thedrifter
07-05-04, 06:00 AM
Newhouse News Service
July 1, 2004
Story spurs Marine probe
By David Wood
The Marine Corps, spurred by a feature story on boot camp written by a
Newhouse News Service reporter who recently enlisted, has opened an
investigation into possible violations of policy by drill instructors.
The reputation of the Marines' boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., is
legendarily tough. Nonetheless, its drill instructors, or DIs, operate
under a code of conduct that prohibits "degrading language" and abusive or
humiliating treatment of recruits. Regulations strictly govern conditions
under which drill instructors can "drop" recruits for push-ups or
physically touch them.
Bill Cahir, 35, Washington correspondent for the Times, enlisted as a
reservist last fall and completed boot camp at Parris Island, graduating
as a private first class this spring.
In a feature story written for Newhouse News Service, Cahir recounted an
instance during boot camp in which a DI pushed a rifle against his
forehead, pinning Cahir back against his bunk, and screamed profanities at
him.
But assessing the incidents, Cahir wrote of the DIs, "I admired their
toughness."
Cahir did not name any drill instructors in his story and said he declined
to name them in an interview Tuesday with an investigator.
At three points during his 13 weeks of boot camp, Cahir wrote, he signed
paperwork certifying that the DIs had not abused him verbally or
physically: "I did not believe they had. ... It was a fighting man's
world. The DIs thrived in it. They had earned their stripes, and they were
preparing us for ours."
The Marines took a different view.
"Any time there is an allegation, we have a responsibility to look at it,"
said Maj. Kenneth D. White, a Marine Corps spokesman at Parris Island.
"People enlist in the Marine Corps with a certain amount of trust and
confidence that we are going to take care of them."
The Marine Corps learned of Cahir's account when Cahir, in an effort to
obtain appropriate photographs to accompany the story, sent an unedited
early draft to the public affairs office at Parris Island.
According to the Marine Corps drill instructor's manual, any allegation of
abuse triggers an automatic investigation run under military law by an
independent officer.
White said potential sanctions range from reassignment to suspension to
prosecution under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. In early June, he
pointed out, three drill instructors were relieved of duty pending the
outcome of an investigation of an incident in which a dozen recruits were
hospitalized for dehydration and severe muscle fatigue.
According to the Marine Corps manual, recruits learn to become combat
Marines by dealing with boot camp stress "produced initially by fear of
the unknown." As the recruits are led through increasingly difficult
physical challenges and unrelenting mental pressure, stress "comes from
fear of failure," the manual says.
The training is intended to teach Marines that they can "stand up to
stress" before finding themselves in combat.
But the prohibition of profanity and other forms of abuse is "a line which
will not be crossed," the manual states.
White said a preliminary investigation of Cahir's experience, opened this
week, should take no longer than 72 hours.
"I did not intend to get any person at Parris Island in hot water," Cahir
said Wednesday. "I certainly didn't expect any negative reaction from the
Marine Corps. To this day, I harbor nothing but respect and admiration for
the non-commissioned officers who trained me. I hope they are cleared of
all wrongdoing and thanked for their service."
Ellie
July 1, 2004
Story spurs Marine probe
By David Wood
The Marine Corps, spurred by a feature story on boot camp written by a
Newhouse News Service reporter who recently enlisted, has opened an
investigation into possible violations of policy by drill instructors.
The reputation of the Marines' boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., is
legendarily tough. Nonetheless, its drill instructors, or DIs, operate
under a code of conduct that prohibits "degrading language" and abusive or
humiliating treatment of recruits. Regulations strictly govern conditions
under which drill instructors can "drop" recruits for push-ups or
physically touch them.
Bill Cahir, 35, Washington correspondent for the Times, enlisted as a
reservist last fall and completed boot camp at Parris Island, graduating
as a private first class this spring.
In a feature story written for Newhouse News Service, Cahir recounted an
instance during boot camp in which a DI pushed a rifle against his
forehead, pinning Cahir back against his bunk, and screamed profanities at
him.
But assessing the incidents, Cahir wrote of the DIs, "I admired their
toughness."
Cahir did not name any drill instructors in his story and said he declined
to name them in an interview Tuesday with an investigator.
At three points during his 13 weeks of boot camp, Cahir wrote, he signed
paperwork certifying that the DIs had not abused him verbally or
physically: "I did not believe they had. ... It was a fighting man's
world. The DIs thrived in it. They had earned their stripes, and they were
preparing us for ours."
The Marines took a different view.
"Any time there is an allegation, we have a responsibility to look at it,"
said Maj. Kenneth D. White, a Marine Corps spokesman at Parris Island.
"People enlist in the Marine Corps with a certain amount of trust and
confidence that we are going to take care of them."
The Marine Corps learned of Cahir's account when Cahir, in an effort to
obtain appropriate photographs to accompany the story, sent an unedited
early draft to the public affairs office at Parris Island.
According to the Marine Corps drill instructor's manual, any allegation of
abuse triggers an automatic investigation run under military law by an
independent officer.
White said potential sanctions range from reassignment to suspension to
prosecution under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. In early June, he
pointed out, three drill instructors were relieved of duty pending the
outcome of an investigation of an incident in which a dozen recruits were
hospitalized for dehydration and severe muscle fatigue.
According to the Marine Corps manual, recruits learn to become combat
Marines by dealing with boot camp stress "produced initially by fear of
the unknown." As the recruits are led through increasingly difficult
physical challenges and unrelenting mental pressure, stress "comes from
fear of failure," the manual says.
The training is intended to teach Marines that they can "stand up to
stress" before finding themselves in combat.
But the prohibition of profanity and other forms of abuse is "a line which
will not be crossed," the manual states.
White said a preliminary investigation of Cahir's experience, opened this
week, should take no longer than 72 hours.
"I did not intend to get any person at Parris Island in hot water," Cahir
said Wednesday. "I certainly didn't expect any negative reaction from the
Marine Corps. To this day, I harbor nothing but respect and admiration for
the non-commissioned officers who trained me. I hope they are cleared of
all wrongdoing and thanked for their service."
Ellie