A recruit is in critical condition after falling two stories inside a building at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, according to officials.
The Marine Corps is investigating the fall that occurred Oct. 28, just four days after the recruit reported to the depot, according to a statement from depot spokesman Capt. Greg Carroll.
The incident happened at the island’s recruit processing center, and the recruit was transported to “an off-site medical facility,” the statement said.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating, according to agency spokesman Ed Buice. No foul play is suspected, he said, adding that there were witnesses to the incident.
The recruit, whose name the Corps declined to provide, arrived to Parris Island on Oct. 24 and was assigned to the Recruit Training Regiment’s Support Battalion, according to Carroll.
That battalion supports “nearly every aspect of recruit training” from the time recruits arrive until they graduate, according to the depot’s website, and it processes all new recruits during their first five days on the island.
The recruit who fell was “undergoing initial processing requirements,” according to the statement.
“Command representatives from Parris Island are currently with the family at the facility to ensure they are appropriately supported during this difficult time,” Carroll wrote in an email Monday afternoon.
Carroll declined to comment on the nature of the incident and whether the fall was being investigated as accidental, foul play or an act of self-harm.
“The command has directed an investigation regarding this incident per standard operating procedures,” the statement said. “The command is currently focused on the recruit’s health and is in close coordination with the family.”
Receiving Week is the first of 13 training weeks on Parris Island, according to the depot’s website.
“Recruits arrive on Parris Island late at night and are immediately thrust into the stressful whirlwind of in-processing, haircuts, uniform and gear issue and medical evaluations,” according to the website.
They also undergo a strength test and, at the end of the week, meet their assigned drill instructors.
In late June the Corps announced the investigation of 15 Parris Island drill instructors accused of physical abuse and hazing, and in early September it said 20 depot personnel could face military justice or administrative action stemming from the initial findings of three command investigations.
Those investigations, including one initiated by a White House inquiry, centered on 3rd Recruit Training Battalion and were linked in the aftermath of recruit Raheel Siddiqui’s death on March 18.
Siddiqui fell nearly 40 feet that day in what the Corps has ruled a suicide. But Siddiqui’s family disputes that claim, according to their attorney Shiraz Khan, and worries their son may have been hazed and abused.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service continues to look into the matter.
Wade Livingston: 843-706-8153, @WadeGLivingston
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