Matt Solowynsky was ranked #1 in his class at the San Diego traning facility and graduated as a Lance Corporal. From San Diego he went to Pendleton for further training, where his Sergeant and other LCpls took an immediate dislike to him. According to LCpl Solowynsky, they had decided that he hadn’t earned his rank so they made his life a living hell with beatings and endangering his health. When he realized there was no way for him to appeal up the chain of command and his situation could only get worse, he went AWOL.
LCpl Matt Solowynsky turned himself in at Quantico yesterday, after hiding out for six months.
There isn’t much info in the link, but I can’t figure out why he didn’t just request mast if the situation was that bad. Request Mast just means that the Marine brings his problem directly to the CO. It’s usually confidential, he can keep going up the chain if not satisfied, and he can bypass the Platoon Sergeant if that guy’s the problem. Any Marine who completed Boot Camp should know what requesting mast is and how to use it.
I don’t doubt that the other Marines in his unit had a negative view of a boot LCpl. There are, however, ways under the UCMJ to deal with hazing short of going UA.
That’s an odd story. On the one hand, I could see a kid just out of high school being intimidated and not understanding stuff like requesting Mast. On the other hand, how does a kid who is that far out of the loop qualify for Lance out of boot camp?
