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Marines install infantry officer to lead Parris Island boot camp after a wave of scandal
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/sto...island-boot-camp-after-wave-scandal/85706204/
A new general took the helm of one of the military's most legendary training bases Friday, just days after it was rocked by a string of high-profile firings following a recruit's death there.
Brig. Gen. Austin Renforth, a career infantry officer, took command of Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, on Friday. Renforth, who previously led the service's Training Command, pledged that Marines in his charge will "follow the rules" and "do things right," the South Carolina-based Island Packet reported.
Renforth replaced Brig. Gen. Terry Williams, who led the fabled recruit depot for two years. During that time, four Marines there were removed from top leadership positions.
Two of those reliefs were tied to the investigation into the March death of Raheel Siddiqui, a 20-year-old recruit who fell 40 feet from a balcony just days after arriving at boot camp. An undisclosed number of drill instructors have also been removed from their jobs as a result of Siddiqui's death, the Washington Post reported Friday.
here’s concern that the wave of firings could have a chilling effect on the depot's remaining drill instructors, who must work within a strict set of guidelines while molding the recruits into Marines.
They are not allowed to hit or otherwise abuse the young men and women whom they train, of course, but out of necessity their interaction can be up-close, intense and aggressive. It’s a delicate balance, and the system has been refined over the last several years as more scrutiny has fallen on longstanding practices that bordered on hazing — or fit the very definition of it.
“The DIs are going to be walking on eggshells, worried if they do this or that they’ll get in trouble, and we don’t want that,” said one observer, a retired senior enlisted Marine with several tours in the service’s recruit training environment.
He implored Parris Island’s new chain of command to have an honest conversation with the depot’s staff about the impetus for the recent firings, so they trust that they can do their jobs without having to “look over their shoulders.”
A tumultuous tenure
The high-profile Parris Island command was Williams’ first assignment as a full-fledged general officer.
An engineer by training, he’d been selected for promotion several months prior to his arrival in South Carolina, and before being parked for a brief stint at the Pentagon where he served as the service’s director of public affairs and worked closely with then-commandant Gen. James Amos.
While in the public affairs role, Williams became involved in Amos' controversial effort to remove Marine Corps Times newspapers and newsstands from their sales locations at Marine Corps exchange stores worldwide.
....this is a long article, I did not post it in full....
Marines install infantry officer to lead Parris Island boot camp after a wave of scandal
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/sto...island-boot-camp-after-wave-scandal/85706204/
A new general took the helm of one of the military's most legendary training bases Friday, just days after it was rocked by a string of high-profile firings following a recruit's death there.
Brig. Gen. Austin Renforth, a career infantry officer, took command of Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, on Friday. Renforth, who previously led the service's Training Command, pledged that Marines in his charge will "follow the rules" and "do things right," the South Carolina-based Island Packet reported.
Renforth replaced Brig. Gen. Terry Williams, who led the fabled recruit depot for two years. During that time, four Marines there were removed from top leadership positions.
Two of those reliefs were tied to the investigation into the March death of Raheel Siddiqui, a 20-year-old recruit who fell 40 feet from a balcony just days after arriving at boot camp. An undisclosed number of drill instructors have also been removed from their jobs as a result of Siddiqui's death, the Washington Post reported Friday.
here’s concern that the wave of firings could have a chilling effect on the depot's remaining drill instructors, who must work within a strict set of guidelines while molding the recruits into Marines.
They are not allowed to hit or otherwise abuse the young men and women whom they train, of course, but out of necessity their interaction can be up-close, intense and aggressive. It’s a delicate balance, and the system has been refined over the last several years as more scrutiny has fallen on longstanding practices that bordered on hazing — or fit the very definition of it.
“The DIs are going to be walking on eggshells, worried if they do this or that they’ll get in trouble, and we don’t want that,” said one observer, a retired senior enlisted Marine with several tours in the service’s recruit training environment.
He implored Parris Island’s new chain of command to have an honest conversation with the depot’s staff about the impetus for the recent firings, so they trust that they can do their jobs without having to “look over their shoulders.”
A tumultuous tenure
The high-profile Parris Island command was Williams’ first assignment as a full-fledged general officer.
An engineer by training, he’d been selected for promotion several months prior to his arrival in South Carolina, and before being parked for a brief stint at the Pentagon where he served as the service’s director of public affairs and worked closely with then-commandant Gen. James Amos.
While in the public affairs role, Williams became involved in Amos' controversial effort to remove Marine Corps Times newspapers and newsstands from their sales locations at Marine Corps exchange stores worldwide.
....this is a long article, I did not post it in full....
