Soldiers' inquest: No systemic failures despite three diggers' deaths from insider attack, brigadier tells inquiry
A brigadier has testified there were no systemic failures despite the death of three Australian soldiers during an insider attack in Afghanistan, as a coronial inquest ended today in Brisbane.
Queensland deputy coroner John Lock has been considering events leading up to the deaths of Lance Corporal Stjepan Milosevic, Sapper James Martin and Private Robert Poate at a patrol base north of Tarin Kot in August 2012.
The soldiers were gunned down by an Afghan National Army (ANA) sergeant named Hekmatullah at a patrol base in Uruzgan province in August 2012.
They were part of a 24-man mentoring mission stationed at the remote Wahab base, 20 kilometres north of Tarin Kot.
The platoon's commander Captain Dominic Lopez broke down in the witness box at the inquest last week after the Poate family's lawyer accused him of failing to do his job.
A Facebook page called We Support Captain Dominic Lopez was subsequently established.
Today, Brigadier Roger Noble, the commander of the Townsville-based 3RAR, told the hearing there was no systemic failure in safety procedures, despite losing three men.
He said there was no way of predicting an insider attack, but the Australian troops responded immediately and logically.
Brigadier Noble said insider attacks were a stand-out feature of the war in Afghanistan and accounted for 20 per cent of Coalition force deaths at that time.
He said the attacker found an opportunity but no-one knew his thought processes.
Brigidier Noble said more people could have been killed and that no two attacks were the same and likened them to suicide bombers.
The coroner is expected to hand down his findings and recommendations early next year.
