Drunken soldier, 26, lost loaded 9mm pistol on top-secret foreign mission
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By MARC NICOL DEFENCE EDITOR
Published: | Updated:
A judge condemned the Army's 'drinking culture' after a soldier lost his loaded gun on a secret mission overseas.
The loss of the 9mm pistol could have had 'massive operational consequences', a court–martial heard.
Lance Corporal Aaron Mann, then 26, was on a 'highly sensitive' deployment in December 2024 when, over the evening of December 18 and into the following morning, he became 'severely intoxicated'.
Mann, of the first Battalion, the Royal Irish Regiment, lost a bag containing the pistol and 30 rounds of ammunition. The bag was returned by local civilians hours later.
Mann pleaded guilty to breaching an alcohol ban and told the court he was 'very lucky' the bag was found by the 'correct people'.
He was sentenced to 12 months in a military prison followed by discharge from the Army.
During a sensitive overseas mission in December 2024, Lance Corporal Aaron Mann (pictured) got severely drunk and lost a bag containing a loaded 9mm pistol and 30 rounds of ammunition
Sentencing him, Assistant Judge Advocate General Peter Legard said: 'This court martial is getting demoralised and fed up with the number of matters that it is having to deal with, almost all of which are related to excessive alcohol consumption…
'The chain of command needs to get a grip on this drinking culture, which is prevalent... across the three services because it is having... a significant detrimental impact upon operational effectiveness.'
On Sunday, the Army said: 'Where alcohol misuse causes a lapse in standards of behaviour, soldiers will face disciplinary action.'
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