News
Investigator recommends trial in Afghan suicide
Posted: Mar 12, 2012 6:31 PM by Matt Stafford
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - A military investigator is recommending a court-martial for an eighth soldier suspected of involvement in the suicide of a soldier in Afghanistan.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports 35-year-old Staff Sgt. Blaine Dugas of Port Arthur, Texas, is the last of eight Fort Wainwright soldiers recommended for court-martial in the Oct. 3 death of 19-year-old Pvt. Danny Chen.
The soldiers are suspected of subjecting the native New Yorker to racial slurs, physical abuse and humiliation because of his Chinese descent.
A release from the regional command headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan says the investigator determined Dugas should be tried on four charges of dereliction of duty.
The final decision rests with the soldier's brigade commander and the commander of the U.S.-led coalition's southern region.
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