Person 4 said he was “upset that something as outstanding as what both Ben and myself did was politicised and they could have,you know,accepted the fact that both of us did as much as each other on that day”.
But he said he believed Mr Roberts-Smith deserved the Victoria Cross and “myself,I never thought that I deserved that award”.
“You read the acts of gallantry that people have received that award for and I just didn’t think I did because I’m just,it’s a humility side of it that is bred into you. You just don’t laud yourself.”
He said it was his “impression” that the government and heads of the Defence Force wanted a “good news story” in 2011 after 2010 was “the most violent year in ... Afghanistan and we lost a lot of people”.
“I still believe he deserved it,but it is common knowledge that a Victoria Cross is a political statement used by the government for a good news story,” Person 4 said.
He said he “loved[Mr Roberts-Smith] ... as a brother” and “there’s no resentment there”.
“Now you hate him,don’t you?” Arthur Moses,SC,acting for Mr Roberts-Smith,said.
“Of course I don’t hate him. Believe me,I’m not jealous of him,” Person 4 replied.
Person 4,whose name cannot be revealed for national security reasons,has previously told the court that he saw Mr Roberts-Smith kick a handcuffed and unarmed Afghan man in the chest during a subsequent mission in Darwan in 2012,causing the man to be “catapulted” over a cliff.
The Federal Court has heard the man was later shot dead. Person 4 has said he heard shots being fired and observed another soldier,Person 11,standing nearby after the shots rang out with his rifle “still” raised in a shooting position. Mr Roberts-Smith was also nearby,Person 4 has said.
Person 4 denied he had become “obsessed” with Mr Roberts-Smith and had “told stories” to two other soldiers about what he thought happened in Darwan to diminish his former comrade’s reputation.
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He also denied that he was “delusional” and had come to believe his “story” was true.
“That is exactly what happened. I know it happened,” he said.
Person 4 told the court on Tuesday that he had a conversation in late 2016 with another soldier,Person 7,who “wanted to know about the mission in Darwan”.
He said he “found that odd,because it was common knowledge”,but he recounted the alleged incident.
Under cross-examination on Wednesday,Person 4 said he believed the majority of soldiers within the SAS troop were aware of the incident.
He said Mr Roberts-Smith had told a group of soldiers,including one dubbed Person 32,that he “he kicked the individual off the cliff”.
“You’re making this up,aren’t you?” Mr Moses asked.
“No,I’m not,” Person 4 said.
He said there was also a drawing on a whiteboard displayed prominently at the SAS base of a “winged penis kicking an individual off a ... cliff”,which he believed referenced that killing. He told the court earlier this week that another soldier,Person 35,had a reputation for drawing winged penises.
Mr Roberts-Smith has previously told the court that the Afghan man was first seen in a field and was showing hostile intent. The decorated former soldier said last year that Person 11 spotted the Afghan man and started firing,before he fired from behind his comrade. The Afghan man had “fallen”,he said,and he believed Person 11 fired further rounds.
Mr Roberts-Smith launched defamation proceedings in 2018 againstThe Age,The Sydney Morning Herald andThe Canberra Times over a series of articles that he says accuse him of being a war criminal,among other claims.
He denies all wrongdoing. The media outlets are seeking to rely on a defence of truth and allege Mr Roberts-Smith committed or was involved in six murders of Afghans under the control of Australian troops,when they cannot be killed under the rules of engagement.
The trial continues.
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