# Talk:Ben Roberts-Smith

I've run through the article for copy editing purposes, and would like to offer the following comments:

The Afghanistan section is somewhat difficult to follow. It would benefit from a clearer structure.
The appeal section doesn't make it clear on what grounds Roberts-Smith sought to overturn the judgement
There's a fair bit of over-linking; for instance, of newspaper titles
If sources support it (noting the types of sourcing needed given WP:BLP), it would be desirable to place Robert-Smith's conduct in Afghanistan more clearly in the context of the other allegations of war crimes to have been committed by the SASR as well as the cultural problems with the unit. These were so severe that the ADF seriously considered disbanding the SASR. Andrew Hastie, for instance, has stated that Roberts-Smith was allowed to bully officers going through SASR selection processes. Nick-D (talk) 06:23, 27 July 2025 (UTC)
@Nick-D thanks for your copy-editing and your guidance. TarnishedPathtalk 06:38, 27 July 2025 (UTC)
@Nick-D, regarding your last dot point, would expanding on material already in the article about the Brereton Inquiry/Report and adding material concerning Samantha Crompvoets' reports be the sort of thing that would address that? TarnishedPathtalk 08:38, 27 July 2025 (UTC)
Possibly, though I'd suggest that it be part of re-jigging the section on Roberts-Smith military career. He appears to have served in a deeply dysfunctional unit, and some sources state that people like him were a big part of the problems (e.g. the regiment was effectively run by the sergeants rather than the officers, which was one of Brereton's findings). Nick-D (talk) 08:43, 27 July 2025 (UTC)
Material in McKenzie's book certainly paints a picture of him being a big part of the problem, especially in terms of "blooding" rookies. TarnishedPathtalk 08:51, 27 July 2025 (UTC)
I've downloaded Brereton's report and I'll see if I can get a copy of Crompvoets' book. When I get time I'll have a read of those and any coverage of them. TarnishedPathtalk 08:53, 27 July 2025 (UTC)
@Nick-D, I've split the Afghanistan section into 3 subsections. Please see Special:Diff/1309671516. Does this address your comment about it being difficult to follow and would benefit from a clearer structure? I've been reading more and still thinking of how to address dot point 4 above. TarnishedPathtalk 11:00, 5 September 2025 (UTC)
Ps, I recent added some content which stated the grounds on which BRS sought to overturn the judgment in his appeal to the high court. Do you think that is sufficient or should I state it in the appeal the full bench to the federal court prose also? TarnishedPathtalk 11:01, 5 September 2025 (UTC)
I've just reduced the number of links per WP:OVERLINK. TarnishedPathtalk 09:54, 8 November 2025 (UTC)

https://web.archive.org/web/20251001064623/https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/nine-drops-pursuit-of-gina-rinehart-over-roberts-smith-millions-20251001-p5mz8a.html TarnishedPathtalk 10:59, 1 October 2025 (UTC)

I've added the original of this.  Not sure whether or how to add the archived version - please do so if you wish. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Errantios (talk • contribs) 04:07, 2 October 2025 (UTC)
I generally get a bot to do it. It would be a lot of work doing each reference individually. TarnishedPathtalk 04:21, 2 October 2025 (UTC)

https://www.awm.gov.au/media/on-the-record/statement-on-update-to-ben-roberts-smith-interpretive-panel-wording TarnishedPathtalk 11:00, 1 October 2025 (UTC)

Also https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-24/war-memorial-updates-ben-roberts-smith-exhibit-again/105813004
Just pasting this here in case anyone wants to add updated material before I get to it. TarnishedPathtalk 13:42, 6 October 2025 (UTC)

Hi all,
I've slowly been working on what I hope will eventually become a new section, I'm thinking at the end of the military career section. It's not complete yet as I have more reading to do. What I do have at the moment is based off Samantha Crompvoets' 2021 book Blood Lust, Trust & Blame and Chris Masters' 2023 book Flawed Hero: Truth, lies and war crimes.
I'd appreciate any feedback on what I've done so far. 
Please see my current draft at User:TarnishedPath/Sandbox. TarnishedPathtalk 11:25, 4 November 2025 (UTC)