The UK Defense Ministry is probing the conduct of a group of paratroopers from the Third Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, who were caught on video using a picture of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for target practice. Corbyn, for his part, said, “I’m shocked, obviously, that this sort of thing has happened,” adding, “I hope the Ministry of Defense will conduct an inquiry into it and find out what was going on and who did that.”
The commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade, Brigadier Nick Perry, issued a statement saying, “This is a serious error of judgment. Let me be clear – the army is, and always will be, an apolitical organization. We have 400 soldiers from the brigade conducting force protection in Afghanistan, and working closely with both NATO and Afghan partners. These soldiers are doing an outstanding job out there.”
And we thought the Brits had a sense of humor. Or sense of Humour, if you will.
Like we said, the defense ministry was not amused, and Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson called the target practice utilizing Corbyn so effectively in the video “completely unacceptable.”
“This behavior is far from the high standards we usually see and expect of the army at any time and it is right that they conduct a thorough investigation into the incident,” Williamson said.
Well, as the citizens of a former British colony (in the Middle East as well as in the New World), allow us to raise an eyebrow over the “high standards” thing and express a combined “not really.” But in this case we must admit, we support the soldiers and admit to chuckling just the right, acceptable amount. Hey, you did too.
And to allay your concerns regarding the blatant offense against an elected official in a Western democracy, the Royal Army released a statement saying it is understood it was a non-lethal hardened wax substance fired at the image, not metal bullets.
Phew…