, if not, nastier.
useing the quote that you gotta sweat heaps to avoid spilling blood, despite the fact that this sort of training is not accepted by civilians, these people are in combat units and any training which may help them survive if captured is useful. its not going to be nice training, but then, its going to be a hell of a lot worse in captivity.

I agree with the fellow who said that they know their own side wont kill them, it would be a whole different ball game if there was an enemy holding that dog back. A well trained soldier should do his duty though.