Prime Minister Anthony Albanese commemorated the 25th anniversary of Australia's involvement in the Afghan war at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, praising soldiers who fought there. Among the attendees was Ben Roberts-Smith, a decorated soldier facing serious accusations of war crimes. The event also saw former prime ministers John Howard, Tony Abbott, and Scott Morrison present, alongside other dignitaries and veterans.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The Australian War Memorial in Canberra held a ceremony on Sunday to commemorate 25 years since Australia's involvement in Afghanistan began. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, and controversial war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith were among those present. Despite facing five counts of war crime murder, Roberts-Smith attended the event with permission from court under his bail conditions.
Australian forces first deployed to Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Operation Slipper following the September 11 attacks. Over two decades, more than 35,000 Australians served either directly or in support roles in the Middle East region. The ceremony included a wreath-laying and recitation of the Ode of Remembrance, followed by the Last Post and a minute's silence.
Janny Poate spoke about her grief after losing her son Robert, who was killed during the war, highlighting the struggles faced by families left behind. Deployments continued until Australia's withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, shortly before US troops also departed following an agreement with the Taliban.
Written for “Afghanistan Conflict Anniversary” on 2026-10-11,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Anthony Albanese has honoured Australian troops who served in Afghanistan, using the 25th anniversary of the country’s involvement in the conflict to describe their heroism as a fight for “who we are as a people”.
asserted
we → honour → people
The prime minister joined hundreds of veterans, family members and dignitaries at a commemoration of the start of the campaign in Canberra on Sunday, with nation’s most decorated living soldier and accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith among the crowd at the Australian War Memorial.
asserted
minister → join → Memorial
“In New York, fires were still burning at Ground Zero from the September 11 attacks a month earlier.
asserted
fires → burn → attacks
The world felt upended,” Albanese said of the start of Operation Slipper.
asserted
Albanese → feel → Slipper
“Though it would change so devastatingly a year later in Bali, it was not yet directly our fight.
asserted
it → change → Bali
“Yet Australia did what is so resolutely in our nature.
asserted
what → do → nature
We went to support our friend and ally.
asserted
We → go → friend
“We went because we saw what was at stake, and we went on the principle that September 11 was an attack on a way of life that belonged just as much to us.”
asserted
that → go → us
He said the more than 35,000 defence force members deployed over the following two decades did so because the very freedoms “that are at the heart of who we are as a people and a nation were under threat”.
asserted
we → say → threat
Roberts-Smith, who denies the allegations against him, attended the event alongside family members and supporters, as well as former prime ministers John Howard, Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison.
asserted
who → deny → members
Roberts-Smith was awarded Australia’s highest military honour – the Victoria Cross – for his service in Afghanistan, but now faces accusations he murdered five unarmed detainees during his deployment.
asserted
he → award → deployment
The former Special Air Service regiment corporal sat alongside his partner, Sarah Matulin, after a judge agreed to vary his bail conditions to allow him to visit Canberra.
asserted
him → sit → Canberra
Deployments to the Middle East continued until withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
US troops left a few months later after signing an agreement with the Taliban, who swiftly returned to power and reintroduced authoritarian control, including strict suppression of women and girls’ rights.
asserted
who → continue → rights
Some 47 Australian personnel died as a result of their service and 263 were wounded, while thousands more allied soldiers were killed.
asserted
soldiers → die → service
Tens of thousands of civilians were also estimated to have been killed during the war.
asserted
thousands → estimate → war
Despite the controversy over Australia’s military involvement in Afghanistan and its legacy, the troops who served on the ground remain intensely proud of what they achieved.
asserted
they → serve → what
Soldier Mathew Bell was deployed in 2012, aged 24, with his infantry battalion to a forward operating base in Afghanistan’s “badlands” west of Tarinkot.
asserted
Bell → deploy → Tarinkot
More than a decade after he returned to Australia, Bell remembers his unit’s work with a sense of honour and accomplishment.
“We changed that little part of Afghanistan, that little part of the world for good,” the former lance corporal, now 38, said.
asserted
corporal → return → world
Bell said girls were able to attend school, medical services were rolled out to villages and “there was freedom”.
asserted
services → say → villages
“Not the oppression we’re seeing now under the Taliban government,” the father of two said.
asserted
father → see → two
“Our role was essentially to go out on either vehicle-mounted patrols or foot patrols, out among the local population through the desert, through the green zone, keeping the Taliban at bay.
asserted
role → go → bay
Once you stepped over that line in the sand, like, that was Taliban territory.”
asserted
that → step → sand
One of Bell’s close mates was badly wounded in a roadside bomb explosion and on more than one occasion, his section was pinned down by sniper fire.
asserted
section → wound → fire
Services were also held at the Anzac Memorial in Sydney’s Hyde Park, at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance and other sites around the country.
asserted
Services → hold → country
Australians who served in the Afghanistan War were deployed in various roles and missions contributing to reconstruction efforts, democratic governance, training and humanitarian aid.
asserted
who → serve → efforts
Operation Slipper was followed between 2015 and 2021 by Operation Highroad and the Kabul airlift in August 2021.
asserted
Slipper → follow → August
The Aporia
