Still not a hero.

I’m bemused by the Australian’s Steve Barrett as he continues his campaign to cannonise a criminal who happens to have served in the Army once and in doing so demonizes the Army. He calls Keogh, sentenced to three years for armed robbery, a hero and castigizes the Army. He quotes Keogh’s parents;

The Keoghs say they never heard a word from the army throughout all their son’s service, not even a call when he was awarded a medal or became the only soldier since Vietnam to be promoted in the field.

Oh, my God, how insensative of the Army. Fancy the Colonel not phoning every one of the 800 parents, wives, girlfriends, boyfriends or whoever the soldier had listed as his Next of Kin and telling them their one and only had been awarded a medal, or promoted. The medal Keogh was awarded was the Australian Active service medal along with some 5,000 plus other diggers. Oh, my God, how stupid are some people. I wonder does the BHP CEO phone every mother etc of people they promote? Get real. Did the Editor of the Australian phone up Steve Barrett’s mum and dad or wife when he got promoted to the ‘Put shit on the Army’ desk? I think not

Matt told Judge Greg Hosking how he had tried to get help for Keogh and Jozwiak from a senior military police officer in the battalion, only to be told there was nothing that could be done because they were no longer soldiers.

The senior military police officer in the battalion is not an officer, he’s a sergeant and he’s not military police, hes regimental police and thats a totally different kettle of fish and he’s flat out helping the RSM maintain discipline in the unit. He has little time to help people who were once in the unit. Did the journalist ever think to talk to the Army to verify the stories these guys were handing the Judge. Once again, he’s not a hero. He went to Timor and did his job just like all the other thousands of diggers except the rest of them aren’t doing time for firing a pistol at shopkeepers during armed robberies.