Family wants investigation of recruit's death

I wonder if Lynndie and her leash were present?

He looked so frail in his pictures. It is hard to imagine that kid being a Marine. What a total shame.

It's not all about size, but you're right, he wouldn't have been the norm.

KO covered this story and showed the video tape of the visibly shaken recruit being pushed around. I don't understand how they can let someone drown during a water survival course. What about CPR?

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/02/19/marine.drowning/index.html


Five Marines have been suspended and another put on administrative duty during an investigation into the drowning of a recruit in a training pool at Parris Island, South Carolina, a Marine Corps spokesperson said Saturday.

Recruit Jason Tharp died February 8 from what the Marines described as "complications in the water," a day after a camera crew from WIS-TV in Columbia, South Carolina, shot video showing a drill instructor grabbing and striking him during a training session.

Military personnel are suspended in cases of suspected wrongdoing, which can include failing to report code-of-conduct violations to the proper authorities, the Marine spokesperson said. The suspended Marines were put on desk duty.

Although they said they were not certain there was any connection between his death and what happened on the tape, Tharp's parents were upset by the way their son was being treated. They also said he did not swim well. A Marines spokesman at the Pentagon said the actions by the drill instructors seen in the video appear to violate regulations for dealing with recruits, an assessment backed up by an outside expert.