Niraj Warikoo

Detroit Free Press

The U.S. Marine Corps has widened its investigation of the boot camp death of a 20-year-old recruit from metro Detroit, admitting this week in a statement that a drill instructor already under investigation for improper behavior was wrongly placed in charge of recruits.

The statement also said that about 15 drill instructors and other leaders now are being investigated in the case of Raheel Siddiqui of Taylor, who died on March 18 – 11 days into his training on Parris Island in South Carolina. The second-highest ranking Marines official in Parris Island was removed from his position earlier this month, a Marines spokesman told the Free Press Thursday.

"Existing orders, policies and procedures to prevent improper assignments were not followed," said the statement from the Training and Education Command of the U.S. Marine Corps. "A drill instructor was improperly placed in charge of recruits while he was subject to an ongoing investigation."

The case has drawn national attention for issues related to hazing and diversity in Marines training.

Siddiqui's family, their attorney, and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) have raised questions as to whether Siddiqui may have been targeted because he was Muslim and of Pakistani descent.

Rep. Dingell, Taylor family raise questions about Marine's death

The statement from the Marines did not say what the senior instructor was being investigated for, but the Wall Street Journal reported this week that it was for making anti-Muslim and racist remarks toward an earlier recruit who was Muslim, at one point stuffing him into a dryer. Siddiqui died after a fall into a 40-foot stairwell, Marine officials have said earlier.

"The family is very concerned that his religion could have played a major role in the trainer's conduct against" Siddiqui, family attorney Nabih Ayad told the Free Press on Thursday.

In a letter on Thursday to the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, Dingell wrote that "reports in the Wall Street Journal of a drill instructor putting a Muslim recruit inside a clothes dryer is deeply disturbing. How do we ensure that all recruits are treated equally and receive the proper training to be effective at their jobs as soldiers without resorting to tough and discriminatory tactics that could put someone’s life at risk?"

Dingell added: "It is my understanding that a drill instructor had access Marine Corps recruits while he was the subject of an investigation. What are the allegations against the drill instructor and how was he permitted to continue working with recruits while under investigation?"

A spokesman for the U.S. Marines, Capt. Joshua Pena, did not comment to the Free Press on Thursday on whether the drill instructor mentioned in the Marines statement had made anti-Muslim remarks earlier and stuffed a Muslim recruit in a dryer.

Capt. Pena did confirm to the Free Press Thursday that on June 6th, the second highest ranking officer at Parris Island, Marine Col. Paul Cucinotta, and his senior enlisted adviser, Sgt. Major Nicholas Deabreu were removed.

The statement this week from the Marines also said that "approximately 15 drill instructors and affiliated leadership" are being investigated for "potential violations of Marine Corps orders," including "hazing, physical abuse, assault and failure of supervision. The investigations date to November 2015 and appear isolated to companies within the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion," to which Siddiqui belonged.

The developments this week show a deepening of the investigations into what happened to Siddiqui

In April, Ed Buice, spokesman for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, said "I can confirm that his death is due to injuries sustained in a nearly 40-foot fall in a barracks stairwell."

Ayad said that "we're getting conflicting stories" from investigators and Marine officials about what happened. Ayad said that initially, they were told Siddiqui told his supervisor he was suicidal in a note, "which is absurd to us" given Siddiqui's postive demeanor.

Ayad said that someone had smacked Siddiqui, waking him up after he had passed out during training.

"The trainer smacked him out of it, woke him up smacking him," Ayad told the Free Press in April.

A casualty report from the Marines the family received said that Siddiqui then ran, jumping over a ladderwall to his death, said Ayad.

Ayad said that Siddiqui "was so well loved by everyone whom he came across. ... He was loved by his neighbors, his family, his teachers, his principal, a manager at the Home Depot where he worked."

Investigators have been interviewing family and others about Siddiqui's mental health, which Ayad said was solid.

Siddiqui was a valedictorian at Truman High School in Taylor and was "so excited for boot camp," he said.

"This man would have been such a great asset to the military, to this nation," Ayad said. "He loved this nation so much."

Ayad said that Siddiqui's fall into the stairwell did not appear to be a controlled fall, but rather one where he was either pushed or made to fall.

He said that Siddiqui also had a sore throat during the boot camp and had been trying to get medical attention for it, but his concerns were ignored.

There are currently three investigations into Siddiqui's death, by the U.S. Marine Corps, Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), and a Naval medical and surgery review.

The Wall Street Journal report Wednesday said that "one of the critical questions in the internal probe, according to Marine officials, is how Mr. Siddiqui ended up under the supervision of a senior drill instructor who was already under scrutiny for alleged hazing involving minority recruits. In one instance, the instructor faced allegations of putting another Muslim recruit in a clothes dryer and making racially charged remarks, according to multiple Marine officials."

"The Marines are investigating why top officials allowed him to return to duty as a drill instructor to supervise recruits such as Mr. Siddiqui even while he was being examined for alleged wrongdoing," said the Wall Street Journal report.

In their new statement, the Marines said: "Upon completion of all investigations, TECOM (Training and Education Command) Commanding General, Maj. Gen. James W. Lukeman, will determine the appropriate administrative and judicial actions necessary based on the findings."

"We take every allegation of misconduct very seriously and will review each investigation carefully," said Lukeman.

Dingell said she supports having a tough boot camp to ensure a strong U.S. Marines but has questions about what happened to Siddiqui.

"We need to have a strong military," Dingell told the Free Press. "But we need to have a military that doesn't discriminate against anyone because of their religion. There are Muslim-Americans who love this country and everything it stands for and want to fight to defend those principles, and yet may be discriminated against because of their religion."

Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com or 313-223-4792. Follow him on Twitter @nwarikoo

Full statement below released Wednesday by the U.S. Marines on the death of Raheel Siddiqui, 20, of Taylor, in Marines boot camp:

"Training and Education Command is pending the completion and review of investigations surrounding allegations against personnel at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island and the March 18, 2016 death of Recruit Raheel Siddiqui.

The allegations, against approximately 15 drill instructors and affiliated leadership, identify potential violations of Marine Corps orders to include hazing, physical abuse, assault and failure of supervision. The investigations date back to November of 2015 and appear isolated to companies within the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion.

During the course of the Recruit Siddiqui death investigation, facts revealed a drill instructor was improperly placed in charge of recruits while he was subject to an ongoing investigation. Existing orders, policies and procedures to prevent improper assignments were not followed. Interim corrective actions have already been taken.

All Marines under investigation are currently assigned to duties that do not involve direct access to recruits.

Upon completion of all investigations, TECOM Commanding General, Maj. Gen. James W. Lukeman, will determine the appropriate administrative and judicial actions necessary based on the findings.

"We take every allegation of misconduct very seriously and will review each investigation carefully," said Lukeman. "MCRD Parris Island and MCRD San Diego are Marine Corps institutions entrusted by the American people to transform the best of our nation's young men and women into U.S. Marines. Every day, approximately 1000 drill instructors at our recruit depots are doing exactly what they were screened, selected and trained to do in a professional, appropriate manner. The safety of the recruits and the integrity of the Marine Corps recruit training program are among our top priorities and, once the investigations are complete, we will take necessary administrative and judicial action as warranted to ensure proper accountability."