John A. Mizzi, St Paul's Bay
The buddy system is an effective safety measure
I am surprised that throughout the inquiry into the fatality at Chadwick Lakes there was no mention of the adoption by the army of the buddy system.
I have had my scouts, aged between 15 and 17, on expeditions carrying heavy rucksacks with all their clothes, equipment and camping gear for at least three days and nights in unfamiliar wild territory, including the crossing of the Rocky Mountains and various forests in the United States, the Australian bush, the mountainous region of Korea and woods in European countries, including the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, France, Italy and Russia, sometimes under torrential rains and under snow conditions and sleeping out at night.
The buddy system is simply to group the scouts in twos, sometimes in threes, each scout to look after his particular companions and, thus, ensure that any mishap is quickly noticed and reported.
With so many members of the AFM being former scouts, it is strange this safety measure was not adopted.
In the incident at Chadwick Lakes one presumes the loss of the missing soldier would have otherwise been realised in a very short time.
This system is also adopted by scout leaders on activities such as swimming sessions when large numbers of boys of various ages are involved.
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Frans Sammut
Jul 7th 2009, 10:31
The so-called "buddy system" was first used by the Greeks, particularly the Spartans. These military-minded nations developed a mutual help system whereby no soldier would abandon his "buddy" in any circumstances and would be ready to give his own life for him. This system resulted in rampant "implicitly tolerated" homosexuality. Incidentally that is why homosexuality is, in the popular mind, associated with the Greeks. The Bulgarians, or Bulgars, seem to have retained this system into later times, thereby inheriting the same association. If you allow the vulgarity, bulgar = bugger. This is simply a historical explanation of labelling, having no connotations that might reflect, wittingly or unwittingly on the gay population that have nothing to do with Greek, Bulgarian, Turkish military and/or other systems. I mention the Turks too because that is the excuse Lord Byron gave when his wife sought divorce on grounds of "buggery": "They do it in Turkey". His defence lawyer reminded him they were living in Olde England not levantine Turkey. N.B. Lord Byron did not acquire his "mad, bad and dangerous" reputation on account of his liberal views on marital relationships.