Drill instructor charged in abuse of Marine recruits
He could receive 269 years in prison
By Rick Rogers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
August 23, 2007
A San Diego drill instructor was arraigned yesterday on 244 counts of abusing recruits in what could be the worst case of such maltreatment in modern Marine Corps history. Sgt. Jerrod M. Glass postponed making a plea during the court session at San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot. He also delayed his request to have a trial by judge or jury. If convicted on all charges, he could be sentenced to 269 years in prison.
Glass is accused of striking almost every member of his 60-man platoon – some repeatedly – during a monthlong rampage early this year.
The charges include 91 specifications of assault, 89 of failure to obey orders and 47 of cruelty and maltreatment.
Some of the alleged abuses resemble fraternity pranks, such as forcing a recruit to jump into a trash can, while others suggest stern physical punishment. Details of the charges were not given to the media.
Glass had worked as a drill sergeant for less than a year when the alledged mistreatment took place. No member of his platoon was seriously injured, but at least four ran away from duty.
Four officers who oversaw Glass at the time have been relieved of duty. In addition, at least two other drill instructors have been charged and are expected to be arraigned next month. If convicted, they could face a maximum sentence of one year in the brig.
The charges against Glass could hardly come at a worse time, some military analysts said yesterday. The nation's armed services are scrambling to fill their ranks as the Iraq war nears its fifth anniversary.
In particular, the Marine Corps wants to expand its force by 27,000 troops within five years. The depot in San Diego, one of two for the Corps, is expected to train about half of those recruits.
About 17,000 graduate from it each year, and most are deployed to Iraq within six months.
“In this era of an all-volunteer force, there is no room for noncommissioned officers who abuse their position of authority or officers who don't do their jobs,” said Tom Umberg, a former military judge, lawyer and state assemblyman from Orange County. “As the Marine Corps and Army redouble their efforts to recruit, this is not the kind of publicity that's helpful.”
Vic Ditchkoff, a former drill instructor, gave a similar assessment.
“This is going to impact recruiting. How can it not?” asked Ditchkoff, now president of the U.S. Marine Corps Drill Instructors Association based at Parris Island, S.C. The group has a chapter in San Diego.
Glass is not the only drill instructor from the local depot to face charges of abuse and other crimes in recent years.
Officials at the boot camp would not provide statistics regarding drill sergeants prosecuted on charges of mistreating recruits.
But by reviewing Marine court dockets, The San Diego Union-Tribune found that about a dozen drill instructors have fallen into that category since June 2005, including eight who were charged this year.
The total does not include cases settled by administrative punishment.
Over the past year, “There always seems to be four or five drill instructors on the docket,” said a Marine officer familiar with the Glass case.
“Some of it is because Brig. Gen. Angela Salinas is looking for abuse and some of it is because . . . there is more abuse,” said the officer, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals by superiors.
Salinas took over as commanding general of the depot a year ago. She was on vacation yesterday, and requests to interview her or other commanders were declined.
In the courtroom, Glass didn't speak during his arraignment except to answer “yes” or “no” to basic questions from the judge, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Meeks.
Capt. Patrick J. Callahan asked that all the counts against his client be read aloud. He wanted to underscore his contention that prosecutors had gone overboard with their case.
The prosecution outlined two of the specifications before Meeks ended the process by suggesting that the court's time might be better spent on other matters.
The alleged abuse by Glass occurred between mid-January and mid-February, according to court documents.
It included an incident on Jan. 24, when Glass allegedly ordered a recruit to jump head-first into a trash can and then pushed him farther into the container.
He also is accused of striking recruits with a tent pole and a heavy flashlight.
Yesterday, Meeks was surprised by the sweep of the charges and the number of officers already punished.
“That's a lot of people to relieve in one of these incidents,” Meeks said.
When told that most of the officers had hired attorneys to represent them, Meeks said the prosecution should consider giving one or more of those Marines immunity in exchange for their testimony.
The lead prosecutor, Capt. Christian Pappas, said every member of Glass' platoon was a victim or a witness to the drill instructor's unchecked brutality.
Pappas said he might call the entire group to testify during Glass' court-martial, tentatively set for Nov. 8 to 21.
Rick Rogers: (760) 476-8212; rick.rogers@uniontrib.com
Brigadier General Angela Salinas
Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego; and Commanding General, Western Recruiting Region
Brigadier General Angela (Angie) Salinas began her military career when she enlisted into the Marine Corps in May 1974. Following recruit training at Parris Island, S.C., she served as a legal services clerk until 1977 when she was selected for the Enlisted Commissioning Program and commissioned a second lieutenant in December 1977.
She has commanded at every rank and has served as Series Commander, Woman Recruit Training Command, Parris Island, South Carolina; Commanding Officer, Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Maintenance Battalion, Camp Pendleton, CA; Commanding Officer, Recruiting Station Charleston, West Virginia; Commanding Officer, 4th Recruit Training Battalion; and Commanding Officer, 12th Marine Corps District, San Diego, CA.
She served in a variety of staff positions throughout the Marine Corps serving as a legal officer with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at Cherry Point, N.C.; Executive Officer, Headquarters Company and Battalion Operations Officer, Woman Recruit Training Battalion; Adjutant, 3rd Maintenance Battalion, Okinawa Japan; Adjutant, 1st Maintenance Battalion, Camp Pendleton, CA; Executive Officer, Recruiting Station Charleston, West Virginia; Major’s Combat Service Support Ground Monitor; Deputy, Special Assistant for General/Flag Officer Matters, Joint Staff; Assistant Chief of Staff, Plans and Policy; G-5, III Marine Expeditionary Force; Depot Inspector, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, CA; and Operations Officer, Marine Corps Recruiting Command and Chief of Staff, Marine Corps Recruiting Command, Quantico, VA.
In June 1989, Brigadier General Salinas assumed command of Recruiting Station Charleston and became the first woman in the Marine Corps to command a recruiting station. In June 1992, she became the first woman assigned as a combat service support ground monitor responsible for the assignments of over 1000 senior officers. She was the first female assigned as a plans and policy officer for a major combatant command in 1999, and in May 2001 when she assumed command of the 12th Marine Corps District, became the first woman to serve as a recruiting district commanding officer. She is the first woman to command the Marine Corps Recruit Depot/Western Recruiting Region in San Diego, CA.
Brigadier General Salinas is a 1976 graduate of Dominican College of San Rafael, CA, where she received her B.A. in history. She received her Master’s from the Naval War College in 1992. She is a graduate of the Amphibious Warfare School, the Naval War College’s Command and Staff College and the Army War College.