Army investigates alleged 'Racial Thursdays' at unit

2015-03-19T00:17:21-04:00

http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/careers/army/2015/03/18/army-race-investigation-unit/24994093/

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 19 at 2015 12:18 AM

2015-03-19T00:18:34-04:00

I was reading this whole article thinking….. Are you kidding me? Are we even still having these kind of discussions anymore???

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Mar 19 at 2015 11:05 AM

2015-03-19T11:05:28-04:00

Chest Puller's Ghost!?!

How the hell is this even possible? Whatever happened to everyone being Green.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Mar 19 at 2015 11:07 AM

2015-03-19T11:07:05-04:00

Unsat.

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Mar 19 at 2015 11:19 AM

2015-03-19T11:19:00-04:00

I suspect there will be some openings to fill come the next promotion cycle...

Response by CMDCM Gene Treants made Mar 19 at 2015 11:31 AM

2015-03-19T11:31:16-04:00

Are you Serious?? What century is this taking place in? One person said that "his platoon leader, ... allegedly encouraged "Racial Thursdays" as a way to build morale and camaraderie." That seems like a strange way to build anything when people wind up getting into fights and having their feelings hurt. All of us should know that racial slurs lead to disharmony, not unit integrity and feelings of belonging.

This command is still doing an INFORMAL investigation into the allegations. it is way past time for that once you make it to Army Times. It is time for a real, honest Formal look at what is allowing this to take place. As SSG James J. Palmer IV said, let the whoppings commence and start at the top. No one in this command can be unaware of what is going on! After all, it is a "tradition."

Response by LTC Stephen C. made Mar 19 at 2015 11:49 AM

2015-03-19T11:49:50-04:00

SFC Private RallyPoint Member, it's shameful, absurd and beyond comprehension.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 19 at 2015 12:01 PM

2015-03-19T12:01:29-04:00

Good idea fairy strikes again?

Response by CSM Michael Lynch made Mar 19 at 2015 12:29 PM

2015-03-19T12:29:06-04:00

There will be many openings in that unit form the top down and those involved need severe discipline, if they are in leadership positions their rank needs to be reduced and careers ended. This behavior goes against every Army and human value. There is no place in the Army for leaders that encouraged this behavior to another Soldier EVER.

Time they become PFC'S Proud F$#$#ng Civilians and OTH discharge. JMO

Response by SGM Erik Marquez made Mar 19 at 2015 12:56 PM

2015-03-19T12:56:43-04:00

I could have lost my career, freedom and family had i come across this in my unit.

Feel free to read between the lines as you will.

Response by COL Jean (John) F. B. made Mar 19 at 2015 1:21 PM

2015-03-19T13:21:13-04:00

Hopefully this was the result of some idiotic idea of a platoon leader and not condoned by his chain of command. How anybody could see this as anything but harmful escapes me. However, I served long enough that nothing that happens surprises me anymore. The issue is what will be done about it? I presume that there will be some reliefs, additional training, lessons learned, etc., etc. and everything will be fine until the next dumbass makes a stupid decision like this.

Response by LTC Yinon Weiss made Mar 19 at 2015 2:18 PM

2015-03-19T14:18:33-04:00

Sounds like there are deeper issues going on there than just this story, given the suicide from a few years ago.

As a side note, there are 15 members of that company on RallyPoint:

https://www.rallypoint.com/units/c-co-c-company-3rd-battalion-21st-infantry-regiment-fort-wainwright-ak/current

Response by SPC Christopher Smith made Mar 19 at 2015 5:11 PM

2015-03-19T17:11:30-04:00

Just bringing some humor to the forum, am I the only one waiting to find out the PL was a member of SAE, lol.

Response by SGT Francis Wright made Mar 19 at 2015 9:46 PM

2015-03-19T21:46:58-04:00

It's the new Army,

Response by SGT Corey Franks made Mar 20 at 2015 8:39 AM

2015-03-20T08:39:09-04:00

What in the holy f@*k?!?!? Please tell me all of these soldiers have been given article 15s. They know right from wrong, following that order does not protect you!

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 20 at 2015 9:52 AM

2015-03-20T09:52:23-04:00

I have been in the Army a long time. There aren't too many things that shock me anymore.
WHAT THE %$#&!!!
Are their seriously enough idiots accumulated in one place to hijack the culture of an entire unit? I get the occasional bad apple; we have all encountered them. But enough to garner a quorum?
Where is the First Sergeant on this? If he is any kind of engaged, he would have gotten wind of this very early in his tenure. Does he condone this, or is he clueless? Either way, the answer is the same: FIRED.
Where is the Commander on this? Surely a command climate survey would have identified this gong show. Failing that, there must have been disciplinary actions crossing his desk as fights break out or shenanigans resulting in injuries occurred. What did he do? Looks like nothing. FIRED.
And the NCOs who tolerated or worse, participated in this? FIRED with extreme prejudice. Article 15 party at the Battalion or Brigade Commander's office, after a pit stop with the CSM for some old-school, high-volume corrective instruction.
This one makes me ill.
And it happens AFTER this very same unit was found to have contributed to a Soldier's suicide due to constant hazing. That means that this unit has had this "tradition" handed down through multiple commanders and at least one, probably two complete turnovers of personnel due to PCS.

Send me. I have some ideas for how to fix this. I will need access to some training areas and about 10 Assistant Instructors.
Any Volunteers?

Response by SSG Leonard Johnson made Mar 20 at 2015 11:40 AM

2015-03-20T11:40:18-04:00

Hahahaha omg (gosh) can u say DUMBASS award hahahaha

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 20 at 2015 11:44 AM

2015-03-20T11:44:44-04:00

This must be a joke. But if only it were.

We are supposed to build esprit de corps not tear each other down.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 20 at 2015 12:42 PM

2015-03-20T12:42:56-04:00

Sweet Jesus! How and why something like this isn't nipped in the ass at the lowest levels of leadership in today's Command climate, with all of it's focus of Consideration Of Others, zero tolerance on discrimination and harassment, and learning to live and serve with Soldiers of a different sexual orientation is totally mind-boggling! If I didn't see the source at first, for the first couple of paragraphs, I would swear I was reading a Duffleblog satire piece. WTF, indeed!

Response by SSG John Erny made Mar 20 at 2015 4:05 PM

2015-03-20T16:05:11-04:00

CSM Mike Oldsen SSG James J. Palmer IV SMSgt Stephanie McGirr SFC Mark Merino PV2 Lisa Wilcox GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad MSgt Curtis Borders SFC James S.
SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas CW5 Scott Montgomery Cpl Mark McMiller COL Jean (John) F. Burleson,

Have we as a society become immune too the shock and pain of racial slurs? In fact in my humble opinion certain words have become a product that can be sold; in music, movies, T.V., and in popular culture. Well take the N bomb for example, we hear black people use it in Rap all the time, but yet it is very popular with other ethnicities. Who does not sing along to music when no one else is around, but not that any one would want to hear us singing. With constant bombardment of these hurtful words they seem to have been bastardized from the original definition. I think is more true of younger people than older people like myself.

Case in point, if you listen to the flint stones song in its original form you hear the term, “we will have a gay old time.” That word now means something else, societal use of it has changed it from the original definition as Webster's dictionary would have defined it at the time. So has this happened to the N bomb? Could it be that some people especially teens and young adults have a different definition of what certain words mean.

I have seen racial tension in the barracks during the late 80's and 90's and some of was quite ugly some Whites and Blacks but one case really stuck in my head. A group of young Hispanic soldiers from various places: Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Dominica Republic in a very heated argument over who is the most Hispanic. I thought it was going to come to blows so I got out of Dodge fast.

Skip forward to OIF 1 camp Arifjan Kuwait: I am in the Chinese Restaurant and RAP music is playing with about every third word being the N bomb. I did not like it at all but I needed something other than chow hall food. There was a female E-7 who happened to be black who spoke up and said she was offended, she asked me if I was offended and I said yes. The younger folks in there did not seem to even notice.

It is the things that I have experienced in my life like those listed above that I have formulated my opinion on. Rally Point what do you think of my theory is it merited or not?

PS: I mean no offense to any one, only to debate.

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 20 at 2015 11:50 PM

2015-03-20T23:50:57-04:00

I can't believe we still have these incidents going on in our ranks. With all the training we receive in our ranks and the negative light we have seen shed on our military in the past over various scandals, you would like that these Soldiers and Leaders would have common sense enough to see what they are allowing to take place is wrong in so many ways. I am glad there were a few strong Soldiers that stood up and reported the unprofessional actions going on in that hostile work environment. We need to continue to strong bond of brotherhood and sisterhood across all military branches where hopefully one day race,gender,sexually, etc all are put aside and we stand side by side as American Soldiers period.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2015 3:09 AM

2015-03-21T03:09:11-04:00

With all due respect, when I read that the PL justified it as a way to build morale and camaraderie this is all I was thinking.

Response by 1LT Nick Kidwell made Mar 21 at 2015 4:00 PM

2015-03-21T16:00:15-04:00

Unfortunately, no. It does indeed happen.

Why anyone in any semblance of an effective chain of command would this this was remotely OK is beyond me.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 22 at 2015 3:23 AM

2015-03-22T03:23:20-04:00

Appalling. Disgraceful. Preposterous. First words that come to me as I read the article. And for every completed suicide I can't even imagine how many more were demoralized and/or borderline suicidal.

Being an immigrant myself, I witnessed over the years that racism is THE most sore spot in the history of the greatest country on the face of our planet, and yet someone pulls a stunt like that without thinking twice??

Thank you for posting this article in hopes of compelling some maturity into ignorant, narrow-minded fellow service members, both majority and minority alike.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jul 11 at 2015 4:00 PM

2015-07-11T16:00:50-04:00

Are the platoon leaders in a Cambodian tunnel?

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 11 at 2015 4:57 PM

2015-07-11T16:57:33-04:00

Just when you think you've heard it all. There is no way this behavior can be viewed as appropriate on any level.

Response by Sgt Ken Prescott made Jul 11 at 2015 8:02 PM

2015-07-11T20:02:01-04:00

If anyone had ever approached me with this idea, I would've given him my patented "Are you really that f***ing stupid" look.

Response by SMSgt Lawrence McCarter made Jan 29 at 2017 2:03 AM

2017-01-29T02:03:28-05:00

Hard to believe anyone could think this was ok ! There is something drastically wrong anything like this was allowed at any level anywhere. There is no way anything like this could possible help moral, We try to build a team that includes everyone, this is 100% wrong for accomplishing that let alone having any place in any Military unit. This is no tradition, this is just wrong !