Tal-biki
Published:
September 16, 2011 at 10:45am
I’ve just watched the video on timesofmalta.com, in which the brigadier of the Armed Forces of Malta and other Maltese defence personnel spoke about a ‘collective effort’ to BRING BACK TWO WOUNDED PEOPLE FROM LIBYA.
Yes, indeed.
At last I know why we were neutral and prudent, and it has nothing to do with our Constitution, though pretty much everything to do with our constitution. Those are our military leaders?
Listening to them, I wanted to crawl under a table and cringe until it was over. But I was brave and watched it all the way through.
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Here’s the link:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110916/local/p-61-returns-with-maltese-teams-and-two-wounded-libyans.384880
That’s what happens when your soldiers never go to war.
Why do you think everyone was queuing up to send troops to Afghanistan?
Because they knew they needed an injection of real soldiering, and the mindset in European armies has changed, for the better, since 2001.
I vote to promote Matthew Camilleri to brigadier and AFM commander when his tour of duty in Germany is up.
What a sorry lot! Everybody, but everybody wants his two minutes of immortality but this is beyond ridiculous.
We have a brigadier (how I wish Brig. Vassallo was still around), a lieutenant colonel and even the Director of Defence, all vying for limelight, while if they had any decorum or common sense they should not have allowed this great event to be filmed in the first place.
And what’s this Director of Defence crap? And in the OPM, no less. These shenanegans are not tal-biki but tat-thezziz u tqarmic tas-snien.
Dear God, please forgive them for they know not what they do.
I cannot agree more – and I think that she does not have an inkling of what is going on. Information that has passed down the grapevine seems to indicate that in fact the Maltese government has offered to assist the Libyan authorities from the medical point of view.
Maybe there’s more to this than meets the eye.
I’m sure that they just don’t want to reveal as yet that this was the special force team that finally captured Col.Gaddafi….alive. You wait and see.
Collective effoart? Sounded like Lowell.
He sure needs to brush up his English.
[Daphne – Actually, it’s their Maltese that needs brushing up. He’s speaking Maltese there, not English. And his sidekick is even worse: ‘once li’, ‘ihhendilja’.]
I must say, a very well prepared speech.
What the hell is this ‘collective affort’ he keeps talking about?
Some army chief we have.
I vote Gunny Highway.
‘Collective effort’ – wow.
In my day we all acted as individuals under one command and knew exactly what was expected of us.
We practised and did nothing but practise and were always ready for any call.
What are you talking about, Sur AFM Commander – by the time you all commit yourself to a ‘collective effort’ you are either blown up or still trying to agree.
Only in Malta.
At least we didn’t get any quotes about the Nurse of the Mediterranean.
They’re saving that one for the PM and the medal awards ceremony.
Tal biki – truly – but it will be more shameful when we will not have any tears left to shed.
What’s the news? Timesofmalta.com are reporting pretty much everything these days.
AFM were doing the job they are paid for. Why should this make it to news headlines?
I was amused yesterday with the “UPDATE ” on The Times informing us that the boat had made it to Tripoli. I would have thought we’d have greater confidence than making it to port a couple hundred kilometres away.
Such an emphasis on the “collective effort” indicates that someone behind the scenes is quite bitter at not being the “front man” of the circus.
Watched the video while sitting on the loo. Had to abort mission.
Abort the mission? You couldn’t get your mind and arse to co-ordinate a collective concerted effort?
‘Collective affort’ apart, the Brigadier looks so weak. Where has the tough, astute image of an army leader gone?
It vanished when Mintoff disbanded the RMA – or hadn’t you noticed?
He substituted it with a regiment of hamalli for hamalli, set to work cleaning up the roads and the like, and the AFM has never recovered from that insurmountable image setback.
The Nationalist Party, with its mealy-mouthed horror of war, hasn’t helped, either. Soldiers, fighting? Never!
The Maltese army must be the world’s first and only pacifist army.
Pink Mafia, you win a medal for those four paragraphs. Pacifist army. Couldn’t have put it better.
Let me refer our politicians to the words of Monsignor Patrick Le Gal, bishop of the French Armed Forces from 2000-2009 (yes, secular, with a Catholic military diocese to an instrument of the republic): “Our Armed Forces are peaceful, but they can never be pacifist.”
Did anyone notice the brand spanking new Italian desert cammies? Perhaps they were afraid of being mistaken for Libyan rebels in their US three-colour dessies.
kemm hawn minn jifhem fil – militar. Tidher li s – sinjura caruana galizia, opinjonista ta esperjenza notevoli tista toffrilna ftit mill – esperjenzi taghha fit – tmexxijja ta forzi militari. L – operazzjoni kienet mnedija ghall – ghanijiet ohrajn mhux kif mistqarr biex jingiebu 2 minn nies feruti, kif kien irrappurtat fil – mezzi tax – xandir.
Li dawk li qalu li kienu jaghmlu hafna tahrig, forsi jistghu jghidulna kemm il – darba marru f zoni ta konflitt u ghamlu xi operazzjoni. Nahseb bhal ma ghamlet is – sinjura caruana galizia nista nesprimi opinjoni fir – rigward tal – FAM. Nahseb li dawn jippruvaw jaghmlu l – ahjar li jistghu bil – mezzi li ghandhom. Ninsab konvint li huma kapaci fix – xoghol taghhom u biex wiehed ikollu bazi ghall – kritika wiehed jrid ikollu bazi u formazzjoni fil – militar. Forsi l – intervisti ma kienux fuq livell accettablbli ghal xi hadd bhas – sinjura caruana galizia u l – bloggers taggha imma li hu zgur hu li l – membri tal – Forza wrew li huma disposti u kapaci fil – qadi ta dmirijithom kemm fix xena lokali kif ukoll lil hemm minn xtutna.
[Daphne – John, when people do what they are paid to do, they shouldn’t think it newsworthy or exceptional. When I write a newspaper column, it’s not breaking news. When soldiers go to Libya to check over the Maltese embassy for explosives and bring back one (as it turns out) wounded person plus friend, it’s not breaking news either, and the brigadier shouldn’t be making a fool of his army by giving a press conference about it and talking about a collective effort. If they’re boasting about this, it makes you wonder what they do with the rest of their time, apart from sitting round. I’m far more interested in the identity of the two Libyans who were brought back – who are they and how were they handpicked? Now, that might be a news item.]
John, if you’re an AFM serviceman, I’m on your side. Always have been. If you’re a civil servant, go to hell.
Just managed to watch the video – disgusting, the whole thing.
I remember when we ‘Slimizi’ used to be mocked for using English words and expressions.
It seems that this has now spread all over the island.
None of the people in the video are Slimizi, but they all use a mixture of English and Maltese like we used to do.
[Daphne – Speak for yourself, Silvio. Most of the Slimizi I know keep the two languages clean and separate and I’m sure you do too. This way of talking is emblematic of poor education and nothing else. The brigadier’s sidekick probably can’t speak English – he sounds like he can’t – and seems the sort who prides himself ‘li hu Malti li jitkellem bil-Malti’, yet his Maltese is shockingly poor.]
My thoughts exactly, Daphne.
Daphne I wouldn’t have expected such harsh critique for this story. All that is being said are facts and any mocking of accents or wondering what service men do all day is childish to say the least. Next time show a bit more composure and blog on something that is newsworthy.
[Daphne – Sticking up for the boss, eh? While you’re on the line, so to speak, pray do tell us what it’s like being in the army of a neutral state that confuses military action with humanitarian aid. When you joined the army, was it because you wanted to be a soldier or precisely because you didn’t want to be one, so felt safe joining the Maltese version? That’s a genuine question. I am honestly fascinated.]
I’m afraid it isn’t my place to discuss the AFMs standpoint in this matter or any other. I only hope to serve the army to the best of my abilities and never let doubt stand in my way.
[Daphne – Your use of the words ‘hope to serve the army’ just about says it all, Salvu. You don’t serve the army. You serve IN the army, and the entity you’re serving by serving in the army is the country. The army is the means to an end, and not an end in itself, which is what Malta has made it.]
Where the hell did they find that cissy? Some army chief we have – imagine this moron directing operations in Iraq or Afghanistan.
And what about the Director of Defence in the Office of the Prime Minister – what are her credentials for this post? Is she Maltese or English, not that it makes any difference, as from what we heard in the clip she can’t speak either language.
Henn ghalina Mulej, henn ghalina………..
Mrs Frazier is Maltese, not English. She is the daughter of this woman:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maltatodaypics/4862737621/
She was born Grima Baldacchino and is married to an Englishman. She is a career diplomat.
Very interesting – interesting bedfellows – Soho landlords and island saviours.
Veru ihenn ghalina irid! I wonder what credentials this guy had to become brigadier.
He actually even makes the Italian military look tough.
Well said, Lorna! I presume you have even greater credentials to even mention the matter.
These guys should join those in Joseph’s skip and compete during next year’s carnival.
It is so humiliating listening to Maltese people trying to speak English when they have never mastered even Maltese. All we get is an idiotic face behind sun glasses spouting some sort of English with a Maltese accent.
Did anyone notice the Maltese soldier fooling around?
Maybe he’s a PN supporter and pretends to be tal-pepe’ too.
Ivan, only people who are not tal-pepe (like you, presumably) think that real tal-pepe people speak like Brigadier Xuereb.
Yes it is very bad for a Maltese person to speak English with a Maltese accent.
However it is fine when an American speaks Engish with an American accent or an Irish person speaks with an Irish accent or an Australian speaking with an Australian accent or an Italian person speaking English with an Italian accent.
Kemm ahna tan-nejk.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110916/local/Scalded-Gaddafi-family-nanny-in-Malta.384946
Her blistered body became a shocking but familiar SITE around the world when she described her ordeal on CNN in August.
Is it my imagination, or is the brigadier spoofing a camp officer?
Fred Karno’s army.
There’s clearly no problem with gays in the military in Malta, is there.
Relevant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_hbi2lHA14&feature=player_detailpage#t=50s
I know that both Maltese and English are the official languages in Malta BUT can’t we stick to either one of them when making public statements?
Experts call it code switching. It occurs often in bilingual societies.
For nigh on 25 years, promotions in our armed forces have been done on the basis of political affiliation, not merit.
This is the end result.
[Daphne – Oh, as if. It’s the end result of something else entirely: the fact that no man (or woman) who is officer material wants to join the Maltese army, precisely because it is so uninspiring. They go off and join and the British army instead. And that’s a fact. The only people who have joined the army in Malta since Mintoff disbanded the Royal Malta Artillery have done so on the tacit understanding that they will never be deployed. Previously, it was taken for granted that anyone joining the army in Malta might see active service, so the army attracted people who were willing and able. Now, it just doesn’t. It attracts thugs with Sly Stallone fantasies who like dressing up in combat gear and taking out their right-wing ideas on Africans, and it attracts people for whom it’s just a wage cheque and a day job. It does attract some real soldier types, but they are in the minority and very fed up.]
As far a I know most soldiers complete training in Italy and the UK. Therefore they should be able soldiers.
This is certainly the case of the current head of the army. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Xuereb
Couldn’t stick it out till the end. Too great an effArt required from me.
Dan jigi xi haga minn Lowell?
Imagine this brigadier coordinating a Collective Affort with the ferocious future minister of the interior when the first storm hits the island.
Ajjut.
What language is he speaking in?
Bi ftit Taljan l-hemm u l-hawn kien ikun jinstema qisu Lowell.
Martin ‘Desert Fox’ Xuereb with his plummy accent doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in his ability to defend Malta. Maybe that is why the PM hesitated to commit Malta to the Libyan cause. Our Rommel would have been laughed out of Nato at the first conference.
[Daphne – His accent is ANYTHING BUT plummy, Vanni.]
This reminds me of the ecstatic self-praise by the Task Force at the “rescue without loss of life” of the passengers in the hijacked Egyptair aircraft – that is, until it was soon established that the “rescuers” were not members of the Task Force at all, that they were Egyptian commandos massacring everyone within range in utter contempt of the integrity of our frontier and even attempting to murder someone at St Luke Hospital.
Minn kif qed jitkellem tahseb li qabad lil Gaddafi.
We can’t go after Gaddafi because we’re neutral, remember.
I nearly forgot! The most important thing was that at the subsequent cabinet meeting KMB wore a black tie and offered his resignation to his incredulous cabinet colleagues.
A last thought. Was it not Mintoff who called our army a lot of chocolate soldiers?
What is utterly disgusting in all this is the personal attacks against Miss Frazier. I never knew or had never spoken to this woman before. The first time I met her was six months ago. We have since worked together these last six months.
[Daphne – Mario, these are not personal attacks, but legitimate criticism. Mrs Frazier is a public officer. The most pertinent criticism, perhaps, is the fact that people seem only to have discovered her existence now, when as director of defence at the Office of the Prime Minister she should have been put behind a microphone on a near-daily basis starting on February 17. Why was Malta’s director of defence completely invisible as the debate raged on whether we should be involved militarily or not?]
I can testify that Miss Frazier wasn’t just an armchair activist for Libya, as many of the people writing in this blog were, but actually got her hands dirty doing things and taking risks along with the rest of us.
[Daphne – You have absolutely no idea what people writing here do or don’t do, Mario. I don’t know either, but I do know this: Mrs Frazier is not director of humanitarian aid, but director of defence. Tragically, the two diametrically opposed and entirely separate matters are completely confused in the mind of the Maltese government and of many citizens. Call me a realist, but defence is defence and humanitarian aid is humanitarian aid. If what you mean is that Malta used its army to cart and load boxes of aid, then fine – but if this is all we’re going to use our army for, then we should call it something else.]
I’ve been involved long enough in this Libya episode to know that Miss Frazier, along with a few others in Government, helped the Libyan people and us NGO’s immeasurably in our mission of delivering aid to Libya.
She is an able woman who takes crap from nobody, especially Civil Service bureaucrats, and just delivers what’s needed, where it’s needed.
What we saw together, however, is the unspeakable cruelty of man against man. And we all reacted. In the crucial period when Misurata was being shelled and bombed out of its wits, Vanessa, along with us, was there, trying to help in any way she could and more besides.
When we had no more money and were on the point of giving up, she encouraged us. Unfortunately, her story, like of many others, will never be told in full, because we had no time to document all the late nights, the phone calls, the despair and anguish, the little triumphs and then the climax and anticlimax of the final victory.
[Daphne – Mario, we discussed this over the telephone at the time and I distinctly recall putting a rocket under all this ‘Castille drama’ (in a friendly way, of course) and asking you to please not speak like the civil servants at Castille were doing the equivalent of Paris and London in lobbying the UN Security Council for a Yes vote or abstention while planning how to bomb Libya. It really is very tiresome.]
No one has the right to just lay into a person for the doing her job. But Malta has become a place where character assassination has become a sport. And that’s what you are doing to this woman. If any of you feel you could have done a better job, you should have come to the port every week and help load the ships with aid, at least. Or come with the folding stuff. Or come with us on the field, in Libya.
[Daphne – What is her job, Mario? Coordinating the aid effort? That’s for the Red Cross, not for the government’s director of defence. What you’re picking up here is not character assassination or ‘personal attacks’ but wholesale impatience with this ridiculous attempt at portraying Malta as some major player in the Libyan crisis. The ‘Maltese businessmen’s’ aid effort itself, unfortunately, has been rendered completely suspect by this http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110916/local/New-opportunities-for-business-arising-in-Libya.384957 ]
But many said “its Libya, they are rich, they have oil”. Oil doesn’t heal gunshot wounds, nor comfort mothers who have lost their sons in battle, or daughters pleading with their fathers to kill them because they have been repeatedly raped.
Nor does it fix the lives of families completely ruined because they don’t even have a piece of their loved ones who have been blown to smithereens, or worse still, the aching void of those whose loved ones have disappeared for ever in the prisons of Ghaddafi.
Malta should be proud for helping Libya so much, by means of its people. And ashamed that up till the very last moments of the regime, in Tripoli, some of our “respected” businessmen, or so called “captains of industry”, were still making deals with the regime to sell him fuel, arms and other stuff, and to hide him from the prying eyes of NATO.
[Daphne – Good, we agree on this at least.]
Or those who took care of his finances or those, holding very high positions, who have slept with him before and tried present him in a different light to the murderous tyrant he really was
Thank God the Libyans know a good thing when they see it .Vanessa Frazier and her team went far beyond the call of duty during the Libya Revolution. The welcome she received from the people of Misurata this week is testament enough to that. I’m proud to have gotten to know her. She is a credit to Malta.
[Daphne – Oh dear God, give me strength. Mrs. Frazier. Is. Not. An. Aid. Worker. And when Mrs Frazier gives press conferences, she should make at least some attempt to look and sound like a director of defence, a position that in sane societies is almost always occupied by a military officer or former military officer, though in Malta – home of horror of the military – it is filled by a career diplomat with a strong preference for humanitarian aid. This has nothing to do with whether she’s a woman or not. The defence attache at the US embassy here in Malta, for example, is a woman, but she’s an army officer and you’re left in no doubt of that at all.]
Daphne, where have you been all my life?
I WILL take the risk of being taken to task!
Will somebody please convince me that all these eulogies, self praise and ‘going to aid our neighbors’ crap was solely instigated by sheer goodwill without a thought of future trough guzzling?
I am 60 years old and I have spent more than 20 of those years earning a living in Libya, so one can say that I have more than an idea of what went on and what is currently going on.
As for Ms.Frazier, she is the PM’s problem – she is one of his staff.
And I will echo Ms. DCG – where was the lady during the last six or seven months of this conflict?
Dad’s Army anyone? But without the perfect English, of course.
According to some of the contributors the Maltese Army is good for the operetta. Its personnel have no military training and all that nonsense.
To most of them the American, British and similar armies are the best in the world, well trained, behaved and they are up to scratch, and they are capable to pinpoint a pinhead from outer space.
Considering the behaviour by these armies throughout the years one would come across the use of flame throwers, chemical warfare, (do you remember Vietnam?). Shooting press photographers because the well trained military mistook the telephoto lences for bazoukas. Prisoners were/are treated very well and are given all necessary humane help .
When they in doubt they just shoot indiscriminately.
The Maltese army personnel do not do such atrocities so they are good for operetta.
[Daphne – The Maltese army does not commit atrocities because it is never in a position to do so, Joseph. You can’t commit atrocities if you don’t fight. Maltese soldiers are as predisposed to atrocities as any other soldiers, and we can see this from the fact that they do what they can while at home and off duty: drug dealing, violence, attempted murder, voting for Norman Lowell, and also, we have reason to believe, arson attacks on people they believe are ‘supporting Africans’. ]
Mrs DCG, we all have our good and not so good qualities and that includes the two senior officers you denigrated. Rest assured I’d have no problem whatsoever going to war with the “sidekick” irrespective of his command or lack thereof of either English or Maltese.
With regards to Brigadier Xuereb, I am not that familiar with his potential on the operational level however one should never judge any commander at whatever level of command merely on his oratory skills. Military commanders usually leave oration to politicians and their “sidekicks”.
MIlitary commanders are assessed on their ability to appreciate situations, formulate plans, task subordinates/ units or formations and achieve missions at the tactical or the strategic level. If Brigadier Xuereb is capable of that, I don’t give a damn about the way he speaks or presents himself.
[Daphne – You are wrong. The ability to speak and communicate is crucial in a commanding officer, and as for presentation…that’s of the essence. Next thing you’ll be telling me that it doesn’t matter if the brigadier’s shoes are dirty and he has egg down his front (he doesn’t). As for the rest, Brigadier Xuereb does not need “to be capable of that”, Venator, because Malta is neutral and will never go to war. Effectively, neutrality made Malta’s army redundant. What we need is that task force again: people to load boxes of aid on boats and to go out in patrol boats to rescue drowning immigrants. You don’t need an army for that. I think some people are a little confused about what an army is for.]
Special regards to the numerous Hannibals, Napoleons and Alexanders contributing herein. One appreciates such learned and qualified opinions.
[Daphne – By mentioning those individuals, Venator, you merely make our own heroes look more inadequate.]
Mrs Caruana Galizia, you have understood perfectly what I meant in the previous post. Several contributors dished out like there’s no tomorrow on the Brigadier’s repeated use of a particular phrase. So what, does that belittle him or make him less valid as an officer? An officer’s qualities and efficacy are assessed as I earlier pointed out.
[Daphne – I don’t know, Venator. Has he ever been put to the test in conditions that an army is for? More to the point, will he ever be put to the test given that Malta has engaged on a career path of conscientious objection, as distinct from neutrality?]
Good communicative skills are required to communicate effectively with subordinates thereby ensuring they perceive your objectives and intents, their tasks are properly understood and hence missions are achieved.
[Daphne- Oh, so that’s why he speaks as though to a class of young children. Please.]
Oration is usually left to either lawyers or politicians or their respective sidekicks.
[Daphne – Oration and eloquence: there’s a difference. There is a also a difference between eloquence and the simple proper use of language. Stop trying to justify the unjustifiable. A man at that level should be able to speak properly and no excuses, full stop.]
With regards to your “does not need to be capable of that” shows your extremely limited military knowledge.
[Daphne – My military knowledge is rather good, Venator, but it’s completely wasted in a context where the government and people regard the army as a sort of glorified task force, or boy scouts with driving licences. I say ‘regards’ as distinct from ‘they are’. Put simply, there is no point in maintaining an army at huge expense if you have no intention of ever using it. An army is not a vanity exercise or something you ‘must have’, the fitted kitchen equivalent of a nation’s requirements.]
“Will never go to war” further confirms. As if being neutral ever equated to not going to war….. ex Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Granted threats and risks are on the lower end but I’d appreciate any guarantees to that effect.
[Daphne – Oh come off it, Venator. Our neutrality clause allows us to become involved in military action in accordance with a UN Security Council resolution, and STILL we chickened out. This business in Libya was probably the last chance the Maltese army ever got to do what it was trained to do, even if only back at home base, and they blew it. Now you can all go back to twiddling your thumbs, loading crates and rescuing drowning immigrants, all tasks that can be carried out by others. At least you no longer have to yawn the night away manning road-blocks.]
Re- heroes and adequacy; for an island of Malta’s size, guess we already have one too many.
[Daphne – No doubt. In the course of my career I’ve probably faced more danger to life and limb than the average AFM man in his cosy barracks. Though of course you can easily end up in A & E if you drop a a 100-pack of water on your toes while loading it. And then we mocked Mintoff for treating soldiers like porters.]
Madam,
I’ll be sleeping sound tonight in the sure knowledge a paladin’s at hand if a 100-pack of water were to fall on my toes.
Guess each is where he/she belongs.
All that collective effort tired me out.
Madoffi repeating the same phrase continuously.
Unlike Daphne and followers, I congratulate all those involved in this operation which was rightfully described as a collective effort of different branches of the AFM and the Foreign Affairs.
I also appreciate that going to Tripoli at present presents real risks and I thank God that you are safely back in Malta including that one (not two) Libyan national.
Well done AFM
[Daphne – ‘Going to Tripoli at present presents real risks’. Of what – being hit in the knees by a five-year-old celebrating with his mother and aunts?]
A career diplomat doesn’t behave as if they were out for an ice-cream on Tower Road or wear skimpy French Riviera outfits to work.
Baldrick for defence director.
No. Brigadier Carmel Vassallo would be a good choice, until I can take over (yeah right, the way slots are filled in the OPM…).
Then we can disband the AFM, raise a Corps of Refugee Helpers, and start negotiating with the British government to send Matthew Camilleri as commanding officer of a newly constituted Armed Forces.
To think that a 19-year old private has seen more action than our most senior officer. I despair.
They need to be taught skills in public speaking. At least Mrs. Frazier spoke only in English and she seemed very confident.
Brigadier iddecciedi -jew bil-Malti jew bl-Ingliz.
In my opinion (and I am not being sarcastic) dieticians should follow the AFM people. The huge bellies that I could the see in the video do not help at all with their jobs.
A huge belly is sine qua non for a burdnar.
Frazier is a twit, promoted beyond her abilities. That much is clear from her little speech.
That’s not confidence. It’s the voice of someone who knows jack shit about defence.
“Developing some kind of an infection”. “The Libyan”. Which bloody Libyan?
Who was he? Why was he chosen, out of thousands of wounded? Which side is he on?
Why did he ask to be brought to Malta? Did he ask or was the decision made for him?
Why did Malta accept? God damn it, am I the only one who asks these questions?
As for the brigadier, he has the voice, attitude and tone of someone who’s spent too much time either 1) tending to refugees, 2) pushing pens, 3) sucking up to politicians, 4) listening to the Prime Minister’s Christian cant on the evil of war.
My country disgusts me.
Reminded me of Operation Entebbe.
I noticed that on the soldiers’ camouflage uniform, on the chest there are two pieces of velcro attached. Two badges should be attached but it seems that no one wears them (or it could be that the AFM is not even in possession of these badges).
One one side there should be the surname of the soldier and the other side should indicate if they come from the Army, Air Squadron, or Navy.
It’s now official. I have it from the brigadier himself. That mysterious big bang heard in the Dingli area some month or two ago was nothing more than a gigantic AFM collective effart.
And does anyone audit the use of the four patrol boats purchased from Australia at a cost of millions of euros?
Most of the time all four are berthed lying idle at Haywharf. Imbasta ghandna navy hey.
As to Mario Debono’s “humanitarian” effort, can he kindly confirm that all the medicines he sent, amounting to millions of euros, were sold at cost price.