More supervision at military training

By Maxime Zech on Thursday, 10 April 2014 - 09:30
Army training
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Derek Renaud, 34, of Angola, New York, looks on as an Afghan national army soldier tries zeroing his weapon at Kabul Military Training Center, March 17. Renaud, officer in charge of the range during qualification and zeroing of M16s, Source: Wikimedia

The union for militaries, AFMP, wants independent parties to supervise self-defense training to make sure lines aren't crossed. The union also wants to instate clear rules, procedures and responsibilities, the Telegraaf reports.

On Wednesday, the union announced this in a reaction to a report about the death of sergeant Boy van Geffen, who died after a training. Defense is accused of making dozens of mistakes, according to the tv show Dossier EenVandaag on the basis of a confidential report from Defense.

AFMP president Anne-Marie Snels says that militaries must be trained very well because they end up in very dangerous situations. "You can visit lines, but never cross them. The employer has to protect that", Snels says. She is afraid that the cuts to Defense increase risks.

Unions have reported several incidents in which people being trained for the military have incurred bodily damage due to practices or training, the AFMP reports.

According to the organization, Defense must find more openness and apologize if things go wrong. Snels states that  most of the victims or surviving relatives don't generally claim damages, but do want openness, recognition and a reasonable financial allowance.

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