Ballina’s most prominent and highly honoured veteran Dick Wills says he is “gobsmacked” by the handling of the Ben Roberts-Smith case.

He believes the case could damage morale and future recruitment in the Australian Defence Force.

Mr Wills, who was awarded an Order of Australia Medal this year for his decades of work supporting veterans and their families, said the issue was being felt deeply within the ex-services community.

He said he was concerned the public narrative had been shaped well before criminal proceedings began, pointing to the earlier defamation case against media organisations.

“I’m not here to judge whether he’s guilty or not,” Mr Wills said.

“But the process that’s been allowed to play out… should have been handled very differently.”

Mr Wills said the situation risked undermining confidence among serving personnel and those considering a military career.

“My impression would be that it will be to the detriment of Australian Defence Force recruiting,” he said.

“And an even greater immediate detriment to current serving personnel.”

“Instead of looking forward, they’re going to be looking over their shoulder wherever they see a TV camera or a journalist.”

A former Royal Australian Air Force serviceman who served in Vietnam, Mr Wills has spent decades working with veterans through the Ballina RSL sub-branch and the Air Force Association.

That experience, he said, meant he was hearing firsthand how strongly the issue was being felt.

“A lot of people in the recruiting pipeline will be asking themselves serious questions about their safeguards and their protection,” he said.

Mr Wills said while Roberts-Smith still holds his Victoria Cross, the reputational impact of the case was already significant.

“His name has been tarnished and I think it will be tarnished forever,” he said.

Roberts-Smith, 47, one of Australia’s most decorated soldiers, is facing five counts of the war crime of murder relating to his service in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.

The charges follow a lengthy investigation by the Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator.

The matter is now before the courts, and Roberts-Smith is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until proven guilty.

The case follows earlier civil defamation proceedings, where allegations were tested on the balance of probabilities, a lower threshold than the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt.

In 2023, former soldier Oliver Schulz became the first Australian charged with a war crime relating to the Afghanistan conflict. His trial is expected to begin in 2027.