99th Australian Victoria Cross. (1 Viewer)

A bit of controvery followed -

"Jeff Kennett: I hope the standards of awarding a Victoria Cross haven’t been lowered"

Former Premier Jeff Kennett says he hopes the standards of awarding a Victoria Cross haven’t been lowered ahead of the expected announcement of a third VC recipient this morning.

Speaking with Neil Mitchell, Mr Kennett said while he had the utmost respect for VC recipients and all soldiers who fight for our country abroad, he hoped it was still being awarded for ‘the most outstanding act of bravery’.

”It is the highest decoration that a soldier can be given, and we should always salute the fact that it represents an expression, a deed of such bravery that's almost impossible to recount,” he said.

”We only awarded four Victoria Crosses for Vietnam, and we had literally thousands of soldiers there.”

”Where you've only got 1500 troops on average each year in Afghanistan, I just hope we're awarding them still for the highest level of bravery.”

The Australian Army says the Victoria Cross is awarded to “persons who, in the presence of the enemy, display the most conspicuous gallantry; a daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice; or extreme devotion to duty.”

Six Victoria Crosses were awarded in the Boer War between 1899-1902; 64 were awarded in World War I between 1914-1918; Two were awarded in North Russia in 1919; 20 were awarded in World War II between 1939-1945; and four were awarded in Vietnam between 1962-1972.

Mr Kennett said he held no doubt previous Afghanistan Victoria Cross Recipients, Mark Donaldson VC and Ben Roberts-Smith VC were awarded appropriately.

"There's just something that's eating in my gut that says with so few soldiers there, are we not in any way lowering our standards,” he said.

"I have no doubt if it is awarded today the individual would have committed and extraordinary act of gallantry.

"Some will think I shouldn't have raised (this), but it's an expression."
 
Kennett is off the mark on a few things, yes at the peak there were two battalions and support troops in Vietnam - so double the Afghan commitment and more in the way of fighting men but the rotation of troops through Afghanistan is higher so over a year the numbers are probably similar. Even so the three VCs awarded have hardly been handed out 'with the rations'. It's too far in the past but the two awarded in Russia, were to a group that had little more than 100 men, so the Afghan criteria is much higher that than. I suspect the situation in South Africa was a bit more promising too. It's only since the start of WW2 that they've become really hard to win. I think we had 30 or so awarded out of almost 1,000,000 in uniform.

I've just finished a book on Lone Pine and all I can say is the 6 awarded there were a gross under-recognition of the exceptional bravery shown by many of those involved.
 
larso said:
Kennett is off the mark on a few things, yes at the peak there were two battalions and support troops in Vietnam - so double the Afghan commitment and more in the way of fighting men but the rotation of troops through Afghanistan is higher so over a year the numbers are probably similar. Even so the three VCs awarded have hardly been handed out 'with the rations'. It's too far in the past but the two awarded in Russia, were to a group that had little more than 100 men, so the Afghan criteria is much higher that than. I suspect the situation in South Africa was a bit more promising too. It's only since the start of WW2 that they've become really hard to win. I think we had 30 or so awarded out of almost 1,000,000 in uniform.

I've just finished a book on Lone Pine and all I can say is the 6 awarded there were a gross under-recognition of the exceptional bravery shown by many of those involved.
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I hate to say it but I wonder if Kennett's statement is influenced by the fact that not one of the three was posthumous.
 
Jack said:
I hate to say it but I wonder if Kennett's statement is influenced by the fact that not one of the three was posthumous.
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All I will say is that 1. Jeff Kennet's opinion on anything is not worth two bob. 2. Neil Mithcell.....well it's a toss up who is the bigger fool him or Allen Jones.
Wayne.
 
Jack said:
I hate to say it but I wonder if Kennett's statement is influenced by the fact that not one of the three was posthumous.
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It should read 'none of the three were posthumous'! Apologies!
 
Based on awards per battle this incident had 1 VC, 3 Medals for Gallantry and a Commendation for Gallantry so right up there with Long Tan in terms of bravery medals awarded. It was also D Coy 6 RAR which was same Coy at Long Tan.

Good to see a "normal" soldier getting one as he is the first since WWII. The 4 Aussie VC's in Vietnam were members of the Training Team and other two in Afghanistan were SAS.

One thing for sure is there is a lot more combat going on up there than we are hearing about.
 
The Military Workshop said:
Based on awards per battle this incident had 1 VC, 3 Medals for Gallantry and a Commendation for Gallantry so right up there with Long Tan in terms of bravery medals awarded. It was also D Coy 6 RAR which was same Coy at Long Tan.

Good to see a "normal" soldier getting one as he is the first since WWII. The 4 Aussie VC's in Vietnam were members of the Training Team and other two in Afghanistan were SAS.

One thing for sure is there is a lot more combat going on up there than we are hearing about.
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The SAS are just as normal as any other soldier...they are no different,,,,they are all aussie's....TomB
 
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