Former Marine raises more questions about recruit death at Parris Island

In March, a 20-year-old Muslim-American recruit named Raheel Siddiqui reportedly leapt to his death from the stairwell of his third-story barracks at Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island. Marine Corps officials say Mr. Siddiqui’s death was the result of a toxic culture of hazing and physical abuse.

Mr. Siddiqui was purportedly slapped multiple times and called a “terrorist” because of his Muslim faith by a drill instructor who had a history of similar behavior. Investigations are underway, with an emphasis on the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, where Mr. Siddiqui was a recruit.

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Marine Corps training has come under fire before

USMC policy: Recruits threatening suicide should ‘immediately’ be evaluated

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I was a recruit in the 3rd Battalion in 2002 and, in fact, was in the same company as Mr. Siddiqui, and I see some striking similarities to my experience — as well as questions that warrant quick and thorough answers.

Marine Corps boot camp begins with an indoctrination process, where recruits are stripped of any remnants of civilian life and begin the rigorous process of becoming a Marine. It’s arguably the most challenging part of boot camp, and one that quickly weeds out those who don’t assimilate. It’s also where things tend to go wrong, and that happened repeatedly in my platoon.

One of my fellow recruits sprang out of his bed in the night, ran up a stairwell and dove off the third-story railing. Another recruit and I found him crumpled in a bloody pile on the sidewalk just outside our barracks. There was so much blood I could smell it, and it took several blankets to soak it up. Later, following an investigation, we were told he lived, but sustained serious brain and bodily injuries. This happened at about the same time in training as Mr. Siddiqui’s death.

During my time at Parris Island, several more recruits attempted suicide or expressed suicidal thoughts, and I was ordered to stand suicide watch many times.

Of course, we are talking about the Marine Corps, famous for its ferocity and “first to fight” warrior ethos. Marine Corps boot camp is the longest, most demanding introductory military training, and anyone interested in joining should give careful consideration to this.

Still, I find Mr. Siddiqui’s case puzzling and disturbing. According to reports, he was evaluated by the mental-health clinicians and was cleared to return to training despite telling them he was suicidal. When I was there nearly 15 years ago — when the recruit training practices were arguably harsher — the mere mention of suicide got you a one-way ticket out. And it was quick: Recruits would leave the platoon in a matter of days following suicidal attempts or claims.

One wonders how Mr. Siddiqui was allowed to return to training after speaking about suicide.

Equally troublesome is the fact that Mr. Siddiqui was allegedly singled out and harassed about his Muslim faith. One of the first lessons of recruit training is that everyone is green; there’s no distinction of race, religion or creed.

It takes a lot of courage to join the Marine Corps, and even more for a person of Pakistani descent, given the nature of the wars America has been involved in recently. I hope a thorough investigation will shed light on allegations of systemic abuse and give the Siddiqui family some closure.

This story was originally published October 2, 2016 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Former Marine raises more questions about recruit death at Parris Island."