Did you see that poor kid in Marine training that drowned?

[King Coal]

That story just broke my heart. When that fucking bastard of a DI slugged him, I just felt too sad for words.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

1. yeah, i saw it

one thought came to mind. "people are fucked up". then i agreed with myself and carried on with what i was doing.
terrible story, i saw an interview with the family, the father was in tears. awful.

[PuraVidaDreamin]

2. Made me so ANGRY

There had better be some accountability for this crime!

[King Coal]

4. Phobias are real. I know. My wife is terrified of heights.

[RobertSeattle]

3. Video is (still) available at the MSNBC Video site

http://video.msn.com/video/p.htm?rf=

[BrklynLiberal]

5. Saw it on Olberman, with the crying father Heartbreaking.

Hope they get bastards that killed the kid.

[Robert Oak]

6. lawsuit

tell me that an entire pool of other marines didn't sit there and watch that kid drown and do nothing.

What bullshit drowing in a pool trying to swim 25 meters.

Immediately the Navy issued this big fat denial but think about it...
how many guys were there in that video...how many near or in the pool?

Spare me, they killed that guy.

[AValdoux]

7. Tragic but sign of times

I had heard that during bootcamp, when a guy wasn't going to work out as a marine they were removed quietly and sent home, an Article ??? For the rest of the training squad or the marines in general, it didn't make sense to keep a guy who shouldn't be there in the first place.

I guess now they try to keep every poor soul that signs on the bottom line at the recruiters

AValdoux

[PuraVidaDreamin]

8. This story is not big enough

It needs to be blasted! It could drop new recruit numbers by hundreds if not thousands below quotas.

[CPschem]

9. Fuck these military bastards

These drill instructors paid to play hard-asses. The idiotic, machismo military culture that condones abuses like this is to blame. I'd like to see that kid's dad bully the drill instructor just a little bit.

[RaleighNCDUer]

10. No video, Please describe. n/t

[PuraVidaDreamin]

11. EVERY potential recruit should see this video

Basically showing this kid walking into the pool dressed in shirt and pants, his posture showing how frightened he was of his instructors, hunched over, afraid to look up...

When he tried to walk past the DI, the bastard instructor quickly pulled up his arm (into bicep pose position) which stuck the kid whith his fist. I've cried over this video and almost got sick to my stomach.

Hey kids join the Marines. IF you survive bootcamp you can die in Iraq!

[RaleighNCDUer]

14. Thanks. And I finally saw it last nite.

I don't know. I was treated worst than that when I was in boot, lo these many years ago, and it didn't look like much to me.

otoh, there is a real problem with his drowning. The DI's and Navy corpmen should have had a close eye on him. That's what they're there for.

When I was in boot there was a kid who keeled over from heat exhaustion on the PT field, and because the DIs thought he was flaking they just left him for like five minutes, as he died. It was from a different platoon than mine, and recruits get no info, so I don't know what happened other than that two of the three DIs responsible were gone in a couple days, presumably busted out.

Should be the same thing -- an inexcusable negligence of their duties.

I don't think the 'abuse' is the issue here.

[mainer]

12. How the hell did he fall for the recruiter's sweet talk?

That poor boy was clearly not meant to be a Marine. As his dad said, "he'd do anything anyone told him to do." Isn't there a point during boot camp where the drill instructors finally realize they've got a hopeless case and let the kid leave?

[spanone]

13. Best way to teach torture is to endure it. Is that our policy now?

[Paranoid_Portlander]

15. My friend was almost killed in basic training.

This happened in 1965 at Fort Lewis, Washington. He caught pneumonia and the U.S. Army deliberately neglected him. He finally got a medical discharge (and a punch in the stomach from another recruit). He was fortunate to make a complete recovery, physical and mental, in the following months. At least he avoided being sent to the Vietnam slaughter.

[Berserker]

18. When I was in

Navy boot in San Diego back in 70. It came to the day to teach swimming. I will never forget that day. I was a strong swimmer and it was lucky for me I was. They had us line up along the edge of the pool.
Expert swimmers on the shallow end, Intermediate swimmers in the center and Non-Swimmers at the deep end. A whistle blew and we all had to dive in and start making laps until they told us to stop.

I was at the shallow end being a good swimmer and had a hard time swimming for the length of time they asked. I will never forget the screams I heard that day from the non-swimmers. The instructors had long aluminum poles meant to be used for saving a person but they were using them to beat any non-swimmer in the head that came near the edge of the pool.

I could not believe what I was seeing and I will never forget what it sounds like for a man to scream in fear for his life while not being allowed to touch the edge of the pool and being beaten with those poles.

[Catherine Vincent]

16. The shoving happens all the time in training right?

They think they are toughening them up. I feel so sad for the family.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

17. When I went through boot camp, beatings were common.

I don't mean "occasionally", but every day. It was expected, and accepted by the recruits.

I am NOT making any of this up.

A few incidents:

Two DI's came into the quonsot huts that served as barracks at the time. Displeased with something, they had us all stand at attention. With the usual scraming of obscenaties they went to each man and "decked" him. This was done by slugging him in the solar plexis which renders you breathless, and helpless on the deck.

Two recruits, both pale blondes, were discovered not to have shaved. They were forced to put buckets over their heads and shave each other with double-edged razors. A lot of blood for all of us to see and remind us to shave.

An unfortunate recruit received a 2lb package of Oreos from his sister. He was forced to eat them all at once with a canteen of warm water. Then forced to do push-ups with a footlocker. You can imagine the results.

We were forced to do push-ups in July on the "grinder" asphalt. Those in the back ranks were able to pull their sweat shirt sleeves down over their hands. Those in the front ranks suffered some serious burns that required medical treatment - administered by the DI's to avoid detection.

One recruit from Chicago who had never fired a gun before and "flinched" repeatedly was beaten with rifle-butts by two drunken DI's.
This did result in an investigation because of he injuries received. The two DI's were removed and replaced by two less sadistic examples.
The beatings continued but much more discreetly and without as much brutality.

These all took place in my platoon, but was widespread throughout the depot while I was there.

This was in '61. I hear that things have changed but I guess some of the neanderthals didn't get the word.

On edit: During the 12 weeks of boot camp, there was at least one suicide that everyone knew about. 3 more were rumored.

[mordarlar]

19. Is there another source of the video? I cannot get CNN video to work.