Of Bagpipes, Drums and Such Loud Things

[ORAC]

So, when are ground and aircrew going to be limited to the same amount of time near jet engines? Or is it the sound rather than the volume.....

The Times - Army's bagpipers and drummers must play safe and use earplugs

Army bagpipers are to wear earplugs because of fears that the military might be sued by soldiers who claim that their hearing has been damaged by excessive noise. Pipers are also to be banned from practising for more than 24 minutes a day outside, and 15 minutes indoors.

The pipes are famous for terrifying the enemy, but new army guidelines, based on a study carried out by the Army Medical Directorate Environmental Health Team, say that pipers should wear earplugs to protect themselves from hearing loss. The guidelines also apply to drummers.

Piping experts and military veterans have criticised the rules as typical of the health and safety culture of today’s “cotton wool Army”. However, a spokeswoman for the Army in Scotland said the new rules showed that it was serious about protecting soldiers..........

[tucumseh]

I think the Army Medical Directorate Environmental Health Team would do well to concentrate on the hostile environment their colleagues are currently operating in, think of the effect poor/insufficient equipment is having on their health and recommend spending scarce resources on fixing that; not wasting time on such nonsense. Unless, of course, said pipers and drummers are sitting next to a huge PA stack eight hours a day, blasting out the amplified results of their efforts.

Or why not go the whole hog? Having decimated the concept of a Highland Division, why not issue them with Lowland pipes or Northumbrian ones…. Or Uilleann. Or penny whistles. Oops, that wouldn’t go down well in parts of NI.