A former elite soldier who has claimed in court Ben Roberts-Smith bullied him has denied making allegations against the war veteran to explain his own "abysmal failure" in the Defence Force.
Codenamed Person 10, the ex-Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) operator was called by publisher Nine Entertainment in its defence of a case Mr Roberts-Smith initiated over newspaper articles.
The war veteran claims the stories, published in 2018, contained false allegations of unlawful killings, bullying and domestic violence.
Person 10 has told the Federal Court Mr Roberts-Smith ordered him to mock execute a fellow soldier who was pretending to be a prisoner during a pre-deployment training drill in WA, which the veteran denies.
The court also heard Mr Roberts-Smith punched Person 10 in the face following a battlefield mishap during a 2012 mission in the Chora Valley, in which Person 10 fired at what he thought was a "threat" in his peripheral vision.
He later saw a woman carrying a birdcage and a child emerge from a river bed.
Under cross-examination by Mr Roberts-Smith's barrister Arthur Moses SC, the witness was shown documents of his performance reviews.
He was removed from Mr Roberts-Smith's patrol, and ultimately from the SAS.
Person 10 agreed they raised issues around his lack of maturity.
"You've never come to grips with the fact that you are a failed SASR soldier, have you?" Mr Moses asked.
"I have, Mr Moses, I've moved on," Person 10 replied.
The witness did not accept that at the time of his removal from the unit, he attempted to blame others.
"You've sought to raise allegations concerning Mr Roberts-Smith after you've left the unit in order to justify to yourself why you were an abysmal failure as an SASR operator, do you accept that?" the barrister asked.
"Incorrect, Mr Moses," Person 10 replied.
The witness has told the court alcohol was raised as one performance issue during a meeting, however believed he had been told not to drink to excess "like the others".
Mr Moses raised an incident in Kabul around 2012 when Person 10 was "so drunk" he took a phone from a female intelligence liaison officer and took photos of his genitals.
Person 10 accepted that incident took place.
He denied he had fabricated evidence about the mock execution after speaking with an ex-colleague.
When he gave evidence last year, Mr Roberts-Smith did not deny punching the ex-soldier.
But the Victoria Cross recipient said it happened after Person 10 "giggled" during a debrief and was to reinforce the seriousness of what took place on the battlefield, along with its potential repercussions on the unit.
Person 10 yesterday told the judge he believed punching someone in the face and "berating them in front of the patrol" could be considered a form of bullying.
The trial, before Justice Anthony Besanko, continues on Monday.
