Armed forces initiations

Seen a few people mention a gun barrel but the Guardian article on this refers to the foreign object as a mortar barrel and that the video was widely circulated. So that's revenge porn added to the list of offences.

All of these cunts should named and shamed and dishonorably discharged and then locked up for a long time.
 
paulchapo said:
Well said Jim, some of the so called jokes and making light of it was quite disturbing to say the least. It's that sort of mindset that means this shit carries on and on. Anyone who has done any sort of service will have witnessed or been subjected to some not pleasant stuff all dressed up as banter, part of being accepted, initiation ceremony, they can call it what they want. It is sadistic bullying and they know the victim of it daren't say anything as they will be ostracized or worse. I never saw anything this bad thankfully but a blind eye was turned to some stuff that crossed the line from a supposed bit of "fun."
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I agree
But every man & his dog knew what went on
Some in senior positions even condoned it .Every time something like this hits the fan, the same things are said , & then it happens again & again
 
cyberblue said:
I agree
But every man & his dog knew what went on
Some in senior positions even condoned it .Every time something like this hits the fan, the same things are said , & then it happens again & again
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Correct mate, personally I don't think it will ever end. Get a load of young bloke's together and they will often form a pack mentality.
 
paulchapo said:
Correct mate, personally I don't think it will ever end. Get a load of young bloke's together and they will often form a pack mentality.
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The thing is though, if people object or don't join in they fear they will be next.
If you complained to a senior officer your life would be made hell & you would be left isolated & probably get bullied more
 
cyberblue said:
The thing is though, if people object or don't join in they fear they will be next.
If you complained to a senior officer your life would be made hell & you would be left isolated & probably get bullied more
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Spot on and that's why it needs very strong training officers keeping an eye on things.
 
cyberblue said:
Remember years ago a Royal Marine had to do that after completing training & he died from alcohol poisoning
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The lad that drank that, fell straight over, puked it all back up otherwise he may not have been around today. That wasn't an initiation neither. Ours was quite tame at 7 Armoured Workshop bar.
 
In terms of military initiation the fact that 'everyone' goes through the same or similar helps to breed a sense a 'togetherness'. I'm pretty sure this is how it's been viewed and (unofficially) endorsed by commanders for many year, certainly among the elite elements of the Armed Services and to a lesser degree other units.

In reality, that sense of togetherness can be harboured in many ways which do not have to involve humiliation or violent/sexual assault. I just don't think the military have quite evolved fast enough, and senior leadership have taken their eye off the ball. Hopefully this incident is the catalyst for change.
 
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Trevor Morley's Tache said:
In terms of military initiation the fact that 'everyone' goes through the same or similar helps to breed a sense a 'togetherness'. I'm pretty sure this is how it's been viewed and (unofficially) endorsed by commanders for many year, certainly among the elite elements of the Armed Services and to a lesser degree other units.

In reality, that sense of togetherness can be harboured in many ways which do not have to involve humiliation or violent/sexual assault. I just don't think the military have quite evolved fast enough, and senior leadership have taken their eye off the ball. Hopefully this incident is the catalyst for change.
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I doubt if anything will change in the long term
There has been many such scandals which never hit the headlines
Once they do they wheel some Top Brass out who says blah blah blah
An NCO will probably get a bollocking
Then life goes on as "normal'
 
BlueTG said:
Not RAF or quite as related by my university’s football teams (men’s and women’s) managed to land themselves in deep shit (literally) when one of the initiations was to piss all over one of the women, and someone curled one out on her.

Fucking oddballs.
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I saw a bunch of Royal Marines in Singapore force one of their own to eat a shit butty, washed down with a pint of piss. I would have refused and taken a beating.
Apart from that l saw no serious bullying other than the big guy picking on a smaller one stuff you get everywhere even in Civvy Street.
No initiation ceremonies but unclean people got a 'Regimenal bath', chucked into a cold bath and scrubbed. Thankfully not common.
 
Mike Cledford said:
I saw a bunch of Royal Marines in Singapore force one of their own to eat a shit butty, washed down with a pint of piss. I would have refused and taken a beating.
Apart from that l saw no serious bullying other than the big guy picking on a smaller one stuff you get everywhere even in Civvy Street.
No initiation ceremonies but unclean people got a 'Regimenal bath', chucked into a cold bath and scrubbed. Thankfully not common.
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Seen someone getting" scrubbed" while in training at HMS Ganges
Turns my stomach thinking about it now
Who decides who gets "scrubbed" and who doesn't ?
Poor fu*ker must have been traumatised
 
cyberblue said:
Seen someone getting" scrubbed" while in training at HMS Ganges
Turns my stomach thinking about it now
Who decides who gets "scrubbed" and who doesn't ?
Poor fu*ker must have been traumatised
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Not sure probably some little weasel who winds up the mob. Putting boot polish and tooth paste all over some one and scrubbing in off with a bass broom was going to be very painful and take the skin off.
Basic training was a lot tougher in those days but l am grateful l never witness nasty bullying.
I bet they never had officers flashing their tits on your boats.
 
Mike Cledford said:
I saw a bunch of Royal Marines in Singapore force one of their own to eat a shit butty, washed down with a pint of piss. I would have refused and taken a beating.
Apart from that l saw no serious bullying other than the big guy picking on a smaller one stuff you get everywhere even in Civvy Street.
No initiation ceremonies but unclean people got a 'Regimenal bath', chucked into a cold bath and scrubbed. Thankfully not common.
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'Mingers'

I dont know about now.....but still reasonably common in the early 90's,unfortunately.
 
cyberblue said:
Seen someone getting" scrubbed" while in training at HMS Ganges
Turns my stomach thinking about it now
Who decides who gets "scrubbed" and who doesn't ?
Poor fu*ker must have been traumatised
Click to expand...
When I went on my trade training in the RAF the discip Sgt gave us a briefing on day one of the course.. He said if somebody on the course smells, tell them.... one guy was a biker and didn’t have the best personal hygiene so we all told him and taunted him about it... some 40 years later he’s still a biker but heads up a motorcycle lobbying think tank in Westminster... but bathes regularly I hope ;-)
 
Mike N said:
What an utterly depressing thread.
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Sadly it is yes. I think you can put all the disciplinary proceedings in place in the world, but if you put large groups of young men together in a macho environment bullying and odd rituals will take place. This will be going on elsewhere but kept quiet.

When I first went away to sea in 1974 the training wasn't too bad and there was over 500 16-18 year olds in dorms of 16, if the dorm was full. Some of the ships could be a nightmare. You could drink 24/7 back then, so long as you could do your job nobody batted an eyelid. There was quite a few fights and if you beat somebody in a fight you had to be wary of the midnight creeper. That was the person you beat sneaking into your cabin in the early hours and setting about you with a weapon. At that time lots of people went missing at sea. There used to be a monthly seaman's paper that came out and it always had a list of deaths in it. A fair few were classed as " Missing at sea, believed drowned or killed." This was someone who when the watchkeeper went to give them a shout in the morning wasn't the in their bunk and was never seen again. Sobering.
 
paulchapo said:
Well said Jim, some of the so called jokes and making light of it was quite disturbing to say the least. It's that sort of mindset that means this shit carries on and on. Anyone who has done any sort of service will have witnessed or been subjected to some not pleasant stuff all dressed up as banter, part of being accepted, initiation ceremony, they can call it what they want. It is sadistic bullying and they know the victim of it daren't say anything as they will be ostracized or worse. I never saw anything this bad thankfully but a blind eye was turned to some stuff that crossed the line from a supposed bit of "fun."
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'Banter' is arguably one of my most hated words. It usually means upsetting some poor **** but tough shit they'll have to deal with it.
 
FantasyIreland said:
'Mingers'

I dont know about now.....but still reasonably common in the early 90's,unfortunately.
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They were something else which l durst not mention as it will get taken the wrong way on here.
Each company had a duty Sgt and Cpl who slept in the company lines so any drama could be nipped in the bud. Usually.
We did have an episode where after the NAAFl closed a group went into the POL store to taste the wares. One pissed soldier pinched an APC and careered around for 30 mins or so causing damage to walls, squashing cars and knocking over every set of goalposts he could find.
Apart from that it was usually quiet and no known bullying;) of course Internet bullying is getting worse. There was an interesting piece on radio 4 about the increase in the pandemic.
It certainly shocked me.
 
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