Posted on Jun 6, 2016
Marine Boot Camp Officer Fired in Connection with Recruit's Death
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The officer in charge of the regiment to which all East Coast Marine recruits are assigned was fired Monday in connection with an investigation into a recruit's death at boot camp earlier this year.
Col. Paul Cucinotta, the commanding officer of Recruit Training Regiment at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina was relieved by Marine Corps Training and Education Command Commanding General Maj. James Lukeman, officials said.
In a release, command officials said the move was due to "a loss of trust and confidence in [Cucinotta's] ability to serve in that position."
The relief, according to a news release, was based on information revealed to Lukeman during the course of a command investigation that indicated instances where policies and procedures were not followed.
An official with knowledge of the investigation told Military.com it was connected to the March 18 death of 20-year-old Raheel Siddiqui.
Siddiqui died after falling 40 feet in a barracks stairwell, according to information released by Naval Criminal Investigative Service. While NCIS officials have said foul play is not suspected in the incident, the tragedy prompted a congresswoman from Siddiqui's home state of Michigan to publicly call for more answers.
Rep. Debbie Dingell, a Democrat, wrote to Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller in April, demanding an accurate timeline for the events leading to Siddiqui's death and information as to whether hazing was involved.
To date, this information has not been publicly released.
A spokesman for the training and education command, Capt. Joshua Pena, told Military.com nothing further could be said about the investigation, as it was still ongoing. He said it's not clear when the investigation will be completed. At this point, he said, there are no indications that Cucinotta will face further administrative action.
Cucinotta, an artillery officer, previously served as Marine exchange officer to the 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia, and completed a tour in Bahrain as assistant chief of staff for operations for Marine Corps Central Command (Forward). He took command of Recruit Training Regiment in July 2015.
This is the second commanding officer firing at Parris Island this year.
On March 31, the commander of 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, Lt. Col. Joshua Kissoon was relieved due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command. The decision to relief Kissoon was made prior to Siddiqi's death, according to information provided by Parris Island officials, but the cause for his firing has yet to be made public.
@SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas , Capt Christopher Mueller , CPT (Join to see) , COL Mikel J. Burroughs , Sgt Joe LaBranche , SSgt (Join to see), TSgt Hunter Logan Capt Seid Waddell SrA Christopher Wright LTC Stephen F. PO2 Ed C. PO2 Mark Saffell MSG Tom Earley PVT James Strait Alan K. @po1 william "chip" PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Maj Kim Patterson @SGT John McConnell SGT John " Mac " McConnell
Col. Paul Cucinotta, the commanding officer of Recruit Training Regiment at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina was relieved by Marine Corps Training and Education Command Commanding General Maj. James Lukeman, officials said.
In a release, command officials said the move was due to "a loss of trust and confidence in [Cucinotta's] ability to serve in that position."
The relief, according to a news release, was based on information revealed to Lukeman during the course of a command investigation that indicated instances where policies and procedures were not followed.
An official with knowledge of the investigation told Military.com it was connected to the March 18 death of 20-year-old Raheel Siddiqui.
Siddiqui died after falling 40 feet in a barracks stairwell, according to information released by Naval Criminal Investigative Service. While NCIS officials have said foul play is not suspected in the incident, the tragedy prompted a congresswoman from Siddiqui's home state of Michigan to publicly call for more answers.
Rep. Debbie Dingell, a Democrat, wrote to Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller in April, demanding an accurate timeline for the events leading to Siddiqui's death and information as to whether hazing was involved.
To date, this information has not been publicly released.
A spokesman for the training and education command, Capt. Joshua Pena, told Military.com nothing further could be said about the investigation, as it was still ongoing. He said it's not clear when the investigation will be completed. At this point, he said, there are no indications that Cucinotta will face further administrative action.
Cucinotta, an artillery officer, previously served as Marine exchange officer to the 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia, and completed a tour in Bahrain as assistant chief of staff for operations for Marine Corps Central Command (Forward). He took command of Recruit Training Regiment in July 2015.
This is the second commanding officer firing at Parris Island this year.
On March 31, the commander of 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, Lt. Col. Joshua Kissoon was relieved due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command. The decision to relief Kissoon was made prior to Siddiqi's death, according to information provided by Parris Island officials, but the cause for his firing has yet to be made public.
@SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas , Capt Christopher Mueller , CPT (Join to see) , COL Mikel J. Burroughs , Sgt Joe LaBranche , SSgt (Join to see), TSgt Hunter Logan Capt Seid Waddell SrA Christopher Wright LTC Stephen F. PO2 Ed C. PO2 Mark Saffell MSG Tom Earley PVT James Strait Alan K. @po1 william "chip" PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Maj Kim Patterson @SGT John McConnell SGT John " Mac " McConnell
Marine Boot Camp Officer Fired in Connection with Recruit's Death
Posted from military.com
Military Life
Justice
Boot Camp
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 5
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Difficult to see how Col. Cucinotta was responsible for a recruit falling down a stairwell.
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PO1 (Join to see)
Yes it's a severe loss but does it need to have a finger pointed at the Col.?
BTW....with anything that happens in today's world/society, make sure to take it with a grain of salt. Sometimes news outlets do not share the whole story or even have a full story.
Either way, the CO shouldn't have been relieved, further investigation should be applied before letting go of a commanding officer, even if it was a pure accident.
BTW....with anything that happens in today's world/society, make sure to take it with a grain of salt. Sometimes news outlets do not share the whole story or even have a full story.
Either way, the CO shouldn't have been relieved, further investigation should be applied before letting go of a commanding officer, even if it was a pure accident.
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Capt Seid Waddell
PO1 (Join to see), "Sometimes news outlets do not share the whole story or even have a full story."
Excellent point.
Excellent point.
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SP5 Mark Kuzinski Command can be a two way street, one to future success or one to total failure based on how you take charge of your responsibilities throughout your entire chain of command. Down to the lowest supervisor or first line leader, your command needs to know that safety, regulations, procedures, techniques, tactics, risk assessment, and policies are not just words or paper, but they need to be followed, tested, and exercised continuously. This is a dangerous business we are in, especially during initial training, advance training, and training exercises in the field. Garrison safely is just as important. If the Commander was found to have failed on any of these fronts, during the investigation, then he needed to be relieved of command and replaced with even more vigorous and proactive leadership that is leaning forward in the foxhole at all times. This is just my opinion froma former Commander at the Company, Battalion, and Brigade level that never lost a soldier due to safety or lack of leadership (that was almost 16 years of command and while deployed).
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Thanks for letting us know SP5 Mark Kuzinski that Col. Paul Cucinotta, the commanding officer of Recruit Training Regiment at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina was relieved due to "a loss of trust and confidence in [Cucinotta's] ability to serve in that position" in connection with a recruit's death at boot camp earlier this year.
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PO2 Robert M.
LTC Stephen F. PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Extremely sad commentary of the United States Military, and the Military chain! Couldn't it have been SUICIDE? Per the article: An official with knowledge of the investigation told Military.com it was connected to the March 18 death of 20-year-old Raheel Siddiqui.
Siddiqui died after falling 40 feet in a barracks stairwell, according to information released by Naval Criminal Investigative Service. While NCIS officials have said foul play is not suspected in the incident.
Siddiqui died after falling 40 feet in a barracks stairwell, according to information released by Naval Criminal Investigative Service. While NCIS officials have said foul play is not suspected in the incident.
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