Brisbane's Labor candidate will remove billboards depicting him in his army uniform following a directive from the Australian Defence Force to cease and desist.

But the candidate, Pat O'Neill, a former army major, said the rules surrounding the use of such images needed to be reviewed and he had a lot of sympathy for West Australian Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, who was sacked from the Standby Reserve for failing to comply with a similar request.

Labor candidate Pat O'Neill's billboard, on St Paul's Terrace, will be removed along by Saturday night. Credit:Bradley Kanaris

"I served with Andrew in Darwin and we've known each other for about a decade and even though our politics haven't always been the same, I've always got on well with Andrew and I've got a lot of time and respect for him," Mr O'Neill told Fairfax Media.

"I think it's sad to see someone who's dedicated the bulk of their working life to service in the army going through what he's gone through.