UK military sexual scandal: Paratroopers banned from NATO deployment

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
18 Jun 2022 15:19
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Paratroopers caught in a sex tape having a consensual sexual scandal with a civilian woman have been banned from deployment and put under police investigation.

Eight paratroopers from 16 Air Assault Brigade have been placed under police investigation

Paratroopers were banned, in the hundreds, from the annual NATO deployment to the Balkans following videos showing an orgy within the military barracks. The possibility of replacing the battalion with another for the drill is being examined, according to reports.

The new head of the army, General Patrick Sanders, wrote a letter to the general and commanding officers stating that he is not willing to “risk the mission or the reputation of the British army” by sending them overseas.

Eight paratroopers from the 16 Air Assault Brigade have been placed under police investigation after a film emerged with them having a consensual orgy with a civilian woman at the Merville barracks in Colchester, Essex. Dozens of other paratroopers watched.

Sanders believed that the act itself contradicts military values and morals as it could have been construed to “denigrate women”.

This is not the first incident of its kind. The report stated that the civilian is believed to have been smuggled into the barracks as many as 31 times within a time period of five months. There are also a series of incidents that had taken place in Macedonia in May during an exercise where three paratroopers were accused of “unprofessional behavior” during the exercise; soldiers from other battalions were also involved.

“My message to the army is clear – our license to operate is founded on trust and confidence and we must hold ourselves to the highest standards,” Sanders wrote. He added that “such behavior is unacceptable, corrosive and detrimental to the army’s reputation”.

The yearly deployment to the Balkans is for a 10-day drill with NATO partners, but troops usually stay for longer. More than 400 paratroopers will deploy to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, but they will be denied the medal and bonus compensation that they are accustomed to receiving for overseas deployment.

Instead of deployment, they have been asked to use the month to “reflect on where they have fallen short of what we all expect of our army.” Personnel that has been directly involved in the sex tape will be further removed from the upcoming Air Manoeuvre Battlegroup which is typically held for readiness to deploy in response to global crises.