Swedish soldiers held 'fight club' in Afghanistan
Published: 21 Feb 12 14:15 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/39238/20120221/
Swedish military police are investigating a suspected illegal boxing match arranged by a group of Swedish soldiers at the Mazar-i-Sharif base in Afghanistan which reportedly left one soldier in need of medical treatment.
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The fight, rumoured to have taken place at the end of last year, lacked both rules and a permit and was reminiscent of the Hollywood movie ”Fight Club” staring Brad Pitt and Ed Norton, according to the paper.
Organizing a boxing match without a permit is prohibited by Swedish law, and the soldiers reportedly never applied for a permit.
Instead, the soldiers inquired about arranging the fight with camp doctors, who were not happy about the idea.
While a written notice banning the event was posted on a bulletin board, some form of boxing match did take place, prompting an investigation by military police.
”As far as I can understand it is being discussed whether this was a boxing match or not. It is a legal distinction,” Johansson told the paper.
The soldiers could have been fined or even jailed had they been found guilty, but according to Expressen, the prosecutor chose to drop the preliminary investigation.
The rules for organized fighting competitions in Sweden are strict and they apply to all martial arts and boxing events.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
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LOL!
Should it not be an issue if they broke Afghan law, since they were on Afghan soil?
2nd rule: You do NOT talk about fight club!!!
...
It wasn't like they were scalping money for people to see the fights, or enlisting locals to fight, they supposedly had some fights between a few of them.
Let them have some fun if they want to!
Having served in a combat unit all I can say is this article is a waste of pixels.
Soilders have engaged in this kind of behavior since the Greeks and Romans. Embrace it.
Let the guys have some fun, boxing.
Of course the case was droped.
Oh yeah, there is the point of "Neutral" Sweden as well, but that's best left alone, right?!
Let the soldiers have some fun if given any time for it! A little fighting will help them relax a bit.
If theyr are so bored in their "quiet" area, let them be posted where the fighting and IEDs are in much greater evidence. I doubt that "real" troops have time for boxing after patrols, they are too fedup. Especially having witnessed a colleague killed or mutilated.
Do those "real" troops of yours get killed in an especially "real" way as well? And not just killed in a - regular? - way like I'd imagine Swedish ones are? Anyhow it probably is not much of a comfort to hear about for for example any relative to the soldier here:
http://www.thelocal.se/29710/20101020/
Sweden has been fighting in Afghanistan for 10-11 years now. And I think most Swedes know Sweden isn't neutral - only politicians telling the lie believe in it.
Has that happened to Swedish troops fighting Swedish Muslims/
http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svenska_insatsen_i_Afghanistan
I have no idea of they are Swedish Muslims. They sure are fighting Talibans tho. I recomend checking out this channel and these clips on youtube;
/user/SwedishArmedForces/videos?sort=p&view=u
/watch?v=qdjEBmJ1w4Y&feature=plcp&context=C358e290UPOEgsToPDskKneh4855YGM2kKj5HT7HrY
/watch?v=_BiwYJHQRW0&feature=plcp&context=C34cc40dUPOEgsToPDskJ013_Wi78bjO_AxAFklThO
A physical break as well as a mental break must be a regular part of every soldiers routine. In fact, not doing so will lead to continuous mental errors.
Not only can a simple mental mistake end up costing over 1 million dollars (easily), even worse, that soldier could get himself or his comrades killed or maimed for life.
It is such a serious problem that professional armies mandate a certain number of hours of relaxation per week.
What is relaxation in such a high stress location and situation?
Whatever lowers the stress! (as long as it's legal of course) The higher the stress level, the more intense the relaxation needs to be.
Boxing, bungee-jumping, hockey tournaments, fencing, badminton or other intense sporting activities all help a soldier to take their mind off of the battlefield.
These soldiers needed to relieve some stress - and good for them!