A Defence Force member traumatised on top secret operations should not be kicked out of the force for indecently assaulting two women, his lawyer says.

Corporal Benjamin Stewart​, 40, now has post-traumatic stress disorder due to his service and treatment would likely have to come from mental health professionals with top secret clearance speaking to him in a secure environment, lawyer Michael Bott​ told a Court Martial Appeal Court hearing in Wellington on Monday.

Some details of the case were suppressed, including Stewart’s trade and unit. He stands to lose his career if his appeal against his sentence fails.

He pleaded guilty to three charges of indecent assault, relating to a bar worker and a comrade, and a charge of behaving in a disgraceful or indecent manner for a comment made to one of the victims on a night of drinking in September 2019.

A court-martial sentenced him to 182 days of detention on half of a private’s pay, at a military facility, followed by dismissal from the Defence Force.

Pending a decision on his sentence appeal, Stewart was on bail, doing administrative-type duties at Burnham Military Camp near Christchurch.

Bott told the appeal that the court-martial did not properly consider the link between Stewart’s post-traumatic stress disorder and his alcohol abuse.

Treatment was recommended after traumatic events during his service but those were not properly followed up. The Defence Force was on notice for six years that he needed treatment, Bott said.

In 2019, he had some sessions with an appropriately qualified person but then he was transferred to Burnham and the treatment stopped, Bott said.

Stewart fell off the wagon and behaved atrociously but powerful reasons lay behind that, Bott said.

He argued against Stewart being dismissed. Work gave him meaning, purpose and structure, and he could not get the help he needed outside the Defence Force because of the security concerns.

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Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Rowe​, for the Defence Force, said that if Stewart was dismissed he could still get treatment through Veterans’ Affairs but one of the three appeal judges, Judge David McGregor​, said he seriously questioned whether it would be at the same level as the Defence Force could provide.

Stewart’s ACC claim had been accepted and the issues around classified security information were not insurmountable, Rowe said.

It was not accepted there was a causal link between Stewart’s mental condition and the indecent assaults, he said.

His mental condition was mitigation for the offending but voluntarily drinking alcohol was not, Rowe said.

Stewart’s anti-depressant medication carried a warning that he was not to drink alcohol.

Defence had invested heavily in “Operation Respect”, trying to stamp out the kind of behaviour Stewart displayed. Those working with him would have to be consulted if he remained employed. It was difficult to manage even at the moment, Rowe said.

His retention would be intolerable, he said. Stewart would have to retrain and even then the Defence Force command would still have to decide if he could be trusted in an operational setting.

The court reserved its decision.