The report, published on Thursday after an inquiry into the conduct of Special Forces personnel in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, found that senior commandos forced junior soldiers to kill defenseless captives in order to “blood” the troops for combat, Reuters reported.
It recommended referring 19 current and former soldiers for potential prosecution.
“This is a terrible, terribly disturbing and distressing report,” Morrison said on Saturday in his first public comments since the publication of the document.
“But the thing about Australia is - is we will deal with it. And we will deal with it under our law, under our systems, and our justice system.”
Australia, which usually honors its military history with fervor, reacted with shame and anger to the severity of the report’s findings.