Belgian army looks to relax bootcamp boarding requirements

The Belgian army is relaxing its weekend requirement for new recruits starting next month. New soldiers in the 10-week bootcamp training will now be required to check in by Monday morning rather than Sunday night.

Currently, recruits are allowed to leave the barracks on Friday night but must return on Sunday night. Starting on 1 May, they can sleep at home or elsewhere on Sunday night as long as they report back to bootcamp on Monday morning.

The army is also considering giving soldiers leave on some weeknights. It is looking to combat the dropout rate: Some 15% of new recruits quit bootcamp before completion, many of them citing missing civilian life.

“We are even looking at scrapping the entire boarding system,” said defence spokesperson Alex Claesen. “Then recruits who live in the area could just go home every night.”

“Mamas’ boys”

A spokesperson for the public servant union VSOA questioned the idea, pointing out that this would only affect recruits who live within a reasonable distance of the Dutch- or French-speaking barracks. Since both are located in the far reaches of the country – Leopoldsburg in Limburg and Arlon in Wallonia – it’s not a reasonable option for most recruits. If such a plan is to be carried out, he said, it would only make sense if barracks were established in more than two cities.

Former para-commando Danny Lams, now the chair of the Para-Commando Friends of the Coast, used rather more colourful language in his criticism of the idea. “That’s a way to build an army that no one can depend on,” he said. “Sissies instead of soldiers who need to be ready to go fight a war. You don’t want to go to war with men who miss their mamas.”

Photo courtesy Defence