Grenade launcher fired inside soldiers' barracks
A Swedish military unit has come in for criticism after a number of safety violations were revealed, including a soldier being hit in the head by a grenade shell.
Among the significant flaw found at the Swedish army's armoured regiment P4, in Skövde in southern Sweden, soldiers were also found to have accidentally fired on their own vehicles with live ammo, Sveriges Radio (SR) reported.
Last winter, a grenade launcher was also fired inside the soldiers' own barracks.
"They were inside their dormitory getting ready for an exercise. Two group members who aren't educated to use the grenade launcher were interested in trying it. They wanted to learn more," said captain Mikael Millberg, who investigated the misfire, to SR.
The soldiers' curiosity led to the launcher going off indoors, causing a hefty bang.
But this isn't the only report of accidents occurring at P4 recently.
The same regement recently saw a soldier taken to hospital with concussion after getting hit in the head by a grenade shell, as well as a company accidentally firing on their own cars with live ammunition.
A newly introduced administrative system, Prio, is cited as the main reason behind major faults and accidents, according to SR.
Prio has been criticised for forcing platoon commanders to prioritise administrative tasks over leading their soldiers.
"Commanders become too tied to their desks and computers, to work with Prio. It takes up a lot of time if you're responsible for 30 individuals, which you are as a platoon commander," said Mikael Millberg to SR.
"The army has to free up the commanders, because it's incredibly important that they're with their soldiers, influencing them."
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Among the significant flaw found at the Swedish army's armoured regiment P4, in Skövde in southern Sweden, soldiers were also found to have accidentally fired on their own vehicles with live ammo, Sveriges Radio (SR) reported.
Last winter, a grenade launcher was also fired inside the soldiers' own barracks.
"They were inside their dormitory getting ready for an exercise. Two group members who aren't educated to use the grenade launcher were interested in trying it. They wanted to learn more," said captain Mikael Millberg, who investigated the misfire, to SR.
The soldiers' curiosity led to the launcher going off indoors, causing a hefty bang.
But this isn't the only report of accidents occurring at P4 recently.
The same regement recently saw a soldier taken to hospital with concussion after getting hit in the head by a grenade shell, as well as a company accidentally firing on their own cars with live ammunition.
A newly introduced administrative system, Prio, is cited as the main reason behind major faults and accidents, according to SR.
Prio has been criticised for forcing platoon commanders to prioritise administrative tasks over leading their soldiers.
"Commanders become too tied to their desks and computers, to work with Prio. It takes up a lot of time if you're responsible for 30 individuals, which you are as a platoon commander," said Mikael Millberg to SR.
"The army has to free up the commanders, because it's incredibly important that they're with their soldiers, influencing them."
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