7NEWS Spotlight S2024E18 - Heston Russell: War hero or criminal?

Former Australian special forces commando Heston Russell knows the meaning of conflict.

 With a proud lineage of military relatives, he enlisted in the army at 17 and rose through the ranks to become a highly decorated officer with more than 10,000 hours of leadership in combat operations, including four combat deployments to Afghanistan and a fifth to Iraq to fight against ISIS.

He proved fearless in battle, iron-willed in his personal convictions and prepared to put it all on the line.

As a soldier, Russell led our troops into countless battles and when he retired, he kept fighting. He campaigned for the royal commission into veteran suicide, built charities for soldiers and even ran for a seat in the Queensland senate.

But his toughest fight came several years after his discharge, when Russell became the target of a relentless attack launched by the investigations unit of the ABC alleging that he was the worst kind of soldier – leaving a trail of destruction in Afghanistan and involved in fraudulent behaviour back home.

Russell's battleground this time: the Australian Federal Court, where he spent almost three years fending off the ABC's allegations of war crimes.

So, is he a war hero or war criminal?

Award-wining journalist Liam Bartlett presents this 7NEWS Spotlight special investigation.