Australian troops in anti-Muslim Facebook scandal

A TOTAL of 15 soldiers have been rapped over the knuckles for using Facebook to vent their hatred of Muslims following the violent Sydney riots.

Another soldier is facing further disciplinary action over online comments that included, ''Give me a M4 and send me to Sydney and I'll do the dishes.''

And, ''Mate, what I would given to drop the legs on a MAG 58 (machine gun), slap on a 500 round belt, adopt a stable firing position in the middle of the street and lay waste to every single one of those cancerous f---s.''

''Cronulla round two,'' another soldier wrote.

The comments came just days after Muslims rioted in Sydney to protest against a US-made film that denigrated the prophet Mohammed.

Army chief Lieutenant General David Morrison vowed to take strong action against the offenders from the Townsville based 3rd Brigade.

''If it is found that there have been a soldier or soldiers involved, then I will take action as I can within the laws of the land and those that guide us in the Defence Force,'' he said.

However only two of the soldiers received a formal reprimand under the Defence Force Discipline Act, 13 others were ''counselled'' and the final one is yet to face the music.

''Targeting of any person on the basis of their gender, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation is repugnant and contrary to Defence's values as well as those held by the wider community,'' Defence said.

''The overwhelming majority of Defence personnel are professional and hard-working people who act in accordance with the values and standards.''