"Soldier to face court martial over hazing" January 24, 2012
KABUL - An investigative hearing has recommended that an American soldier be court-martialed over hazing that allegedly led to a fellow infantryman’s suicide in Afghanistan but dismissed the most serious charge against him, the US military said yesterday.
Specialist Ryan Offutt is one of eight soldiers charged in the death of Private Danny Chen, a 19-year-old who shot himself on Oct. 3 after what investigators say were weeks of physical abuse, humiliation, and racial slurs.
Related: US soldiers charged in comrade’s death
Chen had been in Afghanistan only two months when he shot himself in a guardhouse at a remote outpost in Kandahar Province. His family has said investigators told them that he was subjected to racial slurs and forced to do excessive sit-ups, push-ups, runs, and sprints carrying sandbags.
Chen’s family members said yesterday that they were upset that the most serious charge, involuntary manslaughter, was set aside.
The investigative hearing recommended that Offutt, 32, be court-martialed on charges including assault, negligent homicide, and reckless endangerment, a statement from the US military said. The hearing ended Sunday at Kandahar Air Field, the sprawling base for US and NATO operations in the south.
The panel, however, did not recommend trial for an additional charge of involuntary manslaughter, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The most serious charge Offutt now faces is negligent homicide, which carries a prison sentence of up to three years.
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