/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mco/XUVBQMJI4JGGLLDB3HXJXJD24Q.jpg "The Marine Corps leads all military services in hazing numbers – by far")
The Marine Corps leads the way, at least in terms of hazing, according to a recent Pentagon study.
A 2018 report found that 256 of the 291 hazing complaints came from the Marine Corps, while 91 of the 102 proven hazing incidents belonged to the Marine Corps.
The Navy came in second, with 17 complaints in total and 10 complaints substantiated, while the Army had 13 complaints in total, none of which was substantiated, and the Air Force had five complaints in total with one proven incident, Military.com reported. .
Hoax data for the Marine Corps in 2019 showed that complaints dropped to 188, while proven incidents dropped to 47, the online media said.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mco/5Z47ZGFOSNA4HDTGYFPGC7KEPI.jpg)
Neither Military.com nor the Marine Corps Times have yet received prank calls for the rest of the Department of Defense in 2019, as requested. The Marine Corps Times is still waiting for the 2018 Pentagon report.
The 2018 DoD report was ordered by then-Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis as part of a reform aimed at offensive language and harassing behavior in the ranks.
“The Marine Corps consists of more than 230,000 active, reserve and civilian marines, and the vast majority of them perform their duties with dedication and integrity,” Brig. General Jason Woodworth, director of the Marine Corps Labor and Policy Plans Division, told the Marine Corps Times in a statement. “Failing to act and respond is not only inconsistent with who we are, it also degrades our traditions, threatens our cohesion and morale and undermines the fulfillment of the mission.”
Woodworth said the Corps has taken long strides in the way it handles prank calls, pointing to a sudden drop in the number of prank calls from 2018 to 2019.
“We still have work to do as the goal remains zero,” added Woodworth.
The Marine Corps has taken the hoax within its ranks more seriously since 2016, when Muslim Navy recruit Raheel Siddiqui threw himself on the stairs of a barracks in Parris Island, South Carolina, falling 12 meters to his death.
The case led to the 2017 sentencing of Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Felix and led to the exposure of several anti-Muslim hazing events on the island. Siddiqui’s story is being turned into a TV series about the Marine Corps’s hazing and Islamophobia culture at the recruitment depot.
The 2018 data did not provide information on the victims’ racial backgrounds, conditions that led to the hazing, nor any long or short term impacts of the hazing, Military.com reported. The data showed that the majority of hazing offenders were white.
Under current policy, the Marine Corps “aggressively” investigates all hazing incidents, Yvonne Carlock, a spokesman for the Marine Corps and Reserve Affairs, told the Marine Corps Times.
“Hoax and other destructive behavior must be analyzed by the Navy commander and have a designated course of action within three days of service of the alleged violation,” said Carlock in an email.
In addition, all complaints are sent to the Marine Corps Headquarters, where they are monitored until action is taken, added Carlock.
The Air Force and the Navy follow up on hazing reports centrally, spokesmen for the respective forces told the Marine Corps Times. The Army has not yet responded to requests for comment on its trot tracking regulations.
“Hazing has no place in a disciplined and professional military force and is not tolerated in any way in the Marine Corps,” said Carlock.