A black soldier of the Maryland National Guard, forced to wear a chain to learn how important discipline is, managed to get justice. On Wednesday, the National Guard Bureau, the coordinating body for the country’s state and territorial guard units, ruled that Bruce Weaver had suffered harassment and discrimination due to his race when he attended the officers’ course in 2015. The disciplinary measure, established by a white instructor, was defined by Counselor Bernard Doyle, the attorney in charge of examining the complaint, the most humiliating punishment imaginable for a black soldier. The news was given by the American newspaper Usa Today.
At this point, the doors of the official school reopen for Weaver even though, at 44, he passed the age limit to attend it. The National Guard Bureau also recommended that the Maryland military force consider disciplinary action against officials responsible for discrimination.
The Maryland National Guard has carefully reviewed the hearing examiner’s recommendations and is calling for an exception to the National Guard Bureau’s policy to grant the soldier a derogation for age limits so that he can re-enroll in the officers’ school, Kurt Rauschenberg, spokesperson for the organization, wrote in an email.
The case dates back to November 2015 when the soldier was ordered to transport a heavy chain for three days as punishment for leaving a training site without authorization, a charge the military had disputed. Importantly, at that time, all official course instructors were white. Weaver decided to submit a formal complaint for discrimination in 2017 after being expelled from school. But Maryland officials dismissed all charges by forcing the soldier to go to national coordination offices. One of the instructors involved in the incident told Usa Today that the chain was only meant to teach the importance of joining the military to the orders of superiors. This type of disciplinary action in Maryland was stopped in 2017 and the school admitted that the use of chains could be interpreted as racist.
Today in Maryland the situation has changed and Weaver will find a diverse group of instructors: ten whites, six blacks and one Hispanic. About a third of the National Guard troops of the Black State Army, compared to 15% nationwide. About 25% of Maryland’s officer corps consists of African Americans, Asians, and American Indians.
Weaver’s case has attracted the attention of members of Congress who deal with military oversight. Democratic Congresswoman Jackie Speier, chair of a panel on staffing of the Armed Forces Commission, called for Weaver’s treatment officers to be punished quickly: Forcing a black soldier to wear inhuman chains. Congress must face rampant racism in the military, throughout our country and in society, as well as putting an end to the mentality from good guys club which continues to cause injustice and abuse. Anyone who has tolerated this disgusting behavior must be dishonorably discharged.
May 28, 2021 (change May 28, 2021 | 14:32)
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