Bored soldiers at the Oranje barracks in Schaarsbergen regularly entertained themselves with drugs, alcohol and even prostitutes, according to a confidential Defense report from 2015, which the Volkskrant has in its possession.
According to the report, soldiers also damaged or stole considerable amounts of Defense equipment, held 'informal hazing', and there was a high risk of bullying, exclusion and inappropriate sexual behavior.
State Secretary Barbara Visser of Defense calls on victims of abuses in the Dutch armed forces to come forward, following a report in the Volkskrant about three soldiers who left their unit in Schaarsbergen after being assaulted, bullied, abused and even raped. "Unacceptable. I read the article and had chills. This is not worthy of Defense", the State Secretary said to ANP.
Greetje Groenbroek, the mother of one of two soldiers killed in a mortar grenade explosion in Mali last year, plans to take legal action against the Ministry of Defense. On Thursday the Dutch Safety Board concluded that the grenades used in the UN mission in Mali were unsafe and that the medical treatment available to soldiers there is not in order.
A mortar grenade that killed two Dutch soldiers during a training exercise in Mali last year was one of a thousand grenades that were unsafe - something the Ministry of Defense was aware of, Jean Debie, chairman of defense union VBM said to RTL Nieuws. If Defense followed its own safety procedures, 29-year-old Henry Hoving and 24-year-old Kevin Roggeveld would still be alive, Debie said. A third soldier sustained serious injuries.
Two thirds of Defense personnel have no confidence in the top military leadership, according to a survey of nearly 8,500 Defense employees by military unions AFMP, ACOM, VBM and KVMO. More than 84 percent say that Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert does not give them more confidence in the organization, the Telegraaf reports.
Military union VBM is furious about the Ministry of Defense's procurement policy, which resulted in too few helmets being ordered for the new combat uniforms. This means that 18 thousand will have to borrow someone else's helmet when training or if they're sent on a mission on short notice
ISIS launched an attack against the Kurdish army last night in northern Iraq, only 45 kilometers away from Erbil where some 100 Dutch troops are stationed. The Kurds were able to repel the attack, thus keeping the Dutch troops safe, AD reports.
The Dutch branch of Doctors Without Borders in those West African countries where Ebola has broken out are now asking for military aid from The Netherlands. A spokesperson made the plea on BNR, and according to De Telegraaf, the military union VBM is positive about the possibility.
The Netherlands will not send heavy weapons or ground troops to Iraq's Kurdish fighters. In their fight against IS, the Kurdish troops will at most receive bulletproof vests or other light military material from The Netherlands, De Volkskrant reports.
The setbacks of Defense will rise to 333 million in 2018. This is written in the vision on the future of the armed forces, on which Jeanine Hennis, Minister of Defence, works at this moment. Hennis announced the cuts in a letter to the House, in which she describes the outline of her vision on the future of the armed forces.
There are additional costs because she gets no price adjustments anymore and no VAT compensation. That means new cuts.
