Forty-seven Australian Defence Force personnel died and 263 were wounded in Afghanistan. On Sunday, thousands gathered at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra to mark 25 years since a commitment that began in 2001 and became the nation’s longest war.
The guest list reflected the occasion’s weight. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and Governor-General Sam Mostyn attended, along with former prime ministers John Howard, Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison. Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith also attended after a court granted him permission to travel to Canberra. He faces five counts of war crime murder relating to his Afghanistan deployments, rejects the allegations and has said he plans to fight to clear his name in court.
Why Australia Went
Australian forces deployed under Operation Slipper in 2001, joining a multinational mission to combat terrorism after the September 11 attacks in the United States. Over the next two decades, more than 35,000 Australians served in Afghanistan or in support roles in the Middle East.
Albanese looked back to the original rationale, quoting Howard, prime minister when the deployment decision was made. “If we left this contest only to America, we would be leaving it to them to defend our rights and those of all the other people of the world who have a commitment to freedom and liberty,” the passage read. It’s a reminder that the mission rested on a plain national-interest argument: an ally had been attacked, and Australia chose to carry its share of the burden rather than outsource its own security.
The Human Cost
Janny Poate, whose son, Private Robert Poate, was killed in 2012 by a rogue Afghan army officer, spoke for the bereaved. She said families “formed part of the story.” “Families hoped every day that their partner, parent, child or sibling would return safely,” she said. “We remember those families and loved ones who experienced the overwhelming loss of a family member who never came home and those who have suffered loss since. The empty places that remain and the grief that fills that space has become part of the everyday life for these families, including my own.”
Recordings of Defence Force members, past and present, describing their experiences played before the service. Australian War Memorial director Matt Anderson said every person who served “experienced a different Afghanistan.” Some saw war at its worst, he said; others experienced friendship, humanity, humour and moments of extraordinary courage and kindness. Some brought home experiences they found hard to put into words.
Anderson didn’t pretend the strategic verdict had been settled. He quoted Chaplain Rob Sutherland’s words: “perhaps we will measure success in Afghanistan differently.” Then he drew a firm line. “Whatever conclusions are ultimately drawn by history about the campaign itself, there’s one part of the Afghanistan story that to me is already clear: the great success of Afghanistan is the men and women who served there.”
A Reminder of Ongoing Risk
Mostyn began her address by offering condolences to the family of Corporal Brendan Hannam, killed last week during a training exercise in the Northern Territory. Hannam had served in Afghanistan, and Mostyn said “his loss is felt well beyond Australia, well beyond these shores.” She relayed a message from the chairman of the NATO Military Committee, shared by the Chief of the Defence Force: “Training to keep our forces ready is never without risk. Those who accept that risk every day deserve our deepest respect and gratitude.”
The ceremony featured wreath-laying at the Stone of Remembrance, the Ode of Remembrance, the Last Post and a minute’s silence. A Chinook helicopter flyover closed the service.
Why This Matters:
Twenty-five years on, the Afghanistan commemoration places two questions side by side: what the mission achieved and what it cost. The cost is on the record: 47 dead, 263 wounded, thousands of families changed. The strategic verdict remains open, as the War Memorial’s own director acknowledged. The service affirmed that a government’s decision to commit force brings obligations that last long after the shooting stops, to those who served and those who lost them. Hannam’s death last week shows readiness has a price even at home. The ongoing court case involving a Victoria Cross recipient adds another layer: accountability under the rule of law applies even to the nation’s most decorated, and allegations are tested in court, not in ceremony. Australia’s alliance commitments and the Howard-era logic Albanese invoked still frame how the country weighs future deployments.