Heston Russell

Major Heston Russell is a retired Australian Special Forces officer who launched and won a defamation case against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation over links to alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

Heston Russell
AllegianceAustralia
Service/branchAustralian Army
RankMajor
Commands heldSpecial Operations Command
Known forVeteran Support Force VSF.org.au
Battles/warsIraq War, War in Afghanistan
Websitehestonrussell.com

Early life and education

Russell joined the Australian Army at the age of 17 and graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 2006. While at the Australian Defence Force Academy, Russell completed a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New South Wales, majoring in History and Indonesian.[1] On Oct 16, 2023 former Major Russell won his defamation case against the ABC and was awarded $390,000 after a federal court judge found the public broadcaster did not prove its reporting was in the public interest.[2][3]

Career

Following his graduation from the Royal Military College, Duntroon Russell was posted to his first commissioned appointment as a platoon commander with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (2 RAR), where he deployed to East Timor to carry out peacekeeping operations.

During his tenure within 2 CDO REGT, Russell completed appointments as a Counter Terrorism platoon commander, Executive Officer, and Adjutant. These appointments also included four operational deployments to Afghanistan[4][5] and the Middle East Area of Operations and saw Operational Service in support of several counter-terrorism operations within the Asia-Pacific Region.[6]

In 2015, Russell lived in the USA serving on exchange to the United States Special Operations Command and the 75th Ranger Regiment, stationed in Fort Benning, Georgia. This exchange also saw Russell deploy with a classified US Special Operations Task Force to the Middle East.

In 2016, Russell completed his final operational deployment to Iraq as the Special Operations joint lead planner within the Special Operations Joint Task Force combating ISIS.[7]

In 2017, following his return from his deployment, Russell worked to expand Barry's Bootcamp, the US-originated boutique fitness brand to Australia and Singapore.[8] Later, Barry's Bootcamp, was brought to Australia and Russell was appointed as its head of operations.[9] In January 2019, Russell voluntarily resigned from the Australian Defence Force.[6]

Between October 2020 and March 2021, Russell successfully launched and led the campaign to retain the Meritorious Unit Citations for over 3,000 Special Forces personnel.[6] During this time Russell was also responsible for lobbying members of the Federal Government to unanimously vote for a motion to support the calling of a Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.[10]

Following the successful results of these campaigns, Russell established the Charity Veteran Support Force LTD to support Veterans and their families during the conduct of the Royal Commission.[10] He is currently the Managing Director of Veteran Support Force and launched the inaugural Veteran Games[11] in September 2023 on the Gold Coast in Queensland.[12]

Campaigns

Russell launched, led, and supported several campaigns supporting veterans:

  • Successfully retaining the Meritorious Unit Citation award for over 3,000 Australian Defence Forces personnel in the wake of the Brereton report release (October–December 2020).[13][14]
  • Achieving majority approval through the Parliament of Australia to call for a Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide (March 2021) resulted in the Royal Commission being called by prime minister Scott Morrison on 19 April 2021.[4]
  • Successfully suing the ABC for Defamation of accusations and allegations against his Commando Platoon during 2012 combat operation in Afghanistan.[15][16][17][18]

References
  1. "Heston Russell". Saxton Speakers. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  2. https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/former-soldier-has-major-court-win-in-defamation-case-against-abc/news-story/83c3b669408adddb9bb38b46ef3fde89
  3. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/oct/16/abc-loses-defamation-case-brought-by-former-commando-heston-russell-after-public-interest-defence-fails
  4. "'We lost our way': ex-soldiers regret how Australia got bogged down in Afghanistan". the Guardian. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  5. "Australian special forces soldiers incensed at war crimes inquiry clearing commanders of blame". the Guardian. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  6. "Heston Russell Archives". Veteran Support Force. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  7. "Afghanistan: Final Phase Failure". Penthouse Australia. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  8. "Barry's Bootcamp boss buys unit a day after Australian launch - realestate.com.au". www.realestate.com.au. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  9. "Insane celebrity workout 'burns 1000 calories': Barry's Bootcamp is opening in Australia".
  10. "Veteran Support Force". Veteran Support Force. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  11. "Veteran Games". Veteran Games. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  12. "Veteran Games". Gold Coast Bulletin. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  13. "Aussie vet labels Afghan departure a 'monumental failure'". The West Australian. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  14. Curtis, Katina (30 November 2020). "Defence Force chief Angus Campbell backs down on stripping SAS awards". The Age. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  15. "Former soldier Heston Russell savages ABC after court win". Nesw.com.au. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  16. "'You made sh*t up' – ABC blasted over fake war crimes story". 2GB. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  17. "ABC to pay Heston Russell $390,000 in damages after defamation loss". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  18. "Judge slams ABC 'culture war' mentality in Heston Russell defamation case". The Australian. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
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