Stryker vehicles sit in a storage yard at the Port of Anchorage in Alaska, awaiting transport to Fort Wainwright, after a deployment.(Photo: 2007 photo by Al Grillo, AP)
The Army is investigating allegations by soldiers in an Alaska platoon that the unit leader encouraged soldiers to use racial slurs against each other every Thursday as a way to build morale and camaraderie.
Lt. Col. Alan Brown, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Alaska, confirmed that the Army has begun an inquiry into allegations into the practice, known as "Racial Thursdays."
Two soldiers in the platoon described the possible racial hazing to the
Army Times. They asked that their names not be used to protect their privacy.
"An informal complaint was made through command channels, and the commander has already assigned an investigating officer and the investigation is ongoing," Brown told the
Army Times. "The command is extremely sensitive to any allegations that involve equal opportunity or discrimination and will investigate every allegation."
Brown, citing the ongoing inquiry, said he could not provide any more details.
One of the soldiers who filed a complaint is an African-American staff sergeant who said his platoon leader encouraged "Racial Thursdays."
The platoon is with the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team based at Fort Wainwright in Alaska.
The soldier said he was told members of the unit could make racist slurs without consequences, although none was directed at him. He said he filed a complaint to stop the practice.
The second soldier told the
Army Times that hurling racial slurs at other members of the unit was voluntary, not compulsory. He cited one case in which a Hispanic member of the platoon was called demeaning names based on his ethnicity for an entire day and nearly got into a fight over the slurs.
Brown, the spokesman, said that until the investigation is completed, "it's important to emphasize that these allegations are just that … and that's what the investigation has been assigned to find out, exactly what happened and if anything happened."
The platoon under investigation is part of a company involved in a controversy over ethnic hazing of a Chinese-American member who later committed suicide.
Pvt. Danny Chen committed suicide on Oct. 3, 2011, while deployed to Afghanistan. The Army ruled that Chen killed himself because he was hazed over his Chinese ancestry.
Investigators told Chen's family he was called names while in training and hazed in Afghanistan.
"Our son died, and there is no reason why he should have died," Su Zhen Chen, the soldier's mother, told the Associated Press in 2012.
On the day of his death, Chen was forced to crawl about 100 yards across gravel carrying his equipment while fellow soldiers threw rocks at him, his family said.
At least eight soldiers were either court-martialed or administratively punished in the case.
Brown said there is "absolutely no connection between this current investigation and the case of Pvt. Danny Chen." He added: "Treating all soldiers with dignity and respect is something this command takes extremely seriously, and when there are any indications that those values are not being followed, the command will absolutely make inquiries, conduct appropriate investigations and take action as necessary."
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