British army investigates video of naked soldiers drinking human waste
DARLINGTON, England — Numerous British soldiers are facing disciplinary action after a video emerged appearing to show troops drinking human waste and bare-knuckle boxing at Britain's largest army base.
Although the footage — which was uploaded to the Internet — is yet to be verified, the British Ministry of Defence's top brass ordered an immediate inquiry.
Military police will investigate the 120-second film, said to have been shot at Catterick Garrison last week, which features soldiers in civilian clothes cheering as naked men crawl around on the floor at a barracks party.
The video shows men in communal areas of a barracks building taking part in what are said to be drinking games, including kneeling down to drink what is supposed to be human waste from cups, while others vomit into a plastic box after being egged on to do the same.
There also is footage of men with blood on their chests during brutal bare-knuckle boxing contests.
It is understood the film was shot during a monthly party dubbed "Broadmoor Night," said to take place at Europe's biggest army base, in North Yorkshire.
Footage of the event — which it has been claimed was named after Broadmoor psychiatric hospital as the monthly "party" to allow soldiers to "go mental" — was posted on Snapchat, a mobile app that allows users to send videos and pictures which disappear seconds later.
While the army has declined to confirm whether the video has been verified, a spokesman said it was taking the footage "very seriously."
Col. Richard Kemp, who commanded British forces in Afghanistan, said: “When you get a lot of men together who are pretty aggressive and military trained, rowdy behavior often takes place in a way which other people would not find acceptable.
“However, it seems on this occasion, the line has been crossed with intolerable behavior and I know that the army would take action if they knew this was going on.
“Daring or bullying others to join in with this type of behavior is certainly overstepping the line.”
Soldiers found to have fallen short of the army’s standards or to have committed an offense under the Armed Forces Act are dealt with administratively, up to and including dismissal, or through the disciplinary process.
An army spokesman said: “We expect very high standards of behavior of our personnel and take reports of this nature very seriously."
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