A group of Belgian army cadets have captured international attention after a video showing them awkwardly marching off-rhythm during the national day military parade was viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media.
The video, shared on Twitter under the caption "embrace the chaos," shows around a dozen cadets awkwardly marching behind a commanding officer.
The novice soldiers can be seen struggling to stay coordinated and keep up with the rhythm of the march, in what one international military outlet called the "worst drill in the history of upright walking."
While the outlet acknowledged that the July 21 celebrations had probably seen the cadets take their first steps at a military parade, it rapidly doubled down on its criticism, saying that the soldiers looked like they were taking "their first steps — ever."
The video garnered thousands of views in the hours following its publication, earning a tepid response from former secretary of state Theo Francken, who retweeted the video with an unenthusiastic "euhm."
One of the cadets took to Facebook to explain the details of their unfortunate missteps, saying that while their display had gotten off to a good start, things went south after they passed the Belgian royals.
"Once we passed the king, the music became louder and the commander gave a different pitch to the orchestra — as a result, we lost our rhythm," the 16-year-old cadet said on Facebook, according to Het Nieuwsblad.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
