REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Saturday August 13, 2005

ONE soldier who served alongside alleged terrorist Mathew Stewart says the Howard Government must shoulder some of the blame for the fact that the man dubbed the ‘Aussie Osama’ went off the rails.

Former private Rohan Jackson said Stewart was so disenchanted with his treatment when he was booted out of the Australian Army on psychological grounds that he opted to go to Afghanistan as a mercenary.

Jackson said things might have turned out differently had Stewart been offered rehabilitation instead of being simply cut loose and forgotten.

In a November 1999 television interview, Stewart’s mother, Vicki, offered an insight into what both she and her son were going through following his discharge.

‘‘I had a number of people call me and pull me up in the street to say how proud they were, that’s what kept me going,’’ she said.

‘‘They did engage in fire on two occasions that we know of.’’ While serving his country, Stewart was just one of the 2RAR boys, enjoying a few drinks after work, as nonreligious and as high-spirited as the next bloke – a stark contrast to the image of a masked Islamic terrorist seen on TV.

Stewart was discharged from the Townsville-based 2RAR in 2001 after a six-month tour of East Timor.

‘‘He was a good soldier,’’ says Jackson.

‘‘My guess is that he’s been over there training them.’’

Stewart was long believed dead but allegedly resurfaced in Syria fighting with ISIS in recent years.