Ouch.... seems a Harsh sentence
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Hanging off the end of a thread
Posts: 32,915
Received 2,839 Likes
on
1,212 Posts
Ouch.... seems a Harsh sentence
Soldiers jailed after sit-down protest during parade
Soldiers jailed after sit-down protest during parade
A group of soldiers has been imprisoned for staging a mutiny on parade in front of 1,000 people.
Sixteen servicemen from the Yorkshire Regiment 1st Batallion complained that they were “led by muppets” and sat down when ordered to stand to attention while on tour in Kenya.
The soldiers pleaded guilty of disobeying a lawful command, which carries a maximum ten-year sentence.
The ‘ringleader’, Cpl Anthony Brown, was dismissed from the Army and ordered to serve 60 days in military detention as a judge said he had “abused” his power.
Lance Cpls Miles Smith and Steven Tidesley also got 60 days at Bulford military court in Wiltshire, while the remaining 13 privates were given 40 days.
At the time of the protest, the soldiers were in 1st Battallion. However, following army restructuring the 1st has now become the 2nd.
Sixteen servicemen from the Yorkshire Regiment 1st Batallion complained that they were “led by muppets” and sat down when ordered to stand to attention while on tour in Kenya.
The soldiers pleaded guilty of disobeying a lawful command, which carries a maximum ten-year sentence.
The ‘ringleader’, Cpl Anthony Brown, was dismissed from the Army and ordered to serve 60 days in military detention as a judge said he had “abused” his power.
Lance Cpls Miles Smith and Steven Tidesley also got 60 days at Bulford military court in Wiltshire, while the remaining 13 privates were given 40 days.
At the time of the protest, the soldiers were in 1st Battallion. However, following army restructuring the 1st has now become the 2nd.
Soldiers jailed after sit-down protest during parade
He said problems surfaced when their commanders got drunk before a 16-mile training march in freezing conditions in the Brecon Beacons, mid-Wales, last winter.
The troops were furious at finding the pair – named as Captain Stanton and second-in-command Sergeant Scott Dyson - sleeping off their hangovers at the finish line instead of greet their returning soldiers.
Members of the 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment pictured in Southern Iraq in 2007
The troops were furious at finding the pair – named as Captain Stanton and second-in-command Sergeant Scott Dyson - sleeping off their hangovers at the finish line instead of greet their returning soldiers.
Members of the 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment pictured in Southern Iraq in 2007
Tensions boiled over at the end of the Askari Thunder training exercise on the plains of Kenya on February 12, the court heard.
Shortly before a parade at the main British base, the 16 soldiers decided to protest against the 'grievances' they felt.
As they went through their drills, a ringleader shouted 'sit down' and the dissenters dropped to ground. Commanders ordered each man in turn to stand up but were ignored.
Col Whitwham said: 'There was a feeling they were not being appreciated, that they were not being well managed.
Shortly before a parade at the main British base, the 16 soldiers decided to protest against the 'grievances' they felt.
As they went through their drills, a ringleader shouted 'sit down' and the dissenters dropped to ground. Commanders ordered each man in turn to stand up but were ignored.
Col Whitwham said: 'There was a feeling they were not being appreciated, that they were not being well managed.
Read more: Soldiers stage mutiny | Mail Online
Last edited by NutLoose; 10th Dec 2013 at 15:32.
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Australia - South of where I'd like to be !
Age: 59
Posts: 4,261
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
dowbsizer
When I read it yesterday, I didn't think it was harsh.
They not only disobeyed a lawful order but did it in the most public way.
I would have thought other ways existed to redress the soldiers beefs ?
When I read it yesterday, I didn't think it was harsh.
They not only disobeyed a lawful order but did it in the most public way.
I would have thought other ways existed to redress the soldiers beefs ?
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: South of Old Warden
Age: 87
Posts: 1,375
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Ooops! That's a career or two with a question mark hanging over them.
Probably didn't get the answer they wanted. Whatever, the SNCO's should have been a bit more in touch with the current mood.
I would have thought other ways existed to redress the soldiers beefs ?
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: The High Seas
Posts: 35
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Not harsh at all. They disobeyed a lawful command and in fact did so in collusion with each other and seemingly led by an NCO who should have been taking lawful steps to address the issues through the chain of command.
The whole sorry event must bring into question the quality of leadership within that platoon.
The whole sorry event must bring into question the quality of leadership within that platoon.
Whilst I suspect there is more to this than is being openly reported I wonder how this would have been dealt with in 'the good old days' that people keep talking about on Prune? My guess is there wouldn't have been any charges raised, thus no opportunity to take it to CM, but more a bit of 'good old fashioned attitude re-adjustments' at the hands of the discip staffs.
Originally Posted by Wrath
My guess is there wouldn't have been any charges raised, thus no opportunity to take it to CM
If every person who has every been "led by muppets" was to protest then one wonders whether anybody would ever do anything.
In this case it would suggest they were being "managed" though even that is a stretch rather than being "led".
One hopes that the so called "Muppets" have been dealt with via ways not required to be made public.
In this case it would suggest they were being "managed" though even that is a stretch rather than being "led".
One hopes that the so called "Muppets" have been dealt with via ways not required to be made public.
The whole sorry event must bring into question the quality of leadership within that platoon.
The soldiers pleaded guilty of disobeying a lawful command, which carries a maximum ten-year sentence.
Ten Years.....pretty much what Murder gets you in the Marines!
Commanders ordered each man in turn to stand up but were ignored.
Irrespective of what led to the sad situation described, I can't help feeling that there's something very wrong about exacerbating it in this way. It always used to be drummed into naval officers that any order which appeared to have been ignored or disobeyed should not be repeated in order to avoid aggravating the situation, which is exactly what appears to have happened here.
That said, and curiously enough, I cannot remember ever having to give what I would describe as a direct order, other of course than a helm or engine order .....
Jack
Irrespective of what led to the sad situation described, I can't help feeling that there's something very wrong about exacerbating it in this way. It always used to be drummed into naval officers that any order which appeared to have been ignored or disobeyed should not be repeated in order to avoid aggravating the situation, which is exactly what appears to have happened here.
That said, and curiously enough, I cannot remember ever having to give what I would describe as a direct order, other of course than a helm or engine order .....
Jack
The sentence seemed inevitable, imagine if they had pooh-poohed it:
You know, if there's one thing I've learnt from being in the Army, it's never ignore a pooh-pooh. I knew a Major, who got pooh-poohed, made the mistake of ignoring the pooh-pooh. He pooh-poohed it! Fatal error! 'Cos it turned out all along that the soldier who pooh-poohed him had been pooh-poohing a lot of other officers who pooh-poohed their pooh-poohs. In the end, we had to disband the regiment. Morale totally destroyed... by pooh-pooh!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Hanging off the end of a thread
Posts: 32,915
Received 2,839 Likes
on
1,212 Posts
Maybe they mistook the command and thought he said Parade Detention, not Attention...
I bet it was a sight to see, suprised as said they never simply moved everyone fwd and carried on without them, still think 30 days and out would have been fairer.
They were rather foolish full stop, thinking about it they could have simply screwed the parade up without dropping themselves in it, a miss understood command and marching on as the others turn etc or ticktocking etc would soon. Indeed there was always a way to make those that you feely wronged by look a Cnut.
I knew someone on my old Squadron charged for something petty, he was awarded a derisory punishment and sniggered at it, he was marched out, charged and marched back in for sniggering, he simply said he tried to contain a Sneeze in his defence, at the will you accept my punishment he elected for court martial..... Charge dropped.
I bet it was a sight to see, suprised as said they never simply moved everyone fwd and carried on without them, still think 30 days and out would have been fairer.
They were rather foolish full stop, thinking about it they could have simply screwed the parade up without dropping themselves in it, a miss understood command and marching on as the others turn etc or ticktocking etc would soon. Indeed there was always a way to make those that you feely wronged by look a Cnut.
I knew someone on my old Squadron charged for something petty, he was awarded a derisory punishment and sniggered at it, he was marched out, charged and marched back in for sniggering, he simply said he tried to contain a Sneeze in his defence, at the will you accept my punishment he elected for court martial..... Charge dropped.
Simply a Command Dissension event.
Sounds like the result of Combat Soldiers being confronted with Peace Time Army Garrison Life.
There is scant time for Chicken **** in combat.....but in Garrison....it comes by the Truck Load.
Sounds like the result of Combat Soldiers being confronted with Peace Time Army Garrison Life.
There is scant time for Chicken **** in combat.....but in Garrison....it comes by the Truck Load.
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: raf
Posts: 610
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ouch.... Seems a bit harsh.
I recently found out, it's how the phrase "decimate" originated.
Decimation (Roman army) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Hanging off the end of a thread
Posts: 32,915
Received 2,839 Likes
on
1,212 Posts
Well as a Yorkshire battalion I'm surprised they never got an Ecky Thump.
It Won't exactly have done the two sleeping beauties careers a whole lot of good either.
Decimate top one in ten wasn't it?
It Won't exactly have done the two sleeping beauties careers a whole lot of good either.
Decimate top one in ten wasn't it?
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: South of Old Warden
Age: 87
Posts: 1,375
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
"decimate"
Harry Andrews, who played a magnificent role as RSM, to 'how was he going to decide who would be shot for mutiny?'
'Every tenth man' he bellowed at the mutineers. Absolute silence followed...mutiny over.
Suspicion breeds confidence
Sorry but totally unacceptable behaviour for professional soldiers. The system has evolved over hundreds of years to deal with such things. If you want to get slung out, lose pension etc, they did a pretty good job.
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: London, New York, Paris, Moscow.
Posts: 3,632
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts