At the end of October, Defense announced that it was going to set up a compulsory decompression period, called “adaptation airlock”, in a hotel for all Belgian soldiers returning from a mission abroad.
This first stay was organized for 96 soldiers returning from a six-month mission for NATO in Romania, writes the VRT. They were accommodated in a hotel in the German spa town of Bad Wildungen, not far from Kassel, between last Friday and today/Sunday. The program included relaxation activities and group or individual interviews with Defense professionals in the field of psychosocial support.
A young soldier from Namur banned from mission abroad because he refuses the Covid vaccine: “The future of my son-in-law within the Army is clearly compromised even though he loves his job” (video)
“At the end of the second day, a discussion began between several soldiers in their hotel room,” Defense explained in a press release. “During this discussion, one of them injured his hand with a mirror. The soldier was taken to hospital to treat his hand. There is no question of a fight (the VRT wrote that some soldiers had fought with fists, editor’s note), but a soldier injured himself on a mirror during a discussion and was taken care of immediately. »
According to the Defense, there was also consumption of alcohol, which is prohibited. This is investigating the circumstances of the incident. The remainder of the group of soldiers is completing the adaptation airlock program and will return home today/Sunday as planned.
The defense has not yet commented on possible sanctions against the soldiers concerned.
The Belgian army will expand in 2025, with numbers increasing slightly
Swiss
