Predicament of recruits under the pressure of war
On June 19th, gunshots rang out again on the "38th parallel" between the DPRK and the ROK, and eight soldiers at the South Korean frontier post who were sleeping fell in a pool of blood, and it was their young comrade-in-arms Dong myung Kim who made this shocking bloody case. What made Dong myung Kim, who was still a student, throw grenades at his sleeping comrades? Why do young people who are full of dreams and wear uniforms waste their lives in peacetime? The army is a war machine that every country depends on, but it needs to learn more than just force and killing.
On the 19th, the mother who lost her son in the bloody case of the military camp in Luanchuan County, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea was in agony. Killing in the barracks has become a lingering nightmare for every soldier’s mother.
On the 25th, comrades-in-arms saw off the soldiers who died in the bloody case in the Korean military camp. It was also a comrade-in-arms who had lived together day and night who took the lives of eight soldiers.
South Korean Defense Minister Yin Guangxiong publicly apologized for the bloody case in the military camp on the 22nd. This is the second time he has made a similar statement this year.
Slaughter in sleep
At 2: 30 a.m. on June 19, an explosion and a series of gunshots suddenly came from the dormitory of the forefront post in Luanchuan County, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea near the "38th parallel" between the DPRK and the ROK, and the originally quiet military camp dormitory was bloody. The nearby garrison even mistakenly thought that the North Korean army had launched an attack. What the soldiers in the post never thought was that it was Private Dong myung Kim who had performed the task side by side with them.
At about 2 am, 22-year-old Dong myung Kim and a comrade-in-arms were on duty at the post. He told his comrades-in-arms to wake up the shift change and then left alone. Dong myung Kim entered the barracks with ammunition and a Grenade, but he didn’t bring his own K-2 rifle. Twenty-five soldiers in the barracks were asleep. Dong myung Kim took another soldier’s K-1 rifle, went to the bathroom to load it with ammunition, and then took off the safety pin of the Grenade.
Three minutes later, he threw the Grenade into the barracks, killing two people on the spot. According to the investigators’ later analysis, the lethality was greatly weakened because the Grenade was thrown into the abdomen of Private Park Yiyuan, and he might have covered it up subconsciously when it exploded.
Subsequently, Dong myung Kim raised his K-1 rifle and fired at the barracks, firing 44 bullets, and six people fell in a pool of blood. One of the soldiers was shot in the thigh at first, and Dong myung Kim immediately shot him again, killing him on the spot. After stopping the killing, Dong myung Kim did not turn himself in or try to commit suicide, but returned to his post. It was not until 3 o’clock that he was arrested by other soldiers.
Eight people were killed and two were seriously injured. This incident has become the most serious casualty of the Korean army since 2000. The tragedy shocked the whole country of South Korea. Only a few hours after the incident, South Korean Defense Minister Yin Guangxiong issued a television statement on the morning of the 19th to publicly apologize. He also admitted that there was abuse of recruits in the army. This is not the first time that Yin Guangxiong has publicly apologized. In January this year, Yin Guangxiong apologized for the fact that some army recruits were forced to eat shit by the officers, and promised to crack down on the abuse of recruits. South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun also apologized for the incident on the 20th, and promised: "Conduct a thorough investigation on the premise of national satisfaction, and thoroughly implement the countermeasures that the government should implement without any difference."
On the 20th, the army opened the front-line post where the bloody case occurred to the South Korean media. The blood on the dormitory floor was not yet dry, and traces of grenade explosion and rifle shooting could be seen everywhere. On the bed where the Grenade exploded, there was a hole the size of a football on the mattress. There are still black flesh and blood remnants that were blown up by grenades on the walls and ceilings. It is hard to imagine that such a cruel scene was caused by a 22-year-old college student with a gentle appearance.
On the TV screen, the parents who lost their son are in agony, and many Korean parents are worried about the future of their son who is about to join the army. Jin Sunyong, a 21-year-old son of a university lecturer, has completed a year’s service. Jin Sunyong said: "I think the experience of serving in the army is very valuable to young people, but I am really worried that such a tragedy will happen again. This is the nightmare of every soldier’s mother. " South Korean public opinion generally pointed out that in order to prevent the tragedy from happening again, we must first thoroughly review the life in the military camp that is unfamiliar to the public, so as to restore people’s confidence in the army.
Life inside the high wall
With the investigation, the whole process of Dong myung Kim’s murder case became clear. What is his motive for killing his comrades who live together day and night so cruelly? After being arrested, Jin Dongming told investigators that after returning to the camp from patrol duty, he saw the officer who often scolded him sleeping in the dormitory. He said, "I want to kill them when my mind is hot!" "
However, the military later said on 20th that Dong myung Kim had long held a grudge against the officers who abused him at ordinary times, and had made up his mind to kill all the comrades in his squad two days before the incident.
He has repeatedly said to his friend Qian, "I want to kill them with grenades and guns." Dong myung Kim admitted that he planned to kill all 26 comrades in the platoon, but because of the good relationship with his comrades on guard, he didn’t do it to him. This shows that this is a well-planned crime.
Before joining the army, Dong myung Kim was a college student. He joined the current army in January last year and then transferred to the current post where the shooting happened. According to the investigation team, Dong myung Kim is introverted and likes to play computer games, probably because he is addicted to computer games and can’t distinguish between reality and illusion, so he committed the crime of murder. However, this argument has led to deeper thinking: What kind of "reality" did Dong myung Kim, a college student, face at the border post?
The frontline post of Luanchuan County, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea is located in the demilitarized zone of the Korean-Korean military demarcation line. It is only 1.5 kilometers away from the North Korean outpost, and it is a real confrontation zone between the DPRK and the ROK. An officer said: "Growing children are in such a place, facing the same face for three months for 24 hours … They must be thinking,’ If there is a war, we will die’."
Cui Kuangsong, a soldier who once carried out a mission at this post, said: During each 100-day mission, the soldiers stationed at the post have almost no contact with the outside world, and it is impossible to even call their families. It takes a week for letters to arrive.
The post where the tragedy happened was built in the 1980s. It is surrounded by a wall as thick as 30 cm, and the camouflage on the wall is mottled because of the paint falling off. Outside the fence, there is also a circle of fence-shaped barbed wire, and a cylindrical barbed wire is attached to it. The whole post is like a fortress tightly wrapped in steel thorns and concrete shells. No wonder when Korean journalists visited the post, their first feeling was "a prison enclosed by barbed wire". Among the barbed wire and thick walls, the space of the post itself is not large, and the open-air playground is only the size of the courtyard of ordinary people.
The demilitarized zone of the Korean-Korean military demarcation line is one of the most sensitive military areas in the world. Since the Korean War Armistice Agreement was signed in 1953, the two sides retreated two kilometers from the actual contact line, forming a demilitarized zone. Since the peace agreement has not been signed, theoretically, the two sides are still in a state of war, and both countries have deployed a large number of troops in the border areas. In the eyes of local officers, this is a place where the enemy may appear at any time. "The North Korean army will set fire every winter.
Soldiers over there may appear at any time. "Not long ago, North Korean soldiers broke through the border, so when the tragedy happened on the 19th, many soldiers thought it was a surprise attack by North Korea.
The contrast between ideal and reality
Apart from the tense and depressing environment, what really triggered Dong myung Kim to point his gun at his comrades-in-arms may be attributed to the treatment he received in the post. Dong myung Kim’s comrades-in-arms said that he was often scolded by his superior officers because he didn’t respond quickly enough to his superiors’ orders and was introverted. A South Korean Army spokesman told the media on the 19th: "Dong myung Kim obviously can’t adapt to life in the army. He lost his temper because he was verbally scolded by the veterans. " The Korean Human Rights Commission and other human rights organizations questioned that the soldier may have been physically abused.
The Human Rights Committee, which is in charge of supervising the second investigation of the shooting incident by the South Korean Ministry of National Defense, said that Dong myung Kim said in an investigation on the 21st that he had been beaten by two first-class soldiers at the front post of the central front. Dong myung Kim told the investigation team of the Commission on Human Rights that when he was on duty at the previous post, two first-class soldiers accused him of being slow and passive, and they physically assaulted him respectively. The two men held his back neck and dragged him to the boiler room, "shaking his body hard." "In addition, the military investigated the petition book of Dong-Min Kim’s company and found that there had been many violations of military discipline such as beatings and money transactions in the company.
Coincidentally, on the same day of the bloody case, two South Korean soldiers committed suicide. One soldier hanged himself with his shoelaces. His family said that the soldier could not stand being beaten in front of other soldiers and did not want to be abused more, so he chose to commit suicide. Another soldier set himself on fire and died. These three tragedies make Koreans have to worry about their own army.
A recent survey by the Human Rights Commission shows that it is not accidental to beat and scold recruits in the Korean army. South Korea implements a compulsory military service system, and all healthy men of school age have to perform military service for two years. At present, there are 600,000 soldiers in South Korea, and incidents of soldiers being abused occur from time to time in the Korean army. In September last year, the Korean National Defense Research Institute conducted a human rights questionnaire survey on 6,905 cadres and soldiers of various levels in South Korea. The statistical results showed that 48% of soldiers and 38.5% of officers believed that "there were human rights problems in their own or other people’s troops". 23.5% people have been beaten and punished excessively, and 58.8% people have experienced verbal violence.
Analysts pointed out that the younger generation in South Korea now tends to be more individualistic and lives in a more comfortable environment, but suddenly they have entered a military camp with a clear hierarchy, strict system and widespread abuse of recruits from a superior and unrestrained living environment. The impact of such a huge contrast on them can be imagined. For a long time, the so-called "military culture" has described the difficult conditions in the army as the precious hardships that a steel soldier must experience in his growth experience. However, the so-called "discipline" implemented by high-ranking officers to their subordinates is unacceptable to young people today. South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense has also ordered the prohibition of beatings or other forms of ill-treatment, but the tradition in the military is difficult to change easily, especially on the tense border between the DPRK and the ROK.
In addition, the generation gap between young soldiers and the older generation may also be another reason why they feel great pressure. As Chosun Ilbo said in the editorial: "They grew up in an era of reconciliation between the DPRK and the ROK. Young Korean soldiers simply don’t know why they sacrificed their youth, and they can’t understand why they gave up their rest and were on duty at remote sentries all night. Our army can’t explain to the soldiers who to fight against. "
A bloody case in a British military camp
Just as the parents who lost their son in the Korean outpost blood case were immersed in unacceptable grief, in Britain, a couple were asking for an explanation for their son’s bizarre death in the royal barracks four years ago. In January 2001, on his 17th birthday, Jeff Gray came to the Royal Barracks in Deepkat, Surrey, and became a soldier, realizing his dream from the age of 12. However, he never imagined that his young life would end here in eight months. And the cause of his death is still a mystery until now.
On the night of September 7, 2001, Gray and two comrades-in-arms performed a guard task together. At about 1: 10 in the morning, three shots were heard in the military camp, when Gray was patrolling the camp alone. At 2 am, his body was found next to the fence of the military camp.
The British military insisted that Gray committed suicide, but this was strongly opposed by Gray’s parents. They said that their son was "a smart and lively young man who was full of enthusiasm for life" and "nothing was hard to get over". Gray’s parents think there must be other reasons behind his son’s death.
"The survey results show that Gray was shot twice in the head. There is evidence that his body was moved, and the murderer (someone heard the rapid footsteps coming from the fence) waited for more than an hour before putting Gray’s body where it was finally found. Gray’s parents said: "We feel that the army wants us to believe such a fairy tale, that is, Gray shot himself twice and hid himself. An hour later, he climbed over the fence and fell dead. "
After receiving the report of the shooting incident, Gray’s unit searched the places patrolled by Gray four times, including the place where Gray’s body was finally found. No trace of Gray was found, but Gray’s body was found in the fifth search. According to the insider’s memory, when people looked for Gray separately, they heard the creaking sound of the fence, and then they saw someone climb over the wall of the military camp to escape.
The autopsy results also confirmed the views of Gray’s parents. Coroner Michael Burgess believes that there is no indication that Gray took his own life. Gray’s father asked sadly, "Can you imagine holding an SA-80 rifle and shooting at one side of your head first, and then shooting at the other side?" Corporal Craig fermo, who was on duty with Gray that night, also refuted the suicide, thinking that he was murdered. Gray’s parents think that there are still some soldiers who know the truth, but they are forced to keep silent.
Some important evidence in this case was destroyed shortly after Gray’s death, including his clothes and the duty diary that recorded the serial number of the SA-80 rifle he used.
"This means that the police don’t know whether the gun that killed my son was his or not." Gray’s father said. The police tried to check the gloves worn by Gray on the day of his death, but the gloves and other equipment were gone.
Despite the military’s firm denial, a leaked report pointed out that there have always been problems such as intimidation, abuse and racial discrimination in the royal military camp in Deepkat. Moreover, Gray was not the first or the last person who was shot and killed while performing sentry duty.
Since 1990, there have been 27 non-combat deaths in Dipkate Barracks. In June, 1995, 20-year-old Private Sean Benton was shot five times in the chest and died. In November of the same year, 20-year-old private Cheryl James was shot through the forehead by a quilt while performing a guard task alone, and her body was found in the depths of the forest two kilometers away. Cheryl’s parents believe that their daughter’s death exposes the widespread violence and sexual assault in the military camp. They believe that there is a "very sinister culture of abusing recruits" in the military camp.
In March 2002, Private James Collinson, also 17 years old, was shot in the head by a bullet while performing a guard duty. At that time, it was only six months before he came to Dipkat Barracks. This time, the army’s statement is still suicide.
The cruelty behind the truth
In order to find out the truth, several parents joined hands and asked for an explanation for their mysterious death. They issued a joint statement saying: "The initial investigation was full of flaws and was mainly based on assumptions. Some people are responsible for the sloppy investigation.
We need to find out the people and things behind the child’s death and who is planning to hide the evidence of the crime. At their request, the Surrey police re-investigated these four cases.
Later, the report released by Surrey police on Dipkate barracks was shocking. In addition to these four deaths, the investigation also found a total of 173 allegations, including abuse of recruits and sexual assault. Those shocking behaviors include: a sergeant ordered the recruits to wear only shorts, came out of the barracks in the early morning, and then projected Fei Biao on them; A female soldier was once ordered to swim in a sewage pool; A raped female soldier complained to her boss, but the boss ignored her; A sergeant urinated on a sleeping recruit; Some recruits have been attacked by a group of people wearing masks to hide their true identity; In addition, there is a gang called "Black Card Club" that targets black recruits for abuse.
Although the British Ministry of Defence denied these allegations, it considered them as unsubstantiated "hearsay". However, a private first class Terri Lewis, who had been in the military camp in Deepkat, told the BBC: "Bullying is a very common phenomenon in Deepkat. Some sergeants and corporal are abusing their rights. " Some abused recruits had a nervous breakdown and even had suicidal thoughts. One soldier said that "due to continuous abuse", he once put a gun in his mouth and planned to commit suicide.
Trevor Hunt, a comrade-in-arms of Sean Benton, came forward seven years after Benton’s death, exposing the widespread bullying in Dipcat Barracks. He said that Benton, 20, was often beaten and even thrown under the window of the dormitory on the second floor. Because a senior sergeant didn’t like him, he forced Benton to kneel on the petrol tank and beg for mercy. Although Benton once reported to an army corporal that he had been ill-treated, a senior official signaled the corporal not to put it on record. Just the day before Benton died, he was punished for not liking football.
Gray’s father believes that the deaths in the military camp are related to the ugly phenomenon of bullying, threats and intimidation of recruits prevailing in the military camp. He said, "If the officer is against letting Gray do something unconventional, Gray will object. He might say,’ No, sir, I can’t do this for one reason or another’. What I am really worried about is that Gray has paid the price of being abused … because he didn’t do what he was told, he paid the price. "
In June 2005, Gray’s father submitted a document to the British Independent Police Complaints Committee, questioning the re-investigation of Gray’s death by Surrey police, arguing that the police ruled out the possibility of murder before the investigation began. The Independent Police Complaints Council decided to launch an independent investigation. It’s almost four years since their son died, and Gray’s parents still don’t know who killed the child. They are running around just to know the truth. But sometimes, the process of finding the truth is so long and hard.
In the face of these phenomena of abuse of recruits and bullying in military camps, the British Ministry of Defence has taken a series of countermeasures. It stipulates that abused soldiers can directly appeal to their superiors. If he is unable or unwilling to appeal to his superiors, he can call the hotline for help. At the same time, the government also actively encourages troubled soldiers to seek solutions from doctors and chaplains. The handbook "Values and Standards of the British Army" published in 2000 once again emphasized the "zero tolerance" of the Ministry of National Defense for bullying. Those who insult soldiers will be punished by imprisonment and dismissal from the army.
Although the Ministry of National Defense has taken various measures, due to management mistakes and deep-rooted ethos, more energy and time are needed to change this situation and avoid more families suffering from tragedies like the Gray family.
Who’s to blame?
Why have violent incidents in military camps been repeatedly banned, so that they have become the so-called "military tradition" that has been followed from generation to generation? Alix Holsa, a professor of psychology at the University of Exeter in England, pointed out that the subordinates in the military camp should obey their superiors absolutely, and this strict hierarchy created an environment for bullying to some extent. In the workplace of ordinary people, people can protect themselves from intimidation through various methods, such as trade unions and lawyers. But in the army, soldiers must be restricted by discipline, so they can’t get similar protection. In addition, most soldiers in service are isolated from society and can’t get enough information, advice or support from the outside world. Just like Dong myung Kim’s remote post, there is no personal space, no fixed residence, no privacy, no contact with the outside world, no access to the Internet, and even it is very difficult to use the telephone. All this means that soldiers must live in a closed group now. Therefore, in a sense, soldiers in service are prisoners of their surroundings. Young people who are not deeply involved in the world and are psychologically fragile are in such a hierarchical and tightly managed environment, and they become the most ideal targets for being bullied and intimidated by their superiors. In World War I, General Hagrid ordered the execution of 306 soldiers, but the reason was to deter other soldiers.
In addition, instructors or veterans are not the only groups that abuse recruits. Recruits also abuse recruits, and a hierarchical system of bullying has been established among recruits. Those individuals who are isolated from the group are particularly vulnerable. Most cases of abuse of recruits are mainly due to personal hatred and mental and physical stress. The stress caused by cruel military training may explain these phenomena, but it cannot be a reason to bully the weak, and those bullying behaviors can never be forgiven.
Sociologists generally agree that soldiers are very different from other professions. They should be prepared to sacrifice their lives for the country, and the army should instill this view in soldiers through necessary physical and mental training. In order to make soldiers fully prepared for the war, sometimes the training methods adopted by the troops seem cruel and inhuman. Although there is a clear boundary between normal training and physical and psychological abuse, the special environment and culture of the military camp make it easy for the two to cross. Similarly, intimidation and encouragement are essentially different, but in the army, these two times are often confused.
As for the root of violence, david grossman, a professor of psychology and military science at West Point Military Academy, pointed out that violence and cruelty have been exaggerated in the mass media.
The most remarkable performance is that in most action movies we have seen, the crimes committed by villains are usually not punished by law, but retaliated. In the army, however, all things that are given priority to with discipline and orders are treated unfairly. Soldiers can’t find a solution to the problem, so it is easy to make reckless and extreme behaviors that hurt themselves or others. Every time public opinion points the finger at the abuse in the military, the military will mostly prevaricate with policies and disciplines. However, policies are formulated by people and need to be implemented by people.
Professor Holsa believes that regardless of the pressure from the military tradition, soldiers must always maintain their own moral standards; At the same time, we should also consolidate the contact with our partners. When the contact between individuals in a closed group is cut off, extreme behavior is easy to occur. In addition to inspecting and rectifying the army, it is necessary to implement more humanized management, so that soldiers of different levels can establish a relationship of mutual trust instead of using intimidation or abuse. The army is a war machine that every country depends on, but it needs to learn more than just force and killing.
Editor: Cao Jin