The Belgian Defence Force is coming under criticism from all sides for its lack of commentary following the unprecedented abuse scandal that came to light last week. Members of the Belgian Army are concerned that a prolonged silence will inflict long-lasting reputational damage beyond what the case has already exposed.
Defence Minister Ludovine Dedonder (PS) announced at a press conference last Thursday that a battalion in Amay (Liège province) would be disbanded and dozens of officers suspended in response to the uncovering of a culture of abuse that had gone unchecked for years.
Between 20 and 30 soldiers and officers were implicated in humiliating hazing trials, physically degrading acts, verbal threats and sexual harassment. The decision to dissolve the unit in question is the most drastic measure the Belgian Army has ever taken.
When making these announcements, Dedonder expressed her commitment to remain as transparent as possible in reaction to the crisis. In the days following the statement, however, soldiers, politicians and the public have criticised the Defence Force's unbroken silence.
Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder pictured during a press conference concerning the Belgian Army, 14 March 2024. Credit: Belga / Eric Lalmand
So far, few details of the abuse are known. Soldiers have taken to social media to express their concern that the Defence Force has allowed for too much room for speculation in the past week.
"A handful of individuals must not tarnish a whole group of people, let alone an entire organisation," one post read.
"I'm proud of my job. I'm proud of my battalion. And I'm even prouder to belong to Régiment Génie," another soldier wrote. (Régiment Génie is the name of the disbanded Amay battalion.)
"This story is going to go on for months," a soldier from a unit near the Amay battalion told L'Avenir. "Are we going to have to keep quiet and look the other way for that long? Public opinion is making generalisations as if we were all rotten. Either we say everything or we keep quiet. We find ourselves somewhere in the middle, and no one is happy."
Omertà
Local politicians are equally flabbergasted by the lack of communication coming from the Defence Force.
Mayor of Amay Jean-Michel Javaux (Ecolo) said that he learnt about the scandal through the papers and was never contacted by the Army, nor were any of his counterparts. In dealing with this abuse case and others in the future, Javaux advocates the introduction of a new reporting system whereby soldiers can lodge complaints to other battalions rather than their own.
Soldiers train at Campus Saffraanberg, a military school in Flanders. Credit: Belga
A deeply ingrained culture of omertà is suspected of having prevented the widespread abuse at Amay from coming to light sooner. Officials first received reports of misconduct in 2021, but investigations only gathered pace in autumn 2023. Dedonder said that she only became aware of the case late last year.
The Defence Minister acknowledged that "structural" problems within the army underpinned the network of abuse. Concrete preventative measures will take months to materialise, and in the meantime, the dozens of soldiers and officers suspended have had their pay cut by 25%.
Recruitment drive continues
The reputational blow to the army has come at a time when it is conducting an enormous recruitment drive across Belgium. Last September, it announced its goal of recruiting at least 4,000 new staff by the end of 2024, including 2,500 active military personnel and 460 civilians.
In the immediate fallout of last week's revelations, prospective recruits are undeterred by the fundamental mismanagement that underpinned the incidents at Amay.
At an open day in Campus Saffraanberg, a Flemish military school in Sint-Truiden (Limburg province), individuals considering joining the army cited the active nature of the role, the camaraderie and the salary expectations as primary reasons for wishing to do so.
"Of course I was shocked," one such enthusiastic individual told De Standaard, referring to the scandal. "Our parents even more so, they are really worried. But I got the feeling that [the Army] was tackling the matter thoroughly. That's why it doesn't scare me."
