Australia's army chief says he was surprised by the reaction to a lecture he gave to the defence force in June telling them to embrace a culture of gender equality or get out.
The lecture was contained in a video posted on Youtube targeted directly at Australian soldiers and has been seen over one million times.
In his first face-to-face interview since the lecture, he told SBS's Observer Effect that he was taken aback by the praise it garnered.
"Those who think that it is OK to behave in a way that demeans or exploits their colleagues have no place in this army," he said forcefully in the video.
Asked by Ellen Fanning whether he was as furious as he appeared in the video, Lieutenant General Morrison said he believed he was very measured and straightforward.
"I think I was quite contained. Look, I mean it. If people can't live to the standards of the army and the ADF, if they don't want to do that, then they should get out".
Lieutenant General David Morrison is in his fourth decade with the army and his third year as chief.
But recent allegations that ADF personnel had filmed themselves having sex with women, including colleagues and then shared the images via defence's email system, led him to his darkest hour in the force.
Ten soldiers have so far been suspended and another 90, mostly serving army members, are still being investigated.
"And, it was the most distressing day of my army career," Lieutenant General Morrison told the Observer Effect.
"Because they told me things....all three women had different stories to tell. And I don't want to go into the specifics of their issues."
"It was a bit like a Saul on the road to Damascus revelation," Lieutenant General Morrison said.
And he has promised to follow those strong words with actions.
"I've got lots of faults, but ambiguity is not one of the them. And that has it's own cross to bear at times. I can be too direct."
In his interview with the Observer Effect, Lieutenant General Morrison also explains why he believes the idealised image of the bronzed Aussie is a double"‘edged sword.
"If you have a perception of the Australian soldier as some sort of Mel Gibson clone from Gallipoli, straight off the farm, able to deal it up to "‘ to the biggest and the worst, who fights best with a hangover and never salutes officers, particularly the Poms, then it's a really distorted view," he said.
"This view of the ANZAC soldier as someone who does it naturally and doesn't have to work hard at it isn't fair to them, you know, because they did. They "‘ in some cases they died doing it. In many cases they died doing it. Same with those that fought in the Second World War and in Korea and Vietnam."
WATCH the full interview with Lieutenant General David Morrison below.
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