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BALTOPS, the 12-day, 18-nation naval military drill, led by the US Navy’s 2nd Fleet concluded on June 21st in Kiel, Germany.
The 47th annual Baltic Operations [BALTOPS] involved NATO allies 8,600 personnel in training “enhancing flexibility and interoperability among allied and partner nations,” a Navy statement said.
Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as NATO partner nations Finland and Sweden, participated in the exercise.
“It is imperative that allies and partners unite to confront today’s challenges,” said Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis of Naval Forces Europe, who commanded the exercises. “Our combined efforts during BALTOPS demonstrates our commitment to regional peace and prosperity. Our presence and professionalism in the region during this exercise will prepare us for future operational commitments and evolving strategic challenges. We are stronger together.”
The combined forces completed 389 serials, a planning term for a coordinated military exercise, compared to 98 serials scheduled at the 2018 event. For the first time, a Joint Expeditionary Force led by the United Kingdom demonstrated its capabilities as an adaptable, high-readiness force.
According to NATO Spokeswoman Oana Lungescu the exercise was of significant importance, since “The Baltic Sea is of essential strategic importance to the Alliance. The operations are not directed against any single country.”
Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis, the commander of U.S. 2nd Fleet and commander of the 47th iteration of the annual exercise, told USNI News, that he didn’t want this year’s event to be an exercise for the sake of exercising; he wanted every detail focused on operationally relevant warfighting skills.
“47 years, started off being a live-fire (exercise), very much in the Cold War era with the Soviet Union,” he said of the exercise’s history. “And then it went for a number of years where the Russians were invited, uninvited, invited again, and then disinvited indefinitely in 2014 post-Ukraine. And it’s been edging back toward, I wouldn’t call it toward a cold war reenactment, but edging back to a real operationalized exercise in which we’re trying to gain some operational capability and do some things differently, do some new things.”
UK’s Royal Marines, taking part in the exercise, were shown scrawling a swastika on the naked chest of a comrade in some sort of humiliating initiation ceremony. The Military police launched an investigation into the “sickening behavior.”
The scandal also led top brass to consider banning Royal Marines units from taking part in similar exercises overseas, with troops told that anyone found sharing the mobile phone footage will face disciplinary action.
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In a message to troops, a senior officer wrote: ‘The Commandant General Royal Marines has directed that anyone with the recent video from Ex BP [Exercise Baltic Protector] is to delete it immediately. Anyone found forwarding it, particularly to public forums, will face disciplinary action. It includes booze, s*** and swastikas.
‘If it reaches social media, we can kiss goodbye to any additional responsibilities as well as runs ashore [Navy slang for social privileges]. Talk of it may kill FCF dead.’
FCF stands for the Future Commando Force, developed to spearhead future amphibious operations. Mostly, to possibly counter Russia.
It should be reminded that the last people who were obsessed with swastikas actually lost in a war against the Soviet Union and by proxy – Russia.
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Thats how Youngsters are. We have to keep things like that down as well as it goes.
I’m genuinely curious if it’s the mirror effect or is that the Hindu peace and prosperity sign
Nazis just rebranded it very well.
We hardly used it in Europe. Nazis took a lot semi-old in again and by that mysticisme by old Gods as Thor and Odin to create their own version of sekularisme.
Its a strong sign. Easy to make and showing activity as a everlasting waterwheel or life.
Im sure there is no mirror effect from India even many of them were named as arayans and still are in their version according to language as well.
Thanks for giving me an idea, that the wheel (sorts) inevitably spins both sides in time. However I was kinda joking about the mirror effect, I think for Hindus means the same thing both ways, because if you have a 3D model you can’t see only one side so the difference between those two could be an Internet myth for dummies.
Thank You for Your comment. We learned saw and learned about the Hindu wheel of life. It was a wheel, starting with a baby, then a middle age and then a very old man.
No swastika. I will study some 3D swastika logos.
So far a very good day here. I almost forgot the the bad things in ME cleaning my small garden well. apples and pears are doing fine and dont need water. Its also “strawberry year”. My next meal will be strawberries with Youghurt. Nu sugar needed. Tomorrow will be making strawberry jam. If we eat all, our skins will be red :)
As Fyodor Dostoevsky once said “I say let the world go to hell, but I should always have my tea”. Some times I think we should not let ourselves dragged in artificial disputes that coincide with Trump and Bibi corruption scandals.
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/final-decision-on-netanyahu-corruption-charges-to-be-made-by-july-1.7016456 https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/may/20/trump-deutsche-bank-transactions-new-york-times-report
I will go out in my garden and take in the last strawberries and give “forget” a try :)
You like your strawberries, don’t you?
In my experience, it is noticeable in any organisation for employees to often emulate the perceived conceptions of those above them in the chain of command.
This is all part of the animal herd instinct and it is a fact that many senior NCO’s and Officers in all NATO nations follow the rabid doctrine of the USA and Israel.
The result being soldiers who exist in a bubble of ‘exceptionalism’ then engaging in depravity. A few decades ago I was witness to an attempt to force a new recruit to eat a faeces sandwich after forcefully pouring booze down his throat in an Initiation Ritual. I stopped this abuse and punished the offenders.
Essentially, the culture in a company governed by crooks tends to filter down to the shop floor. Banks are a good example.
“I stopped this abuse..”
Good for you!
What finished it for me with the USN. Standing topside watch when a new chief came back from his all night initiation. As a 1st Class petty officer he was the go to guy for us grunts. I don’t know what they did to him that night, but he was never the same after. I will never forgive them for what they did to him. He went from the best ship mate to a shell of himself, overnight. They lost me that day too!
Yes, such ‘initiations’ that degrade and humiliate the victims are a feature of all too many secret and not so secret societies. The result often being the long term de facto blackmail of all of those in such organisations by the members themselves, and non members who also have the information.
It is satanism and satanic behaviour, even if the perps are not aware of it. I think it’s ok to mock humiliate a new recruit, such as throw them in the pool and such. But to humiliate them for real, such as eating faeces, is satanic behaviour, and well done for stopping it.
Sadly, the volunteer mercenary western militaries attract the worst elements of their societies, same goes for police which is full of racists and Nazis.
I would change that a bit. They promote the worst elements. It is the same with business. Psychopathic ass kissers wind up in charge and anyone with a brain is a threat.
That’s the thing with these ‘initiation rites’. People either learn to accept them, see them as valid and cheerfully participate in them later, or it breaks them. In which case I reckon the abusers and the organization consider them not worthy of the job anyway. After all, initiation rites are also meant to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Yes but one might accept the inevitable only to later let ones abusive torturers suffer a well deserved dose of kharma. Hardening soldiers to abuse sets the stage for atrocity and seems a poor substitute for a kinship forged by shared adversity.
Oh, it does create kinship. I doubt that most soldiers in the West fight for the reasons their governments spout to the general public. They fight for each other, that band of brothers. That kinship is always there. What the abuse does is make it easier to commit atrocities too.
Russia is the best example .
You are actually. Your penchant for abuse drips through your every russophobic and bullying comment. I feel sorry for the people who have to live or work with you.
Abuse of new Russian conscripts by older conscripts was legendary. There was videos around of Russian conscripts getting beaten heavily. There’s a reason Russians tried to avoid national service in the 90’s and zero’s. I don’t know how it currently is, and I hope for Russia that the current commanders of the Russian military have come down hard on it. It serves no purpose other then teach people its okay to brutalize other human beings because they got brutalized themselves, so now its their turn. Kinda like how the children of abusive parents also become abusive parents themselves.
Cue.in the.morronic.echo.chamber.
Go to the NYT will.you.and leave us alone.
Fuckhead!
Is it any different really then frat hazings in universities though? With all the abusers having experienced similar abuse themselves and now consider it both a valid rite of initiation and now their turn to do the abusing?
Maybe this is where the bad behavior in armies comes from? Because all cultures develop rites of initiation and because humans have a bad tendency to let out their worst sides during those rites of initiation it then becomes acceptable to engage in more of that behavior afterwards? Why higher ups in the military tend to ignore this behavior because they themselves experienced it and think its acceptable. Until it blows out of proportion and hits the media, only then do they come down on it. For a while. But not really as they still think its appropriate behavior. It just got ‘a little out of hand’. You let a man or a woman go through this behavior and they now think they are above the rest, the uninitiated.
I still its different then banks though, as you don’t hear about a culture of initiation in banks. This is more like see top monkey do, bottom monkeys will follow, made worse by a culture of greed. If you feel that your bosses don’t care about you, why should you care about the business? Or if you feel that your bosses only care about lining their pockets, why shouldn’t you line your own pockets as well? Extra credit bonus points if your bosses actually reward you for lining your own pockets if their pockets gets lined as well.
Yes, I agree, Barba.
Little really changes in life. Human nature is what it is BUT there are voices that deplore such bullying and depraved behaviour. I am sure that you , and many more here who comment on the barbarism that NATO dresses up as ‘democracy’, also deplore such amoral behaviour everywhere.
Even religious ‘professionals’ are involved in such rituals that are intended to glue disparate self serving and rival personalities together with bonds of shame.
I am not a religious man, but I were I would like to pray not for my spiritual salvation but to have the moral strength to stand up when I see abuse take place or when I am asked to commit abuse.
Well you do have countries involved who have yearly pro Nazi parades, So it’s to be expected in an aggressive organization bent on chaos, death and destruction around the world.
““Our combined efforts during BALTOPS demonstrates our commitment to regional peace and prosperity.””
As in war is peace, hate is love etc. etc.
“The operations are not directed against any single country.”
And I believe in the tooth fairy, Santa Claus and in the market for a bridge.
Essentially, the US Empire is in so much debt that any moves away from using the Dollar in financial transactions is bringing the Evil Empire and the vassals who also have large dollar denominated debt to their knees.
It looks like SF isn’t above clickbait.
Guess it allows them to fit in with those, from non-NATO Ukraine?
It has nothing to do with Neonazisme for UKs.
If You can read AND UNDERSTAND, those are not even neonazis. Its used symbolic to lower them going from being roookis to real soldiers by the veterans. Compare it with put a tin foil hat on them.
As very often, You read and understand as You are programmed to.
Sorry, can you translate?
This time together :)
This is silly fake news
Of course its not fake. More like its irrelevant but used a bias making those UKs look bad.
UK is a US vassal and racist Nazism runs deep there. UK military attracts the lowest run of their class ridden rotting society and has always been a haven for Nazis and skinheads.
I think this is a reflection of the American military scraping the bottom of the barrel for recruits.
It’s well-known they have problems filling quotas and in the past lowered requirements and standards.
Those boys will grow-up and be embarrased or become alcoholics.