only in the british army!

darkcrowdarkcrow Posts: 1,102
edited June 2006 in A Moving Train
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060625/ap_on_fe_st/britain_goat_demoted
could you imagin saluting a goat?! i dunno if american ahve mascots or anything but this sorta thing would only happen with someting british hahaha
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • BlancheBlanche Posts: 247
    I don't know which is sillier (for want of a better word): saluting a goat or the $55,000 cost of keeping him.
  • IndianSummerIndianSummer Posts: 854
    LONDON - A British army regiment's ceremonial pet goat was demoted in disgrace after it marched out of line before a host of dignitaries during a parade to mark
    Queen Elizabeth II's birthday, a military spokesman said Saturday.
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    The military mascot, a 6-year-old male goat called Billy, was downgraded from the rank of lance corporal to fusilier — the same status as a private — after army chiefs ruled his poor display had ruined the ceremony earlier this month at a British army base in Episkopi, western Cyprus.

    Lance Cpl. Dai Davies, 22, the goat's handler, was unable to keep control during the June 16 march. The mascot darted from side to side, throwing soldiers off their stride, Capt. Crispian Coates, a spokesman, said by telephone from the base in Cyprus.

    "The goat, which has been the regiment's mascot since 2001, was supposed to be leading the march, but would not stay in line," Coates said. "After consideration, the commanding officer decided he had no option but to demote Billy."

    Ambassadors from Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands were among those who attended the march along with U.N. dignitaries.

    Since the goat's demotion, soldiers of a lower rank are no longer expected to salute Billy as a sign of respect, Coates said.

    Capt. William Rose, a soldier present at the parade, said the goat "was trying to head-butt the waist and nether regions of the drummers."

    The 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh, has had a long tradition of traveling with a pet goat used in ceremonies. The Welsh regiment was presented with a goat from the royal herd in 1746, and Billy is a descendant from the same bloodline, Britain's Ministry of Defense said.

    A total of 11 ceremonial pets — including a ferret, an Indian black buck and a ram — are kept by the British army, but regiments do not take the mascots to combat zones. British legislators were told last month that keeping the pets costs the equivalent of $55,000 a year.
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  • keeponrockinkeeponrockin Posts: 7,446
    That was hilarious.
    Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
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