Parris Island Archives

Former Marine Drill Instructor Pleads Guilty to Charges in Recruit’s Death

March 18, 2018/in Government, Military, Military News

Kissoon

Lt. Col. Joshua Kissoon, the highest-ranking Marine implicated in the recruit abuse and hazing scandal following the death of a Muslim recruit, has pleaded guilty to charges of dereliction of duty, making a false statement and conduct unbecoming an officer. Kissoon has chosen to take an early retirement.

Raheel Siddiqui died at Parris Island after a fall that the Marine Corps characterized as a suicide. Siddiqui, in his second week on the island, was reported to have been trying to request permission to go to medical for a sore throat on the day of his death. He was refused medical attention, instead being forced to run laps in his barracks. When he collapsed on the floor, he was allegedly slapped by his senior drill instructor, Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Felix. It was then that Siddiqui supposedly ran through a door in the barracks and leaped over an exterior stairwell, falling three stories.

Kissoon’s was the final court-martial in connection with the 20-year-old’s death.

Siddiqui’s parents have maintained that their son, as both a faithful Muslim and son, was morally incapable of purposely killing himself. In Islam, suicide is a mortal sin. They also claim that Siddiqui never had any mental health issues or threatened suicide. He had spent months training with his recruiter before boot camp in order to succeed. The family has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the federal government claiming negligence led to their son’s death.

Felix was convicted by a military court of abusing Siddiqui, as well as two additional Muslim recruits on separate occasions.

Felix received a dishonorable discharge, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Following Siddiqui’s death, the Marine Corps instituted a zero-tolerance policy for abusing and hazing recruits.

In total, five Marines, including Felix and Kissoon, were either convicted or pleaded guilty at courts-martial.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, and their families.

Family of Marine Recruit who Died at Parris Island Sues for $100 Million

November 6, 2017/in Government, Military, Military News

siddiqui

By Debbie Gregory.

The parents of a former Marine recruit who died at Parris Island after a three-story fall have filed a $100 million lawsuit against the federal government.

Ghazala Siddiqui and Masood Siddiqui claim their son, Raheel, was “assaulted, hazed and discriminated against because of his Muslim faith, and died after allegedly being abused.

The lawsuit claims the Marines “fostered a culture of abuse and hazing” at the training base at Parris Island, S.C.that led to the death of the 20-year-old in March, 2016.

The Marines have maintained that Siddiqui’s death was a suicide, a conclusion that his family has rejected, along with suggestions that Siddiqui was somehow not prepared for the rigors of Parris Island.

Siddiqui, in his second week on the island, was reported to have been trying to request permission to go to medical for a sore throat on the day of his death. He was refused medical attention, instead being forced to run laps in his barracks. When he collapsed on the floor, his drill instructor allegedly slapped him. That is when Siddiqui allegedly ran through a door in the barracks and leaped over an exterior stairwell, falling three stories.

Siddiqui succumbed to his injuries at Medical University of South Carolina Hospital several hours later. His parents have maintained that their son, as both a faithful Muslim and son, was morally incapable of purposely killing himself. In Islam, suicide is a mortal sin. They also claim that Siddiqui never had any mental health issues or threatened suicide. He had spent months training with his recruiter before boot camp in order to succeed.

Making him seem weak or unprepared, the family and their lawyer argue, shifts blame away from where it belongs: with the Marines.

Following Siddiqui’s death, the Marine Corps instituted a zero-tolerance policy for abusing and hazing recruits.

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, and their families.

Marine Corps Opens Twitter Dialogue with Comedienne Sarah Silverman

October 31, 2016/in Government, Military, Military News

By Debbie Gregory.

Emmy winning comedienne Sarah Silverman was not joking around when she tweeted concern for her nephew to the Marine Corps, in light of the boot-camp abuse scandal. Silverman, who has nearly 9 million Twitter followers, tweeted to the Marine Corps’ main account twice and once to another account affiliated with its Recruiting Command.

The Marine Corps responded by reassuring Silverman that the service branch is committed to her nephew’s success as a recruit at Parris Island, S.C

The scandal alleged that numerous drill instructors abused recruits at what is likely the U.S. military’s best-known boot camp.

In the most tragic incident, Marine recruit Raheel Siddiqui, 20, fell three stories to his death in March after running away from a drill instructor who had hit him. The same drill instructor has been accused of putting another recruit in an industrial-size dryer last year and turning it on multiple times.

Up to 20 Marines face either criminal or disciplinary action, and the service has removed numerous senior officials at Parris Island after investigations found that they had not done enough to stop it. More than 100 other cases of abuse and hazing in the past few years at the recruit training center also have been substantiated, according to military documents. The service has not released any information about most of those.

Silverman asked for reassurances that her nephew will be safe during recruit training.

The Corps responded with, “We appreciate and understand your concerns and thank you for sharing them directly with us. Rest assured, the recent circumstances regarding recruit training in the media are not indicative of the manner we transform young men & women into Marines. We are actively engaged in ensuring everyone with a loved one or family member working hard to earn the title Marine is assured and informed. We remain committed to your nephew’s success, and when he’s earned the title Marine he’ll be proud and so will we! See you at his graduation.”

Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, and their families.