Case Notes:

Ralph Cerminara is described in some circles as ‘the self-described leader of the Australian Defence League or (ADL)’, others just call him a far right wing nutcase. We will leave that up to the reader to decide.



We know Ralph Cerminara to be a liar and ‘wannabe’. He is just another one of the new generation of fools who think they can claim operational service in Afghanistan and get away with it. This new generation 'wannabe' ingratiate themselves in various organisations by telling stories from ‘the sandpit’ or how they ‘buried a couple of mates over there’ so that anyone suspecting a lie is held to ridicule and abused by the wannabe or their associates.



This is the Ralph Cerminara story in a nutshell and a simple google search will help the reader understand what sort of person he really is. An active member of the Australian Defence League, Cerminara has a number of opinions which are quite disturbing. He has also appeared in the media as some sort of advocate for Defence Force Personnel.

Cerminara did serve in the Australian Army, but not with distinction. He enlisted on the 27th August 2002 and was discharged on the grounds, ‘Retention Not in the Service Interest’ in September 2004. He was discharged with the rank of Gunner, equivalent to a Private Soldier.



Since his unceremonious discharge from the Army, Ralph Cerminara, also known as Ralph Ski on Twitter has made quite a name for himself as the champion of the ADL. Look out if anyone dares to be critical of him or his policies, why? Because he is a ‘Veteran who buried his best mates’ as tweeted below:

Ralph Cerminara does not only tell his lies on social media, he is more than happy to do it face to face. In June 2013 he gave a speech to the Humanist Society of NSW entitled ‘A gunner in Afghanistan’ where Mr Cerminara, it was reported, served with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in Afghanistan in 2006. His speech, which purported him ‘Telling the truth in a world where the truth is the enemy’ was certainly profound, because the truth is definitely Ralph’s enemy. We know that he was discharged in 2004 and he did not serve in Afghanistan or any other overseas area during his two years of less than spectacular service.

When not mouthing far right politics, Ralph Cerminara has set himself up as some sort of self-appointed advocate for oppressed Defence Force personnel. Now that we know the truth about his reason for discharge from the Army, it might explain why he chose to embellish the truth when speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald in March 2013.



Ralph Cerminara is nothing more than a loud mouthed bully wannabe who couldn’t make it in the Army. He has found his way to the far right wing Australian Defence League and by spreading the lie that he saw service in Afghanistan, tries to use that false experience to support his distorted political views. He has no right to be called a Veteran and by making these false claims, he has committed offences against the Commonwealth:



DEFENCE ACT 1903 - SECT 80A - Falsely representing to be returned soldier, sailor or airman

(1) A person is guilty of an offence if:

(a) the person represents himself or herself to be a returned soldier, sailor or airman; and

(b) the representation is false.



Penalty: 30 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months, or both.



(2) For the purposes of this section:

(a) returned soldier means a person who has served abroad during any war as a member of any Military Force raised in Australia or in any other part of the British Empire, or as a member of the Military Forces of any Ally of Great Britain.



If the Australian Defence League has any morals, they will distance themselves completely from Ralph Cerminara. He has proven himself to be a liar and a valour thief. He has displayed so little integrity, that it is no surprise that his services with the Australian Army were terminated as "not being in the interests of the Service."



Ralph Cerminara should immediately take to social media, and his various websites and apologise to all members of the Australian Defence Force for his lies. He is an imposter.



We doubt that he will apologise. We will eagerly wait and see if the Federal Police take an interest in his false claims of operational overseas war service and take action against him.

CERMINARA UPDATE – 08th MAY 2014



Like the proverbial bad penny, Ralph Cerminara just keeps turning up. After our recent exposure of this wannabe you would think he would take a lower profile, particularly in and around the ex-service community. But no, after posting a call to arms on Facebook, Ralph made his way to Sydney’s ANZAC Dawn Service, resplendent in his ADL Tee Shirt and carefully avoiding the Artillery community who would no doubt love to catch up with him.

While at the Dawn Service, he managed to latch onto a poor unsuspecting sailor for this photo opportunity. We have disguised the identity of the unsuspecting sailor, who we know to have absolutely no association with Cerminara or his distorted political views. Trying desperately to convince the world that members of the Australian Defence Force are ready to answer his ‘call to arms’. Ralph posted the photo on the Facebook page of the Australian Defence League (ADL). Not surprisingly after our exposure, linking Ralph with the Defence Force is something the ADL is keen to distance itself from so the image was quickly removed.

This is an example of the lengths Ralph Cerminara will go to advance his aims and a timely warning for any member of the Defence Forces in uniform who maybe approached by him to avoid any photo opportunity.



Following the initial exposure, Ralph was quick to lodge a complaint with Facebook alleging that we were harassing him and demanded that his image be removed. He accused us of cyber-bullying which is quiet amusing when we read what he and his mates have been up to in recent months.



Since our first report, we have been contacted by a number of people who have had dealings with Ralph Cerminara and the information they have provided has been both illuminating and very disturbing.



Cerminara came to our notice for falsely claiming service in Afghanistan but it seems that was not his only claim to overseas service.

No Ralph, you did not go to Timor with 3RAR. Remember, you were a Gunner in Artillery, not a Rifleman in Infantry.



Cerminara enlisted on the 27th August 2002 and was terminated on 18th September 2004.



We have been contacted by a number of people who served with Ralph Cerminara during his short time in the Army and the stories they tell of his actions, conduct and behaviour are most disturbing. Regrettably, and out of profound respect for those involved we will not divulge what we have been told, suffice to say that those who know his story and suffered because of his actions can rest a little easier knowing that he has been exposed as a fake and a contemptible wannabe.



Hang your head in shame Ralph Cerminara, and never again attempt to use sacred days such as ANZAC Day to advance your own agenda. Your actions are offensive and strike at the heart of the values held dear by current and former members of the Australian Defence Force from all walks of life and who have proudly pulled on the uniform of our Country.