Heads roll at Parris Island

[nitpicker]

https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/articles/heads-roll-at-parris-island

Heads roll at Parris Island

By: Todd South, June 11, 2017 (Photo Credit: Pfc. Daniel Blatter)

On the day a recruit died during training at Parris Island last year, the drill ­instructor accused of slapping the recruit ­moments prior to his death was not supposed to be working with recruits at all. The drill instructor, Gunnery Sgt. Joseph A. Felix, was at the time under investigation for a previous recruit hazing incident yet was working as senior drill instructor in violation of both verbal and written orders from the regimental commander that he and others facing allegations of misconduct not be in that position until after investigations were concluded, Marine Corps officials said.

How Felix ended up in the recruit barracks that day in March 2016 is unclear and has become a central question for top Marine leaders. Many questions remain about the death of recruit Raheel Siddiqui, who — just recently returned from a suicide watch — ­allegedly passed out during training and was awakened by Felix slapping him in the face. Siddiqui then bolted across the squad bay and leapt to his death from a height of nearly 40 feet.

The next morning, as the command staff gathered in the hectic aftermath of the death, leaders started connecting the dots. It was one of those “holy crap” moments, one witness recalled, as they realized that Felix had been Siddiqui’s senior drill instructor despite unresolved allegations lodged several months before that Felix, while reeking of alcohol, had forced another Muslim recruit into a clothes dryer while questioning the recruit’s faith.

Col. Paul Cucinotta, then-regimental commander, recalled in recent testimony that he turned to Felix’s battalion commander, Lt. Col. Joshua Kissoon, and asked him: Why was Felix in the platoon? “Why didn’t we talk about this?” ­Cucinotta asked him. “Had we talked about it, I would have tried to convince you to let him go back,” Kissoon said, according to Cucinotta’s testimony.

The Marine Corps later fired both Cucinotta and Kissoon. New details of the fatal incident and the commanders’ response were revealed during testimony in an Article 32 hearing for Kissoon. Many of the details remain allegations that must be proven in the adjudication process. Yet what unfolded in Kissoon’s June 5 hearing revealed a fuller picture of what some believed happened in the year leading up to and the weeks immediately preceding Siddiqui’s death, and the command climate surrounding it.

Kissoon is the highest-ranking Marine officer known to face judicial proceedings for conduct concerning incidents that preceded Siddiqui’s death. Witnesses at his preliminary hearing described him both as an “excellent,” “hardworking” commander who cared about his Marines, while others recalled him as a protectionist, ­self-centered, “condescending” leader who cared only about his career.

Kissoon, a prior enlisted Marine with 27 years of service, including time on the drill field as an officer, faces three charges related to alleged conduct while serving as commander of 3rd Recruit Training Battalion: failure to obey a lawful order and willing dereliction of duty, false official statements and conduct unbecoming.
(snip)

[secondwind]

1. This turned my stomach. The hatred of Muslims is

everywhere. Even in our armed forces. There's only so much more we can take of this 💩. When is enough enough?!!?

[rpannier]

2. Was in the army late 80's - early 90's

This was a time when you could really notice just how far the army was shifting toward an ultra conservative mindset.
TBH, short of reinstating the draft and making everyone serve, the bulk of the people you're going to get (for the most part) are children of soldiers, the uber patriot, people who have trouble finding work and people who need the money (scholarship fund, student loan payoff, bonus money)

[sharedvalues]

3. That's why many western countries have compulsory

Compulsory military service.

[rgbecker]

4. This!

Say what you want about the service during the Vietnam war. The enlisted ranks then were not a group that was going to put up with very much bullshit. At least they kept that endeavor to about 10 years....now it is WAR-FOREVER!