Hundreds of British paratroopers were stopped from making a NATO deployment to the Balkans after videos surfaced of an orgy with a civilian woman in their Merville barracks (Colchester, UK) that had some soldiers watching on – according to reports.
The woman had been snuck into the barracks as many as 31 times over the past five months, according to The Times (London, UK).
The UK’s head of the Army, Gen. Sir Patrick Sanders, told his generals and commanding officers in a letter he would not “risk the mission or the reputation of the British army” by sending the troops abroad, The Times (London, UK) reported.
Although military police have determined that no crime was committed, Gen. Sir Patrick Sanders reportedly said in the letter that the incident could have appeared to “denigrate women” and was against the army’s values.
“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”, according to according to The Times (London, UK).
Photo courtesy of UK Government
I am not prepared to risk the NATO mission or the reputation of the British army by deploying 3 Para at this time.
General Sir Patrick Sanders
Armed Forces Minister James Heappey has denounced the video recordings as ‘disgraceful’.
We want the nation’s brightest and best to serve in our armed forces and we want women serving in the armed forces to know that they’re serving in an environment where they are safe, where they are respected.
Armed Forces Minister James Heappey, speaking on behalf of the Army, on ITV’s Peston current affairs program
The minister has expressed anger and embarrassment about the footage, and stated that he does not consider this to be acceptable behavior, nor is it the norm throughout British Army personnel. He claimed that it does not matter that the sex depicted has been justified as ‘consensual’; stating that it does not portray a respectable image of Britain’s armed forces.