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| Europe |
| Bundeswehr Officials in Court Over Brutal Hazing of Recruits |
| 2007-03-20 |
| Eighteen training officials from the German military are in court Monday charged with the abuse of recruits. They could each face jail sentences of up to 10 years if found guilty of mistreating over 80 soldiers in 2004. "What happened was that a night operation was set up," Wolfgang Schweer, the senior prosecutor for the court case, explained. "The drill sergeants of the company ambushed, overwhelmed and chained up the cadets -- and took them into the barracks. There, some of the manacled soldiers were made to kneel down. Then, boot bags were put on their heads, so that they couldn't see a thing. Apparently they were also sprayed with water, and as I understand it, a field radio was used to subject one soldier to electric shocks." According to the prosecutor's office, other soldiers had to carry tree trunks, or walk after their feet had been rubbed raw, until they could take no more. That's it. The Bundeswehr prides itself as an army based on democratic principles. What this means in practice is that military orders are not to be obeyed without question. Unlike in other armies, German soldiers should not carry out an order from a senior officer if it represents a violation of human rights. And one day, every German soldier will carry a 3 kg copy of the EU constitution into battle. "Just a second there, Herr Obergefreiter ... [flip flip flip] "We need to make all soldiers -- at every level -- strong enough, so that they are prepared to resist when their dignity or rights are attacked without good reason," said Rolf Pappen from the internal affairs office of the Bundeswehr. "I expect that from any German citizen. But I expect that most of all from our citizens in uniform -- who are meant to put their own lives on the line when necessary, so as to protect the fundamental rights of other people." The 18 training officers now facing charges have all been suspended from service. But it is far from certain that the trial will lead to convictions, even though the prosecutor's office is threatening the men with up to 10 years behind bars. The men have already been tried in a local court, and two details led to that trial's collapse: the accused claimed that their cadets could have stopped the exercise at any time by saying a particular code word, and apparently most of the cadets described the experience as the "high-point of their training." But the officers now have to defend themselves for a further 45 days in court. It reads like the training cadres are doing the best they can under the circumstances; but it's still too much for the politicians. |
| Posted by:mrp |
| #5 After a couple hundred years of militarism and two world wars last century, I for one have no problem with their army now as wussies. Now if we can do the same for the "Lions of Islam"[tm], this world will be a nicer happier place. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-03-20 14:01 |
| #4 sorry, bad formatting on that last comment. |
| Posted by: occasional observer 2007-03-20 12:30 |
| #3 German soldiers are unionizedB>. They have the right to go home for the weekend during their year on duty, in most cases. And yeah, the Poles are tough SOBs. |
| Posted by: occasional observer 2007-03-20 12:29 |
| #2 Been hearing reports of the German troops in Afghanistan: "quality of their soldiers is shit" according to friends. Germany now has its teeth completely pulled. Compare that to the Poles. Toughest sumbitches you ever met. If they wanted payback, they could probably roll Germany in a couple of days anymore with the Bundswehr being officered and run by bureacrats and manned by wimps. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2007-03-20 11:35 |
| #1 I think the US Army does that...they call it "training". But I suppose the Bundeswehr isn't a real army, just some sort of civil service brigade, sort of like the post office. |
| Posted by: gromky 2007-03-20 11:16 |