BBC reports ground in Chad harder than home

Burnt

I'm not a regular here but thought that you might be interested

Irish army finds Chad 'too hard'
The head of the Irish UN battalion in Chad has banned troops from playing football, saying the arid country's hard ground is a health risk.

Defence Minister Willie O'Dea told parliament that 34 soldiers had been repatriated, half of them for injuries, since the mission started last year.

"As far as I am aware, one soldier suffered a serious injury as a result of engaging in sport," he said.

Irish ground, he pointed out, was "not nearly as hard".

The Irish Republic has a 400-strong battalion deployed in Chad as part of a UN-mandated, EU-led peacekeeping mission to both that country and the Central African Republic (CAR).

Troops are drawn from across the EU, with France the biggest contributor.

'Indoor judo okay'

"The reality in Chad is that the ground is extremely hard," Mr O'Dea said.

"Some of the sports are played out on open ground and when people fall, it tends to have a much greater impact on their bodies than falling in a field in Ireland."

The cost of repatriating the 34 troops had been about 60,000 euros ($79,700), he said, but he denied the ban was related to finances.

When one soldier broke his shoulder in a sporting incident, he "had to be repatriated at short notice" and flew on a commercial flight along with a medic, who then returned, the defence minister said.

Including the cost of the medic's return flight, the bill came to 8,000 euros, Mr O'Dea was quoted as saying by The Irish Times.

The Irish commander decided on the ban after carrying out a risk assessment but, the minister added, soldiers could still run.

There was also a gym "which includes such facilities as mats for engagement in judo and other self-defence activities which may assist personnel in warding off assaults".

Brian O'Shea, defence spokesman for the opposition Labour Party, asked whether it was "overdoing" the "health and safety aspect" to ban soccer and volleyball when, as far as he was aware, there was only one sports injury.

"Physical contact sports, be they in Chad or in Ireland, are a good way of letting off steam and of relaxing at the end of the day," he said.

"The soldiers in Chad are in a pretty tough environment."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8038198.stm

Local-womanizer

It was in the national papers last month,apparently there has only been one sports related injury.

Burnt

I'm abit late to the party so....

tricky D

Phew. That could have been another Saipan Incident in the making.

BigDuffman

Surprised people aren't more embarrassed about this...again re-inforcing the modern day perception of sugar soldiers.

diverdriver

Football isn't perceived at dangerous but in fact it produces a lot of injuries of one kind or another. I used to work in a plant that had a large concrete area. There was a soccer game every lunchtime. Eventually management banned football because almost every week there would be a couple of injuries. Enough for people to have to go home sometimes. It's not as if anyone was seriously injured. It was just the minor injuries. But that's enough.

It's probably the same for the troops in Chad. Just because only one man was returned home for a sports injury doesn't mean there were no other injuries. Twisted ankles, pulled muscles are common after football matches. That would cause soldiers to miss duties, be out of action for a couple of days. That I suspect is the real reason for the ban on football.

You simply cannot afford to be losing men on a regular basis for something as trivial as a football game.

Poccington

BigDuffman wrote: »

Surprised people aren't more embarrassed about this...again re-inforcing the modern day perception of sugar soldiers.

How exactly does it do that?

BigDuffman

There is a school of thought (As anyone involved in the DF most definitely knows) that everything is being dulled down in order to take the sharp edges off anything considered remotely Un-PC or potentially dangerous. From A7 to ridiculous Risk Assessments.

I am not of perception that it is the soldiers themselves that are made of sugar. Its the powers that be that lead to this.

I'm not talking about the auld sweats "back in my day nonsense"...but the fact that this made the international press only leads to embarrassment.

Not being allowed to kick a ball round because the ground is hard will only create negativity. As a child I'm sure everyone kicked a ball round on the road with the odd bump and skinned knee. Or even played indoor football as an adult in a sports hall on hardwood floors?

How much harder is the ground in Chad than concrete? In the same breath say but its OK to practice Judo (understandably on mats). Foot ball isn't my thing but how dangerous is it in comparison to say..doing contact drills on the same hard ground.

Or howcome they can clamp down on a recreation that the lads partake in their well deserved time off. But they still have not put safety restraints in trucks?

I understand the issue of them not wanting to loose bods due to stupid injuries, but the fact such a big deal is being made over in the international media is giving the wrong idea.