Salisbury Journal:

IT’S NOT been a proud week for The Army.

To be told one of its soldiers had died after undergoing an unlawful punishment will, no doubt, cause further serious discussions about discipline. However, these should have taken place at the highest level moments after Private Gavin Williams took his last breath at Salisbury District Hospital in 2006.

The evidence before coroner Alan Large was that new guidelines had been in place, but little had changed in the way punishment was administered. So on one of the hottest days of the year 22-year-old Private Williams was pushed to the point of death.

Judge Large’s opinion was clear: “Greater diligence… would have made at least some aware that the discipline systems in their battalion were not functioning properly and they would have alerted others and taken appropriate action to stop it.”

There is no doubt the job of maintaining discipline in the Army is no easy task. And the reverse side of this may be behind something that’s been witnessed on the streets and at the night venues in Salisbury over recent weeks.

A lack of control could be behind the unpleasant and anti-social behaviour that has led to the Mercian Regiment being banned from some city night venues. Salisbury has enjoyed an excellent relationship with its military neighbours over the years. It’s one the city’s licensees, through the Pubwatch organisation, is keen to preserve.

But to succeed they need the co-operation of the Army bosses.