The Sheffield University Officer Training Corps has been embroiled in controversy after a sexually explicit magazine, written by and featuring trainee officers, came to light.
An army investigation has been launched into Slag Mag, which includes details of sexual relationships between trainee officers and alludes to depraved sexual acts alleged to have taken place while the Officer Training Corps (OTC) programme was being funded with public money.
The current issue of the magazine, obtained by Forge Media, is headed as “issue 33 – the ‘censored’ edition”. It details the activities of cadets during summer camp training in 2008, up until a ski trip which took place in January this year.
It also boasts the return of “The ‘F’ League”; a point scoring ‘game’ whereby certain sexual activities are graded and the winner is “the person who has the most confirmed points by summer camp.”
The table is split into two columns, with one listing the activity and one documenting the points awarded for completion. A French kiss receives one point, fellatio is given three points, and fornication is given four points.
The game also states: “points are doubled for activities which occur in the field”. Any “F” on the roof of the Somme Barracks results in a tripling of points, though “shagging a PSI (permanent staff instructor)” incurs a four point deduction.
The publication has been reported to the Ministry of Defence and a full investigation will now be undertaken at the Sheffield OTC.
Commanding Officer of Sheffield University Officer Training Corps, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Balls, said: “Any behaviour that damages trust, degrades individuals, or brings the army into disrepute will not be tolerated and the commanding officer of Sheffield University OTC is now conducting a full investigation.”
A dot-to-dot style diagram is also featured in the magazine, including the names of members of the OTC. Readers are encouraged to “join up people who have shagged in the past six months.” The document includes anecdotes of events throughout the year.
For legal reasons all names have been withheld by Forge Media.
In a section labelled “Freshers’ onwards…” it states: “Soldier A made a bee line for the visiting para PTI, who having returned from ‘dressing’ Soldier B’s feet back at his room, took Soldier C back, and the only dressing done this time was in the morning.
“It wasn’t just the training team going at it either, B Company were getting involved too – Soldier D and Soldier E stuck two fingers up to privacy and did things their way.
“It has recently been discovered that Soldier F is no longer the real Andy Stitzer. Contrary to popular belief, it was NOT with his current girlfriend, Soldier G, but instead with WOCdt. Soldier H taking one for the team.”
It continues: “Soldier I and Soldier J liked each other at the beginning of the year, until Soldier I decided Soldier K was a better alternative, unfortunately, his subconscious disagreed and he went all Alan Carr’s wrist on her and then asked her to leave…”
Sheffield University OTC recruits 150 cadets from both the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University each September. The army states that the primary aim of the University Officer Training Corps is to: “[provide] a practical link between the army and Universities”.
Officer Cadets get paid between £35 and £57 per day by the Army. This includes recruitment days and weekends away.
A joint statement from both the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University has condemned the publication.
It said: “The publication which has been brought to our attention was produced independently by a small group of students and is not in any way an official or semi-official publication of the University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University, the Unions of Students, or the Sheffield University Officer Training Corps.
“Both Universities, Unions and the OTC deplore any behaviour which brings their good name into disrepute, and undermines the fantastic volunteering and other work which is being done continually by the Sheffield University OTC students, including their annual fundraising campaign only this weekend to raise money for the Bluebell Wood children’s hospice.”
The Sheffield University branch of the OTC has been the subject of heavy debate in recent years.
A proposal to ban the OTC from the University of Sheffield Union of Students and Union events was rejected by 27 votes to 10 at a Union Council meeting last semester.
The proposal was brought forward by Kick ’Em Off campus, an activist group which opposes the presence of the OTC on the University of Sheffield campus and has lobbied the University to deny the army the right to recruit on campus.
Last year Captain James Fulton and Captain Daniel Chamings, senior figures at the Sheffield OTC, were sacked and fined for supplying and possessing cocaine. Both mentored student cadets.
The East Midlands OTC found themselves the subject of media debate in January when photographs were published online showing trainee army officers dressed as Osama Bin Laden, a member of the Ku Klux Klan, and as a mother who had recently had an abortion.