Bullying in the army. Not

[Ward-Minter]

Am I alone in thinking there is nothing wrong with the recent footage. I can tell you stories that will make it look like childs play.

Any ex servicemen out there who agree. Methinks it's just the politically correct morons harping on again!!

[B00]

I think your lack of shock over the guy being kicked in the face is almost as horrific as the video itself WM.

[Ward-Minter]

Boo, sadly I have seen things not even Wes Craven could write. But please note the film ends when he is "knocked out". Coming from a strict military background I hold my hands up, I did worse and saw worse than this. There were no complaints, there were no injuries. I have seen worse on a rugby field.

For Christs sake they are Marines!!!!!!!!!

I think trainee cooks get a worse grilling!!!!!I

[B00]

I'm sorry WM but I will never think that someone being kicked in the face is justified whatever their trade!

The guy who kicked him is supposed to be his superior, as far as I can see, that is gross negligence of the trust his men are supposed to have in him.

As for the things you've seen, that probably explains why it does not shock you, that does not however, make it acceptable.

[jacko50]

I was in the Army for 22 years ward-minter, not the marines(I thought they were navy?) . I joined in 1969 ,I admit it was a bit rough but nothing like this.I was in the Royal corps of transport so our need to be trained up to killing machine standard was not really required ,as long as we could carry out the tasks we were given everything was fine ,of course you would probably call us jumped up truck drivers .I do not recall seeing any int corps people doing any fighting anywhere ,do you?

I can only think that the nudity was to add to the discomfort of the situation ,I know that marines are made to jump into ice holes in norway so i assume it is part of the cold weather training.With the padding on the fighting looked to me to be ok ,it looked like the milling that the para's do but eveything after that was just barbaric .the pillock in the hospital scrubs should be court martialed as far as i am concerned he is just a bully high on power. I assume he was giving a signal to the others that if they did not fight better than the poor bloke who got kicked then they would get the same treatment .I for one do not think this is a good thing for the armed forces and if as you say, you were an officer i think you should be ashamed of yourself if you think there is nothing wrong with this type of behaviour

[Ward-Minter]

You are right The royal Marines are technically the Royal Navy, but their infantry. I would argue they are more soldier than matelot and the Units I have worked with would say the same.

To keep it short jacko lad, yes I did see battle. Quite a lot, both Queen and United Nations. Blood, tears the works.

Perhaps I was the last of the old school.

[jacko50]

Wm ,I myself saw blood and tears every wekend in the Naafi,Aldershot ,cyprus,londonderry ,belfast twice, mulheim,dusseldorf ,munster,bulford,tidworth, I could go on ,I meant real battle ,face to face ,gut wrenching pants sh!ting battle not asking someone some questions about what and what they don't know.I am not saying i saw real battle i suspect only a very small % of the forces do ,i did see things that were sickening but i do not think that it made me or my comrades better soldiers. I still feel that i could have killed someone if the need had arisen but i did not need my head kicking in as a training aid to remind me to do so.

[joko]

i agree with oneeyedvic and waldo - its clear from WM's comments that anyone who joins the armed forces is nothing but a lunkhead thug. the men on that video - the spectators - were nothing more than jeering yobs with more testosterone than brains.

they should be ashamed of themselves

[surfer mike]

'Anyone who joins the armed forces are lunkhead thugs'

Absurd nonsense..

I agree about the video though, not a good spectacle it lets down the 90 plus per cent of decent armed servicemen...

[flashpig]

Yeah, he should have beat him up some more. Given him another kick in the head, or got 3 or 4 of the other gays to give him a kicking.

Personally I agree with Ward-Minter, that NCO was a bit of a girl and should not have held back.

These naked queers are defending our country, we shouldn't criticize them from having a bit of hanky panky when they are relaxing.

[johnlambert]

Ward-Minter, I cannot belive you were an officer in the same Army I was proud to serve in for over 20 years.

I was in the Infantry for 10 years I left after the 1st gulf war coz I didnt like killing people, (especialy 14 year old Iraqi kids)

I rejoined 18 month later coz I missed the life but I re enlisted in the RAMC (Royal Army Medical Corps) in order to help people.

I left recently as a Sgt (Sergeant)

In both the Royal Scots + in the RAMC I took part in "milling", its character building and gets you used to getting stuck in to the enemy.

However...... bullying and bullies shoukld be stamped on. I know several soldiers who have been kicked out for that reason and GOOD RIDDANCE to them

[joko]

fair enough surfer mike - perhaps i shouldn't say ALL, though i'd say it was more like half, than a minority.

the percentage of people i know, or know of, who have gone in the army - or who want to - are usually in the yob bracket - before or after their service

i cannot think of a single soldier i have ever met who has not either been a thug or a leering sex pest (not an accusation of a crime, but their behaviour in clubs and pubs when they are 'on the pull')

I am sure their are many respectable and good soldiers and i salute those ones.. sir, yes sir!

[Ward-Minter]

John may i say, and without being patronising in anyway, perhaps I will reconsider that my opinion is not in favour with the modern army. As you aware of the structure, an an officer I rarely mixed with the non-commissioned ranks in social time. I believe the Royal Marines are unique insofaras all ranks mix,work, live and train together. Correct me if I am wrong.

Mr Lambert I agree with you that bullies should be stamped on. Not necessarily kicked out of the job per ce. However, this 20 seconds of footage is not bullying.

Are you telling me that in twenty years of Army life you never saw somebody knocked out. Whether in town, the barracks, training whatever?

A man gets a "shin" in his face, not a kick. When he is sparked out, more likely due to drink than the actual force of the blow, the fighting stops. How many thugs on the streets stop fighting when the man is knocked over? Therefore I would consider this gentlemanly conduct. It shows no evidence of systematic bullying whatsoever (legal head on again!)

The footage shows a group of twenty or so 13-15 stone hard men recruited as Royal Marines, none of whom have made a complaint. They can walk away anytime they want to.

All I will say is the worse injury I have ever received outside battle was a head stamping and a scrapping down my back in a rugby game. This was legal and who complained? And yes I suppose I am a hard man but nowhere near as tough as a commando like these guys.

[funnywebsite]

What about Deepcut Barracks, was that politically correct morons harping on again?

[Ward-Minter]

funnywebsite 2 points to make.

1) I am talking about this incident, on its merits only.

2) Deepcut is for Royal Logistics. As much as I respect the vital role they play for all regiments they are certainly not commandos. Simple as that.

[johnlambert]

All good and valid points and I agree with them W-M, and I also agree that the footage is NOT bullying at all, we've all done our fair share of "milling" (although we Infantry bods were in PT kit at the time), as I said it is building character, allows one to let off steam, and in a strange way is an excellent bonding exercise.

We can all agree that anyone who has not had the honour to serve ones country can never ever understand the way squaddies think or act, to those people I would say let the MOD/Marines deal with it in their own way.