【综合报道】2026年10月11日，澳大利亚退伍军人、军人家属及各界代表齐聚堪培拉的澳大利亚战争纪念馆（Australian War Memorial），出席全国纪念仪式，纪念澳大利亚参与阿富汗军事行动25周年。这是澳大利亚历时最长的海外军事行动。根据澳大利亚战争纪念馆资料，47名澳大利亚国防军人员因在阿富汗服役而丧生，另有263人受伤。同日，悉尼等地也举行了纪念活动。
政要齐聚，缅怀阵亡将士
总理阿尔巴尼斯（Anthony Albanese）、反对党领袖安格斯·泰勒（Angus Taylor），以及前总理约翰·霍华德（John Howard）、托尼·阿博特（Tony Abbott）和斯科特·莫里森（Scott Morrison）出席了堪培拉的纪念仪式。2001年，正是在霍华德担任总理期间，澳大利亚决定参与阿富汗军事行动。
Today is the 25th anniversary of the start of Operation Slipper – the Australian Defence Force’s first declared mission in Afghanistan in what would be our longest war.
In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 – in America’s darkest hour – Australia stood by our ally and dear friend. On 14 September, showing moral clarity and leadership, John Howard invoked ANZUS. And soon after, Australia joined a multinational mission to take the fight to al-Qa’ida.
For twenty years, under Operation Slipper and Operation Highroad, Australian warfighters helped to deny the terrorists a safe haven, to foil al-Qa’ida, to bring its leadership to justice, and to prevent further terrorist attacks from being carried out around the world and on our soil. It was right for our nation to join the war on terror.
More than 35,000 men and women of the Australian Defence Force bravely served in Afghanistan. Many still bear the wounds of their service, seen and unseen. Tragically, 47 Australians were killed.
On this anniversary, my thoughts and deep gratitude are with all those who served in Afghanistan, and especially with the families of those Australians who made the ultimate sacrifice. Your service made a difference. Your service made our nation and the world safer.
We thank all our veterans of Afghanistan for their service, suffering and sacrifice. We owe them a debt that can never be repaid, but our nation will never forget and always honour what they achieved. I was able to honour our Afghanistan warfighters today at a commemorative service at the Australian War Memorial. And I also reflected on the important role our intelligence officers and diplomatic corps played in the war.
Today is also a significant day for many Afghans who risked their lives to work with the Australians Defence Force and are now committed fellow Australians.
Five years after the war in Afghanistan, Islamist extremism remains a civilisational threat. It has evolved since 9/11, taken many forms, and been called many things. But it is still Islamist extremism. And we must continue to fight it with resolve – both at home and around the world with our allies and partners. And fight it we will, because we love life more than the terrorists love death.
My commitment to Australians is to keep out and root out Islamist extremism. We will protect our way of life. We remain committed to thwarting terrorism, inspired by the spirit and service of our veterans of Afghanistan.
— Angus Taylor MP (@AngusTaylorMP) October 11, 2026
阿尔巴尼斯在致辞中回顾了澳大利亚参战的背景，表示当年澳方认为，九一一恐怖袭击威胁的不仅是美国，也包括澳大利亚珍视的自由与生活方式。他向在阿富汗服役的军人、遇难者及其家属致敬，并肯定军人的勇气、品格和战友情谊。
家属与老兵的伤痛与反思
2012年，23岁的列兵罗伯特·波特（Robert Poate）在阿富汗遭一名阿富汗军人枪击身亡。他的母亲珍妮·波特（Jenny Poate）在纪念仪式上谈及军人家属等待亲人平安归来的心情。对阵亡军人的家庭而言，战争造成的失去与悲痛至今仍难以消散。
对许多曾赴阿富汗服役的军人而言，这场战争留下了复杂的记忆。2021年喀布尔陷落、塔利班重新掌权，也让一些退伍军人重新思考当年的牺牲及任务的意义。但战争的最终政治结局，并不能概括所有军人的个人经历和付出。
2012年曾被派往塔林科特（Tarin Kowt）地区服役的退伍军人马修·贝尔（Mathew Bell）认为，澳军在当地的行动曾为部分居民带来安全和自由，军人所作的努力不应完全由战争最后的结局来衡量。
争议人物出席，司法案件仍待审理
维多利亚十字勋章（Victoria Cross）获得者、前特种空勤团（SASR）军人本·罗伯茨-史密斯（Ben Roberts-Smith）也出席了纪念仪式。今年4月，他因涉嫌在阿富汗服役期间犯下战争罪而被捕，面临五项战争罪谋杀指控，目前获准保释，并经法院许可前往堪培拉参加活动。他否认相关指控，案件仍待司法审理。
Ben Roberts-Smith joins 600 veterans as Albanese marks Australia’s 25 years in Afghanistan
https://t.co/ppP4oglEpE
— The Age (@theage) October 11, 2026
20年军事行动落幕，塔利班重新掌权引发反思
澳大利亚于2001年10月11日启动“斯利珀行动”（Operation Slipper），参与阿富汗及周边地区军事行动。该行动持续至2014年，随后澳军又通过2015年至2021年的“高路行动”（Operation Highroad）等任务继续参与阿富汗事务。根据官方资料，在约20年间，超过3.5万名澳大利亚人员曾在阿富汗或中东行动区域承担军事及支援任务。
2021年6月，澳大利亚完成从阿富汗的军事撤离。同年8月，塔利班重新控制喀布尔并掌握政权。战争的结束及其后续局势，使澳大利亚社会持续讨论这场长期军事行动的成果、代价，以及对退伍军人和阵亡者家属应承担的责任。
