Posted on 11/15/2007 5:41:34 AM PST by RDTF
SAN DIEGO -- In the biggest such case in decades at the Marine boot camp here, former Marine Corps drill instructor Sgt. Jerrod Glass was convicted Wednesday by a military jury on eight counts related to the abuse of recruits.
Glass, 25, who was charged with kicking, punching, slapping and ridiculing the young men, could face 9 1/2 years in prison and a dishonorable discharge.
Jurors indicated, however, that they did not believe dozens of specific allegations in which the only witnesses were the alleged victims themselves. That could count in Glass' favor when he is sentenced. In a four-day trial, nearly two dozen former recruits testified that Glass abused them for minor mistakes during training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego and at Camp Pendleton.
After convicting Glass, the Marine jury of three officers and three senior staff noncommissioned officers heard testimony concerning his sentence. The jurors will begin deliberations on sentencing today. The verdict and the sentence then will be reviewed by Brig. Gen. Angela Salinas, commanding general of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.
A conviction of this scope is rare. In the last three years, the recruit depot, which has nearly 500 drill instructors, has seen 44 drill instructors charged with misconduct toward recruits. Of those 44, only two before Glass went to court-martial; others were punished or admonished through an administrative process. Glass was convicted on two counts of violating orders, two counts of cruelty and maltreatment, three counts of destroying the recruits' private property and one count of assault.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
puhleeze..... I've done the deed and walked the walk sister. There is a difference between abuse and training. I've been abused and I've been trained..... hard.
For a DI to be so out of line that other DI's can't cover for his "act", speaks volumes for what he did that we know about.
You may be correct in that some people need to get their butts stomped on to straighten themselves out, but it's all subjective. I remember getting my jump badge pounded in my chest...... big frickin deal. But some other Marine idiot video taped the whole thing when he got pounded in and the public made it out to be some blood letting slaughterhouse.
It's all subjective. Nobody is going to make the Marines a bunch of pansies by keeping a DI from using a tent pole to beat a boot on the head cause he forgot his locker combination.
Oh yeah. and a big FYI for you.... Marines have already faced Islamist,Taliban, N. Koreans and Chinese.... we kicked their asses...... every time, all the time.
I'm not worried in the least about the fighting ability and discipline of our current Corps. I'd do it all again if I was 30 years younger.
There’s no tellin’. But I’d love to hear the DI’s side of this story.
OMG - the downward drumbeat continues...Why don’t they just throw in the towel and make our recruits take needle-point and sexual-orientation sensitivity class?? What a bunch of freakin’ p***ies.
Didnt see that anywhere in the article.
When I was in basic I saw a DI continually abuse one troop. The DI was maybe 5 ft tall; the troop was well over 6 ft 6.
The abuse got so bad that every member of his unit wrote their parents and their congressman about it.
The DI was removed. The other DI’s didn’t lift a finger...that’s what got me.
I once posted that I’m not a good shot....anything beyond 100 meters calls for artillery.
Someone answered: “You rang?”
Just what did the Sergeant do?
The local news here said that he stuffed one ‘cruit into a trashcan...didn’t say if it was a foul one.
update:
Los Angeles Times
November 16, 2007
Ex-Drill Instructor Gets Six Months
The Marine sergeant was convicted of abusing recruits at boot camp. A military jury rules that his rank should be reduced and that he should get a bad-conduct discharge.
By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO — A former Marine drill instructor was sentenced by a military jury Thursday to six months in the brig and a bad-conduct discharge for abusing Marine recruits.
The sentence also reduced Sgt. Jerrold Glass’ rank to private.
Glass, who was convicted Wednesday of eight counts related to the abuse of two dozen recruits, could have received 9 1/2 years in prison and a dishonorable discharge.
Scott Thomas Beauchamp?
Okay, I didn’t factor in stupidity.
I understand what you're saying. My point is that we know some stuff happens, always has, always will. But if this guy was so out of line that nobody could cover for him, then it's the stuff we don't know about that makes me wonder.
As a "Hollywood" Marine boot we had some adjustment to our "brain housing group" in order to pay "attention to detail" also. You are correct that no matter how much training you do it's all easy street compared when the first couple of rounds go "pssfffttt" by your noggin or a friend gets dinged.
I don't know about you but you have to admit, to be 30-40 years younger, full of piss and vinegar ready to eat meat and invincible.... I do miss it sometimes. ...... all except cold weather training....THAT SUCKED. I hated and still hate cold weather. I'd take a good beat down, cause it stops when it stops, but you are always cold and it NEVER stops..hahahahahaha
"sadistic power mongers", "sadistic DI's"
Wow! Who knew?
As recruits we thought it was just rigorous training and an attempt to teach us to handle mental and physical pressure under duress.
The truth is that if you can't handle Marine Corps boot camp you probably can't handle an enemy much more ferocious than Joy Behar.
On the other hand, if we had access to some new-millinia type lawyers and judges we could have been millionaires at a young age.
Well, stupidity is always a factor ... but I’m not clear on whether that guy was stupid or malicious ... or both.
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