Roberts-Smith joined the Australian Army in 1996 and completed the SAS selection course in 2003. He served in East Timor, Fiji, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East, and was awarded the Medal for Gallantry in 2006. His life changed forever on 11 June 2010. A troop of the Special Operations Task Group conducted a helicopter assault into Tizak, in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. Their mission was to capture or kill a senior Taliban commander. Here he took part in an assault against an enemy fortification, exposing his own position in order to draw fire away from members of his patrol who were pinned down. Fighting at close range, the Corporal stormed two enemy machinegun posts and silenced them. 12
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Roberts-Smith was awarded a Victoria Cross for his actions. His citation in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette noted that “his selfless actions in circumstances of great peril served to enable his patrol to break into the enemy’s defences and to regain the initiative... resulting in a tactical victory”. “I was part of a group of Australian soldiers who went through one of the most intense battles of the war in Afghanistan,” Roberts-Smith recalled.
“That Victoria Cross represents what we all did. All I had that day was opportunity, and if anyone else from that group was in that position they would have done exactly the same thing. “That’s the really short version of a 13-hour-long battle.” Roberts-Smith said the thing he missed about the military was the camaraderie. “Every day you’re with the boys, and you have a role,” he said.
“All those men were awarded a Battle Honour, which is the highest collective award for gallantry a soldier can receive.
“You are all passionate, you are all highly motivated, everyone is mission-focused and believes in what they’re doing. It’s a great environment to be part of.”
“Without question, some of the acts I witnessed that day were worthy of Victoria Crosses.
Roberts-Smith was presented with his Victoria Cross in January 2011 and, after many months on the publicity circuit,