Group of soldiers ‘mutinied over hungover bosses’, court martial hears


Posted on: December 10th, 2013 by Simon No Comments

The group of 16 soldiers who felt they were being “led by muppets” staged a mutiny by sitting down on parade and refusing to get up, a court martial hears

The court heard how 16 soldiers, led by Corporal Anthony Brown, 29, decided to sit down during a march in front of around 1,000 soldiers

 

A group of soldiers who were angry at their bosses for turning up to a march hungover protested by sitting down during a disciplinary parade, a court martial heard.

Members of the 1st Battalion Yorks Regiment were frustrated with alleged “mismanagement” by their new Captain and Colour Sergeant.

Tensions flared when their boss – named only as Captain Stanton – and his second in command Sergeant Scott Dyson got drunk before a key training march in Wales in winter 2012, it was said.

The accused men were furious when they completed a 16-mile march in full kit across the Brecon Beacons to find the pair sleeping off their hangovers instead of ceremoniously welcoming their soldiers across the finishing line.

The platoon – who had excelled during an elite reconnaissance tour in Afghanistan – apparently got “too big for their boots” when they were posted back to Kenya for more training, the Military Court Centre at Bulford, Wiltshire, heard.

They were also angered when a colleague was punished for returning to base three hours late in February 2012.

The court heard how 16 soldiers, led by Corporal Anthony Brown, 29, decided to sit down during a march in front of around 1,000 soldiers in Kenya on February 12.

Clive Whittam, prosecuting, said: “The platoon was said to have worked well in Afghanistan.

“There was said to have been a perception that they had got a little too big for their boots.”

But Jonathan Lynch, defending, said: “I want to make it clear this is not a case of inflated egos but a case of mismanagement.”

The men who could be jailed, fined and reduced in rank are: Private Michael Hassall, Pt Grant White, Pt Paul Jenkin, Pt Edward Caffrey, Pte Martin Pettit, Lance Corporal Christopher Allport, Corporal Miles Smith, Pte Ross McDowell, Pte Thomas White, Pte Zak Wilson, Pte Adam Powls, Pte Killian Cassidy, Pte Daniel Storey, L Cpl Steven Tidesley, Cpl Anthony Brown and Pte Robert Ball.

They have all pleaded guilty to disobeying an order to stand up.

 

Original article written by and sourced from – telegraph.co.uk

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