Cash-strapped Lebanese army branches out into leisure services

BEIRUT: The Lebanese army announced on Thursday that it is set to offer sightseeing rides in its helicopters in a bid to boost its coffers.

The country’s ongoing economic crisis —  which the World Bank describes as “likely one of the world’s worst since the 1850s” — has hit the Lebanese military hard, leaving it struggling to pay its troops enough to live on.
France recently hosted a virtual international conference to raise assistance for the country’s armed forces.
However, the international community has largely refrained from providing any aid to Lebanon, as the wait for a government capable of carrying out genuine reforms to be formed goes on.
As the Lebanese pound has crashed — losing more than 95 percent of its value against the dollar — soldiers’ salaries have plummeted to less than $100, compared to around $800 before the start of the crisis. Last year, army command scrapped meat from meals provided to on-duty soldiers as part of its austerity drive.
According to the American Global Firepower website, the Lebanese army ranks 116th among the world’s strongest 139 armies, with a total available military force of 75,000 individuals, 20,000 of whom are considered to be members of paramilitary forces. The Defense Ministry’s budget is $2.3 billion, according to its official website figures for 2021.

The army’s newly launched helicopter flights, offering civilians the chance to “see Lebanon from above,” are a bid to at least cover the maintenance costs of the Robinson R44 Raven helicopters used to extinguish fires and transport soldiers in need of medical attention. Up to three people are allowed on board for each flight, which lasts 15 minutes and costs $150. Payment must be made in cash.

A military source told Arab News: “The army had never resorted to such a strategy before. The economic revenues of the initiative are surely not enough the secure the needs of the military amid the crippling economic crisis in the country — it might only cover 2 percent of its financial needs. But what is good about it is that the fees are paid in dollars.”
The army has also opened its swimming pools to civilians from certain professions. The entrance fees for the pools are considerably cheaper than those for private pools or resorts on the Lebanese coast — 40,000 pounds ($26.5) on weekdays and 60,000 pounds at the weekend, compared to a minimum of 100,000 pounds for private pools.

One of the workers at the military pool in Beirut said: “During the weekend, there is not one empty seat. Sometimes (we’ve had around) 3,000 visitors, which is an unprecedented number.”
A military source told Arab News: “We are trying to limit our losses and — wherever we can — make a profit,” adding that the enormous increase in prices across Lebanon “has crippled us and our resources are barely enough to cover these kinds of recreational activities for officers, their families, visitors, and the civilians who are allowed entry.”
On Friday, Lebanese army commander Gen. Joseph Aoun visited Tripoli, where violence has broken out over the past few days as people protest their living conditions in the crises-hit country. Stones and furniture were thrown at soldiers as they attempted to restore calm to the city’s streets.
Gen. Aoun said the army “is the guarantee for stability and will remain committed to defending Lebanon, its people and its territories.”
“Nothing and nobody will lead us into a confrontation with our people, but we will not allow anyone to destabilize the security of any city or region in Lebanon,” he said.
“The economic situation has become very hard on the Lebanese and on the army as well — suffering and struggling like the rest of you and maybe even more, given the many tasks that we are honored to fulfill amid this critical and difficult period.”