K-9 trainers court-martialed, disciplined

[thedrifter]

November 05, 2003

K-9 trainers court-martialed, disciplined

Associated Press


CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. ? Six Marines in the Corps? K-9 program have been court-martialed for faking records involving the training of dogs assigned to security duty. Eleven other Marines have been punished.
The most senior of the Marines to stand trial, a staff sergeant, was sentenced Friday to six months in the brig and a bad-conduct discharge. The staff sergeant was also charged with keeping his personal dogs at the base kennel and smoking marijuana off-base. Another sergeant already had been booted out of the Corps in the case.

The Marines insisted that they faked the records because they were assigned too many other duties, such as putting on demonstrations at local schools, to complete the training of their dogs. The problems surfaced when a review last year found discrepancies in the dogs? files.

?These are very serious things,? base spokesman Lt. Dan Rawson said. ?This speaks directly to the security of the installation and the safety of the Marines here.?

The dogs have been shipped back to Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, where the Department of Defense runs a dog boot-camp. The Marines have all been reassigned. Many were demoted and given extra duty.






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Copyright 2003 The Associated Press.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/stor...25-2366135.php


Sempers,

Roger