Squaddie 'died after beasting'

Squaddie 'died after beasting'

uk.news.yahoo.com

A junior soldier died of heatstroke after being subjected to an informal Army punishment known as "beasting", a jury has heard.
Private Gavin Williams, 22, collapsed as he was being walked from the guard room at his barracks to the medical centre at Lucknow Barracks in Tidworth, Wiltshire.

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Surley these guys are supposed to know when someones had enough

uk.news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I was based near Tidworth literally at the other end of the firing ranges in Bulford camp. We had a guy who ended up with serious head injuries and in a wheelchair through being beasted.

He fell from a ledge without any other kit on apart from combat trousers and jacket whilst being beasted. After years in the Military it was one of the worst accidents id seen after watching him collapse from exhaustion and fall 20ft head first onto the tarmac.

I have a brother and brother in law who are still in as a Sergeant and a Sergeant Major and i believed that Beasting was a thing of the past. Obviosly not!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry to say, but it sure does still go-on. Sometimes to the extreme.
Almost boardering on torture

Beasting ? does it go on ? every day every base every unit every regiment every corp.

Full time, TA, what ever, a beasting still is routine business.


Once you get beasted for a mistake or screw up, you'll never make that same mistake twice.

Sad this lad died, very sad, but a beasting has a time and place - but people should know when enough is enough.

Army and royal marine PTI's deliver the best, most prolonged agonies through a good beasting... and they know when enoughs a 'nough.

Maybe they should give classes..

RIP the fallen. sad it happend, really sad.

Well i believed that only because we used to get beasted to within an inch of our lives but near my departure from the forces they got less and less. Another thing i noticed was that we only ever got beasted when there were no officers around. I remember one lad cutting his head open after a serious beasting one day it was a deep gash to his temple. The NCOs who were beasting us instructed us that what had happened was an accident and that we must not say we were being beasted. They even got the poor lad with the gash to go along with their story at the Medical Centre

Oh i agree saint.

If it goes wrong, NCO's are in deep, deep smelly stuff.

beastings though are very common in 'close in and kill the enemy' units.

When i was working for a unit they had a senior WO2 who would tear strips off them - beasting ? it made grown men cry.

Funny thing was ? he never ever beasted new recruits. Nope, it was reserved for the lance jacks and two stripes who messed up... and if he caught you beasting new troops... Lord above help you.

So wont there be an investigation into this so called beasting? and could people be fired?

Originally posted by Dan Tanna
Oh i agree saint.

If it goes wrong, NCO's are in deep, deep smelly stuff.

beastings though are very common in 'close in and kill the enemy' units.

When i was working for a unit they had a senior WO2 who would tear strips off them - beasting ? it made grown men cry.

Funny thing was ? he never ever beasted new recruits. Nope, it was reserved for the lance jacks and two stripes who messed up... and if he caught you beasting new troops... Lord above help you.

I understand that, I spent 6 years with an Infantary Unit. We actually liked fitness when it was taken by our CSM as he would be fair providing you worked hard during the session. He was a man of 45-50 and it was a case of if he can do it then so should you. He absolutely hated beasting and i remember a few JNCOs getting their ear bent by him for beasting the riflemen

Rifleman is a very distinctive moniker ! I was attached to a infantry unit once and I called a rifleman 'private'.... lordy lordy... WO2 was on me faster than a whippet on a rabbit.

'private ? PRIVATE ? I see no blarry Privates out on my square you #### ### ## !'

It was Rifleman from then on in.

LOL some of the best senior NCO's I ever met were infanteers. as you say, 40, and fitter than the rest of us combined.

But it'll never beat the time I called colonel 'mate' at a tea stop - I said ' excuse me mate, mind if i borrow your spoon ?'...

If I am understanding the term correctly, this is done in the US military as well. The practice was central to the plot in the movie A Few Good Men back in 1992.

Originally posted by orby1976
Sorry to say, but it sure does still go-on. Sometimes to the extreme.
Almost boardering on torture

Yeah but surely they could have given him some water while he was doing the exercise. I play Australian rules in the tropics, we play in 36C degrees with high humidity (we play in the summer unlike the south) so I understand the importance of keeping your fluids up. Being part of the army these guys should have at least taken precautions

you would think they'd have given him water, or at least known when to stop

Why does this seem only to happen in close infantry corps?

Or is that an incorrect observation?

Royal marines, RAF Regiment, Infantry / mechanised infantry units... It happens all over.

remember the scandal with all those young squaddies killed at the training depot ? well... some say that started out as a beasting cover up..

It looks like he was "weeded" out...it has happened for many years, and only a very small percentage has had complications due to it. I feel bad for the boy, but I don't believe this coverage will do anything to stop it...not even temporarily.

Originally posted by orby1976
Sorry to say, but it sure does still go-on. Sometimes to the extreme.
Almost boardering on torture

I thought that the Russian Army was bad. I see that I was wrong.

I have read about this case in the national press. He seemed to be making a name for himself (AWOL, abused some guests at an Officers Mess Summer Ball...good lad for that one though!) The RP Sergeant had been instructed to teach him a lesson by the Commanding Officer. The term used "I want him brought to my office, panting like a dog!"

Personally, I was in the Signals. People in detention would be marched around camp for the visual deterent aspect, have Gym sessions and occasionally you would see them carrying an Artillery shell. Which they would also probably have to polish up.

Just because some lame personalities seem not to have used a bit of commonsense, does not mean it is not effective. The military, just because of the nature of the job - you need a bit of "tough love" along with qualities like loyalty to your mates. One character undermining everything can quickly effect morale/teamwork.

Just like a poor Officer actually...