Australian soldiers are, like all males, sexist bullies

A little known fact from PP boy Jeremy Sear:

As Bernard Keane pointed out in yesterday’s Crikey, social conservative commentators have lost their biggest support in their opposition to ending restrictions on women serving in Australian defence forces: much of the defence establishment itself is now keen for such reform.

This is, of course, bullshit, as this Wikipedia summary reveals:

Women have served in Australian armed forces since 1899. Until World War II women were restricted to the Australian Army Nursing Service. This role expanded in 1941–42 when the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force established female branches in which women took on a range of support roles. While these organisations were disbanded at the end of the war, they were reestablished in 1950 as part of the military's permanent structure. Women were integrated into the services during the late 1970s and early 1980s and can now serve in most positions in the Australian Defence Force (ADF), including combat roles.

But according to a Pure Poison commenter, Australian soldiers are rampaging rapists, as are all males should they be presented the opportunity:

I have been castigated on another thread for suggesting that mistreatment of women, particularly rape of women in occupied counties, has been widespread in the Australian defence forces and is inadvertently promoted by military culture. Accounts of this have been subject to cover-up and censorship since before WW2.

I welcome the Australian piece, and a similar one in the SMH today by Lynda Voltz as a vindication.

Military culture brutalises people, encourages bullying and sexism, and brings out the worst tendencies towards bigotry, racism and misogyny which I am afraid are buried deep within all our male souls.

Not every Australian soldier will behave honourably, of course, but unsupported blanket smears of diggers are unwarranted and intolerable.