The German Navy has a rare mutiny case on its hands. The case involves students who were training on The Gorch Fock, but rebelled when ordered to climb a 40-metre mast in November. One of the students had previously fallen off the mast and died.
A sailor known as Sarah S, 25, had died during a stop-over in Salvador de Bahia in Brazil and the other cadets did not want to continue on the ship.
Their commanding officer, Captain Norbert Schatz, reportedly threatened to return the trainees to Germany and declare them unfit for service. Ultimately, 70 cadets flew home and four cadets were accused of “inciting rebellion.”
It used to be that mutineers ran off with Tahitian women in an island paradise and await for Hollywood producers to arrive. Now you just get a coach ticket back to Germany.
This is all a way of asking the most important question: which Mutiny on The Bounty was the best movie? The one in 1935 (Clark Gable), 1962 (Marlon Brando), and 1984 (Mel Gibson)?
Source: BBC
Maybe some more about the “allegations of widespread bullying and sexual abuse.”
But keep in mind that this is an ongoing investigation and that the navy is very closemouthed at this point in time.
a) sexual abuse: there is “only” one case so far: one (male) cadet and three (male) members of the permanent crew were showering, when the cadet dropped his soap. Alluding to “don’t drop the soap in a prison shower” jokes and the well known “rum, buggery, and the lash” quip, they made some sexual comments. The cadet felt threatened, fled the showers, and made a report.
The three crew members were reprimand and the captain gave a “the kind of jokes that aren’t acceptable on my ship” speech to the crew.
This sexual harassment case has generated some interest in the media, but unless there are more cases we don’t know of yet it seems to me that this is really a different and much smaller issue.
b) “bulling”/forcing cadets in the rigging: this is a more serious matter, because it concerns the leadership of the vessel.
According to regulations the cadets in the crews entering the rigging are all volunteers. That means if a cadet feels that s/he can’t climb the masts, they work on or below deck but not in the rigging.
But there are several reports, both by the speakers of this cadets year class (e.g. the “mutineers”) and also former cadets from earlier years, that the instructors used a lot of pressure to get reluctant cadets to “volunteer” into the rigging crews.
Combined with the fact that the dead cadet shouldn’t been in the rigging due to her hight in the first place, this paints an ugly picture of how the ship was run.
Berliner, Thanks for the information.
Slarti-
I have to disagree with you on compulsory “national service”. As a victim of the draft, I am strongly opposed to any form of compulsory service. This is more accurately described as “involuntary servitude”.
13th Amendment to the United States Constitution:
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
@tomdarch: “Cadets” in this case means “officers in training”. Three months on board of the Gorch Fock was, until now, part of the training regime of naval officers.
Officers are volunteers who must sign up for at least 13 years.
And Germany just discontinued conscription. The very last batch of 12,150 conscripts was drafted this January.
@anon nurse: It seems to be that the body height of the killed cadet (1.59 meter) was smaller than the regulation minimum for going up the mast.
If that was the reason for her death no one can say yet.
tomdarch,
I’m not opposed to compulsory national service, but the military should be one of many options, not the only one (or even the primary one).
If they cannot stand seamen then why did they join the Navy? Not everyone can stand the gravy.
None of these articles spell out if these “cadets” are serving under conscription or not. (Germany has compulsory service for all men, typically in the military, but with alternatives available, such as assisting in hospitals. I don’t know if that also holds for women.) If these “cadets” were conscripted kids who thought that serving on this ship would beat other forms of military duties, then would go a long way towards explaining the situation for me.
When some politician or pundit yammers about bringing back the draft (and members of the military brass politely push back), it’s these sorts of incidents that come to my mind. It seems that we are much better off with a military made up of people who actually want to serve, not resentful conscripts or messed up kids hoping to avoid jail time.
Blouise,
With the right equipment and training, and given good weather, climbing a mast — even a 40 ft. one — is fairly safe. One has to wonder about the details of this woman’s death.
Never whistle on the quarter deck………………….ever…..
If I remember correctly, Winston Churchill once said that the traditions of the Royal Navy consisted of “rum, sodomy and the lash.” Maybe the German navy has bought into this program as well.
Slarti,
Now that you mention it, uh, yeah. 🙂
Buddha,
Did you ever consider that a lack of respect for tradition might be a GOOD thing for the German military…
anon nurse,
That throws a different light on the matter.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2011/0121/1224288009845.html
“Two months on, the full details of the accident are coming to light, including allegations of widespread bullying and sexual abuse by the ship’s permanent crew. Yesterday the ship was ordered back to port in Ushuaia, at the southernmost tip of Argentina, to allow investigators board the vessel.”
I seem to recall thinking at the time that the Hopkins/Gibson movie was a little more nuanced than the others. I’ve always felt that the most admirable part of that affair was the superb feat of navigation by which Bligh took his loyal men across over 3600 nautical miles of open sea to Timor with no compass and no charts.
Popular legend has condemned Bligh but the Bounty’s own log suggests that he was not the ogrish disciplinarian of the Hollywood films. His subsequent career–Rum Rebellion and all–was highly distinguished.
My answer is none of the above since all of them provided versions that didn’t fully tell what happened and the consequences. The one that I hate the most is Brando’s. I saw it with a girlfriend and didn’t get home until 3 in the morning. When I arrived home I found my father feeling ill, called an ambulance and my brother and rode with my Dad to the hospital. He was a large, strong man, who had always been a rock to lean on through many a family health crisis. In the ambulance it was the first time in my life that I ever saw him frightened of anything. I was 18, my mother had died 11 months before and my father had supported us all during that time of sorrow. He died of a heart attack four hours after arriving at the hospital. Whenever I think of the Brando film it brings a shudder to my body. I must add that the film itself was boring and Brando a caricature.
http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/bradleymanning?source=em20110120_nonsigners_test1
Please forgive me Professor but I want to pass this on for those who may be interested:
I want to make sure you saw this note from last month.
Pfc. Bradley Manning is in his sixth month of solitary confinement. Manning is accused of giving documents to Wikileaks, but he has not been convicted of that or any other crime. Yet he spends 23 out of 24 hours a day completely isolated, with severe restrictions on his social contact, freedom to exercise, and even his ability to sleep. Even the LA times called Manning’s detention “inhumane” and “indefensible.”
With Bradley’s friend David House, we’re going to deliver a letter signed by more than 30,000 people asking for humane treatment for Bradley Manning. We’re delivering the letter on Saturday – can you please add your name now?
Thank you for all you do.
Jane Hamsher
Firedoglake.com
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Michael Whitney, Firedoglake.com
Date: Thu, Dec 23, 2010 at 12:57 PM
Subject: Wikileaks and torture
Bradley Manning has spent 5 months in almost complete isolation amounting to cruel and inhumane conditions for allegedly giving classified information to Wikileaks. Now his health is suffering because of it.
Can you add your name to our letter
urging Manning’s severe detention restrictions be lifted?
Bradley Manning spent his 23rd birthday on Friday completely isolated, just as he has every day for the last five months months in his cell at the Quantico Marine Base.
Manning is the Army Private accused of leaking classified documents to Wikileaks. Since July, he has been held in cruel and inhumane conditions akin to how the US detains “enemy combatants.” He spends each day completely isolated, with severe restrictions placed on basic activities like sleep and exercise. Yet he has not been convicted of any crime.
The extreme isolation in which Manning has spent every day of the last five months is soul-crushing. It’s already taking its toll: Bradley Manning’s physical and mental health are suffering, according to his attorney and friend who have seen him in prison.
Bradley Manning deserves humane treatment while he awaits trial. Can you please add your name to our letter urging Commanding Officer of Quantico Marine Corp Base to lift the heavy restrictions of Manning’s detention?
Bradley’s friend, David House, will deliver your letter to the Commanding Officer at the Quantico Marine Base brig when he visits Bradley next month.
While Manning is held in “maximum custody,” the military’s most severe detention policy, he is also under a longstanding “Prevention of Injury” (POI) order that adds additional restrictions beyond those of other prisoners. While POI orders typically last a week or two, Manning has been held under a POI order for the entirety of his detention.
A day in the life of Bradley Manning is isolating, lonely, and frustrating.
Manning stays in his cell for 23 hours a day
Guards must check on him every 5 minutes, and he must respond each time
He is not allowed to sleep between 5am and 8pm
Substantive exercise is not allowed beyond walking, potentially in chains
Communication with other people in the brig is banned, and he cannot write to people outside beyond the few a list approved by the brig commander; any unapproved letters he receives are destroyed.
He has not been allowed to read newspapers or watch international news during TV time
Comfortable sleep is impossible; he must surrender his clothes each night, has only a heavy “suicide blanket” akin to an x-ray vest, and guards must be able to see his face at all times.
A psychologist has said Manning isn’t a danger to himself or others, and the POI order is unnecessary. His lawyer has also been unable to have the POI order lifted. But it is clear that Bradley Manning has been subjected to inhumane and unnecessary punishment without being convicted of a crime, and it must stop now.
Stop the inhumane treatment of Bradley Manning. Please add your name to our letter urging the Marine Commander in charge of Manning lift the unnecessary POI order.
No matter what you think of Manning’s alleged acts, there is no reason to subject him to these extreme conditions. Thank you for standing up for human rights.
– Michael Whitney
Firedoglake.com
Anthony Hopkins??
“It used to be that mutineers ran off with Tahitian women in an island paradise and await for Hollywood producers to arrive. Now you just get a coach ticket back to Germany.”
This is why I didn’t join the German Navy.
No respect for tradition.