Friends toasting with glasses of light beer at the pub. Photo: 123rf
Heavy drinking displayed by Defence Force staff deployed in Egypt is an embarrassment to the country, says Alcohol Healthwatch director Andrew Galloway.
The New Zealand Herald said Lieutenant Colonel Justin Putze's command of a 60 person delegation on the Sinai Peninsula in the Middle East in 2017 devolved into "a booze-fuelled, sexualised party".
The atmosphere encouraged by Putze led to four complaints of sexual assault and more than 30 charges, the Herald reported.
Putze was demoted to major after a court marshall and left the Defence Force in 2020, the Herald said..
Galloway said the problems on the Sinai Peninsula highlighted the harm caused when leadership boundaries were blurred by alcohol abuse.
"I know that the NZDF and other large local organisations are working on their drinking culture.
"This just shows when leadership levels participate in the practices of a heavy drinking culture, it can really set the example in the most negative possible way," Galloway said.