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View Full Version : L'armée de l'Air - Hazing Incident, Corsica 2019


TheWestCoast
8th May 2021, 02:33
Not seeing much about this in English language press yet:

https://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/armees-un-jeune-pilote-bizute-sur-le-champ-de-tir-des-avions-de-chasse-20210507

The first few paragraphs badly translated by Google:

Armies: a young pilot hazed on the firing range of fighter planes Hooded and tied to a target, the soldier suffered for long minutes the shots of Mirage made near him.

Traumatized by this episode which occurred two years ago in Corsica, he ended up filing a complaint against the authors of the hazing who filmed everything.

By Nicolas Barotte

Posted yesterday at 12:33, Updated yesterday at 14:52

The story is frightening with irresponsibility. It is told by La Provence two years after the events which occurred on the air base 126 of Solenzara in Corsica. That day a young pilot, who had just been assigned there, suffered his "hazing". With a balaclava on his head, he is tied to a target at the Mirage “Diane” training range: a large red cross attached to a pole several meters high.

For several minutes, the planes follow one another and fire live ammunition at another target more than 500 meters away. He only hears the crash of explosions. Other fictitious shots are fired in its direction, tells the regional daily. The pilot will come out of this episode traumatized, he said, the culmination of a series of bullying. The hazing perpetrators filmed everything.

ORAC
8th May 2021, 07:51
English report if the story here in the Grauniad...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/08/french-military-pilot-tied-up-on-firing-range-during-bombing-as-prank

French military pilot tied up on firing range during bombing as hazing prank

thunderbird7
8th May 2021, 16:56
Wooses. Whats wrong with sitting through a few vollies of SNEB rockets and 500lb bombs? The youth of today.....

Tartiflette Fan
9th May 2021, 15:53
This report contains a couple of photos taken by the "captors". The bombing/shooting he heard was at another target 500 m away.

https://www.corsenetinfos.corsica/Solenzara-un-pilote-de-chasse-brise-l-omerta-d-un-bizutage-violent_a57453.html

Timelord
9th May 2021, 18:43
From my experience the safest place to be for miles around was on the target!

ScouseFlyer
9th May 2021, 19:50
Looking at the photographs what rank is the guy who is tied up? Doesn’t look like any junior officer rank I’m aware of.
SF

Less Hair
9th May 2021, 20:18
It's not okay to do something like this. Yesterday's team building. Brutal and stupid.
First they select highly motivated bright young minds as pilots and then they get terrorized like this by each other? There must be modern more constructive ways to form a team and such.

Out Of Trim
9th May 2021, 20:47
Hmm, not okay at all. It looks like a strafe target. How did anybody know if the aircraft were actually lined up on the correct target 500 m away. I'm sure nobody would like to take his place!

Poor sod… 😳

Two's in
9th May 2021, 21:36
Apart from the asinine and probably criminal behavior behind this, it also speaks volumes for range control and safety - or lack of it. Not exactly a high point for the service.

BA Bluntie
10th May 2021, 03:39
The rank badges are those of a caporal-chef or OR-4.

tartare
10th May 2021, 10:08
Not knowing anything about how such rounds would behave after hitting a target, would there have been a danger from shrapnel or ricochets 500m away?
That's a 30mm DEFA cannon on the Mirage 2000, right?

Tartiflette Fan
10th May 2021, 10:57
I forgot to add from the article I quoted, that the "captors" also fired blank rounds ( unsure what type ) near the captive to heighten the panic.

It says that he is a young fighter-pilot. Could he be as lowly rated as a caporal- chef ? Lastly, why is the target only scratched and dented ? I would have thought that any airborne weaponry would always be of a size to blow it into little bits.

Slow Biker
11th May 2021, 20:55
I know what it's like to be on the wrong end of a strafing.
The strafe target on Song Song range off the coast of Malaysia comprised two large hessian sheets strung between palm trunks embedded in the sand,
I was changing one target when suddenly I was showered with sand by the impact of rounds from two 30mm Adens of an Aussie Sabre on the other target. Not much fun, I can tell you. It appeared the ac was supposed to do a dry run but the message was either misunderstood or ignored. Needless to say the ac was cleared off the range and as far as I know there was no further action. Thereafter, whenever the target needed changing I had a meaningful discussion with the RSO.