Fort Jackson drill sergeant gets prison for truck crash that killed two soldiers
Army Privates Ethan Shrader and Timmothy Ashcraft died in an accident on Ft. Jackson during basic training.
By Tracy Glantz
Christina Vittoz hoped the drill sergeant who hit and killed her nephew and another young recruit with a truck on Fort Jackson would be “a jerk.”Instead, after speaking with Staff Sgt. Andrew Marrow before he was sentenced to prison Tuesday, she said that “genuinely, he’s a nice guy.” Her nephew, 18-year-old Pvt. Timothy Ashcraft, might have even thrived as a soldier under Marrow’s direction as a drill sergeant, she said.
But a military judge sentenced Marrow to 18 months in prison after he pleaded guilty this week to two counts of negligent homicide and one count of dereliction of duty in the deadly October 2017 crash.
“I didn’t think he needed all those years,” Vittoz said of the maximum 7.5 years Marrow faced. “I was really OK if he didn’t go to jail at all. … Genuinely, he’s a nice guy. I can tell he’s remorseful. He’s genuinely sad about what happened. I can forgive him for what happened.”
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But defense attorney Maj. Erik Henderson argued that the Army unwittingly set up the circumstances for the deadly crash through “an irresponsible lack of fatigue and personnel management” and “playing roulette with drill sergeant rest.”
“He didn’t have a choice; he was doing his job,” Henderson said. “The Army placed Staff Sgt. Marrow in a bad situation, and they weren’t even aware they were doing it.”
Just sad all around. Navy fliers have NATOPS requirements on Crew Rest, and hours of ‘Required Awake’ until one must knock it off and get some sleep. These mandates are written in blood, and strictly observed. Black Shoe Navy (ships) is trying the same thing, with mixed reviews. I have no idea if the Army has such limitations, or is even considering them.
Fair winds and following seas to Privates Shrader and Ashcraft. The rest of this sad tale may be found here: The State.com
Thanks to Poetrooper for the link.
Category: Army News, Guest Link
Some background information on this sad case:
“Fort Jackson Drill Sergeant Worked Late. Then His Truck Plowed Into Recruits.”
https://www.postandcourier.com/news/a-fort-jackson-drill-sergeant-worked-late-then-his-truck/article_c99db240-cbd1-11e8-b5ac-4375a3b4dd69.html
Thanks, AP.
Not so much an accident, but a tragedy in waiting for a time and place to happen.
As a vehicle operator, it boils down to this; your fault, their fault, nobody’s fault, it is still your fault.
Sad all the way around. If he (the SSG) was given a rest break opportunity and didn’t take it, that is all on him. If he wasn’t given that opportunity, then it should go higher. The mind cannot force the body to do what the body does not have the energy to get done. Neither can the dedication to duty.
My drill sergeant in basic back in 1959 at Fort Carson was in the platoon Bay at “lights on” freshly showered and shaved, in starched fatigues and spit-shined boots, kicking our young asses out of bed, meaning he’d likely had less sleep than we had.
I always looked at that job as one of the most demanding in the Army. It was an assignment I never wanted and fortunately never got.
By the way, Ed, in answer to your question, “I have no idea if the Army has such limitations, or is even considering them,” probably in aviation and equipment operation but most assuredly not in the infantry, and especially not in special operations, unless things have changed dramatically since I served.
In training you are pushed well beyond the point of exhaustion to test your ability to function in ground combat, where sleep and rest frequently are things taken when, and if, possible. The ability to continue functioning at a relatively high level without sleep is one of those prized qualities that separates merely good infantry leaders from great ones.
Unfortunately, lack of rest can often get good soldiers killed, as in this situation. No telling how many have been killed in combat because of limited functioning and poor decision-making due to exhaustion.
Thought about that; the Marines have The Crucible and of course the SEALs’ infamous Hell Week. Thanks Poe.
Then last crucible hump you’re asleep and you don’t remember most of it. I didn’t recall periods of time during it and it only gets worse once you’re in the fleet regarding having to perform with extreme sleep deprivation. I’m surprised more training accidents don’t happen because of it.
When I was a DS I remember working 16 hour days 30 in a row, and thy wondered way we were a little cranky when we went to the club.
This is one of those cases where no jail time was required, we use jail time to punish for a crime of commission where intent was to do harm or wrong. Jail time protects society.
We are in no danger from this sergeant, we were never in danger from this sergeant. We are however often in danger from actions the military takes without regard for human life while conducting operations where human life ought to matter. The military has poisoned the water in many municipalities around the nation who is going to jail for that very real crime that’s caused cancer deaths and has created unsafe drinking water situations in several areas including a town right here in Wester Massachusetts?
There were any number of ways this could have gone that would still serve justice. This doesn’t seem like one of them to me.
I’m with VoV on this. I’ve lost friends due to cagers “not seeing” the motorcycle, and get a suspended license. This was a tragic accident, and at least it will be reviewed in six months.
As a friend once said “What do expect them to say? I saw him and thought I’d take a chunk out of his ass”?
I’m with him, too. Bad juju all the way around. I remember our Drill SGT in basic putting us to bed then throwing the light switch in the morning.
“Drop Your Cocks And Grab Your Socks. I Want Every Swinging Richard On That Street In 5min”
Pushed beyond fatigue for a reason. The old saying “Fatigue Makes Cowards Of Us All” is very true
btw: I did basic at Relaxin Jackson and so did my daughter
Concur. A prison sentence accomplishes nothing, here. Hopefully, the SSG will be able to put the time toward something productive.
The First Law of Kinetic Motion states “shit always rolls down hill.”
I don’t condone this NCO’s own negligence and recklessness in contributing to this tragic accident. However, others in the DS’s chain of command should be held accountable through non-judicial punishment, permanent letters of reprimand or GOMORs, etc..
This NCO’s career is likely over once he finishes the prison sentence and he’ll live with guilt the rest of his life. Not really sure justice was served but the requisite pound of flesh was stripped away and an example was made.
I understand the negligence. I understand punishment. But from what I can tell, there was no intent to harm these Soldiers, it was an accident. I knew a fellow Bradley Commander who lost his driver to drowning when he had him ford a stream he should have never crossed. He was and still is crushed with guilt over the incident, but he didn’t go to jail. He never got promoted again, but he didn’t go to jail.
“There, but for the grace of God, go I”.
Would a troop get 7.5 years for running over two D.I’s?
Drill sergeants get no sleep.
My daughter is a combat medic and currently at a youth offender boot camp run by the military.
As the camp medic and now that she is over in the cadre section, she gets about 4 hours sleep every day and her shift times rotate almost every other day and often, back-to-back. As medic, that is a really super bad idea.
During ground combat I was awake for over 100 hours. Go ahead and call me on that. I don’t care.
I went from one battle to another without stop. I didn’t leave the turret much. Pissed in water bottles. Didn’t really shit since I had 7 months of MRE’s in me.
You’ve all heard this many times before; you don’t get time-outs or coffee breaks. The enemy is not on your schedule. They don’t care if you’re sick.
I had the flu pretty bad when the air campaign kicked off. I was running about 104 degree temp. Tough shit. Unless you get ebola or lose too much of your appendages you have to suck it up.
On the flip side, it sucks to ruin a good piece of equipment for short term gain.
You have to be prepared for embracing the suck.
but you should not be permanently injured/dead during Basic/AIT or training.
But shit happens.
Had a guy die in Basic at Ft Jackson. Had 2 guys including the one sleeping in the bunk over me crash and burn from 1250ft at Jump School. Both died. Shit happens. The Military isn’t day camp.
The Army has a basic training load equal to all the other servic s combined. We do it at four places, but Ft Jackson is the biggest Army Training Center.
For years, the Army made cuts to TRADOC to keep units deplorable, and as the overseas contingencies fade, we did not reinvest.
As a result, Drill Sergeants not only train Soldiers, but pull CQ, SDNCO, drive trucks, you name it. They average 4-6 hours of sleep for the entire time they are on the trail except for cycle break, when they try to cram in all of their training, family time, and personal requirements.
However, the CSA is listening to the TRADOC commander, and is taking action. They are manning drills to 100%+, and are putting support troops down at the company level to take on the admin and support work that has to be done.
All of this while we are making Basic Combat Training tougher- the Forge culminating event is 81 hours of continuous field operations in a combat environment with over 45 miles of foot movement. Infantry OSUT may go to 22 weeks, and the other OSUTS will follow.
We mortgaged our future to get through the wars, now we have to start paying.
Deployable, not deplorable. Not trying to make them part of the Trump base
Funny how military service tends to do that though, isn’t it, Red? Maybe not Trump base, but for the majority, certainly more conservative than their civilian counterparts.
Former USMC DI here. There is no type of regulation on how much sleep a Drill Instructor gets.
Generally, when things were hectic 6 hours were about the most I’d get.
There were Hats with longer commutes who averaged less.
It’s up to the unit ( Primarily the Senior DI of the platoon) to keep an eye out to make sure his team was as rested as they could be.
As a Company First Sgt I looked for signs of overwork. New DIs were often pushed a bit too far. I had to rip a SDI a new ass for having a New DI stay Lights to lights for too long without a break. I ended up putting the New Hat in another Platoon and cutting that SDI’s team down to three hats, since the other two hats were in on the shit.
Sounds like the DS had a lot of Personal Issues and should have been moved over to a less strenuous billet until he worked issues out.
The Drill Field is NOT the place to work on a bad Marriage.
In reference to the Navy, you need to read the excellent pieces by propublica on the mishaps in 7th fleet. Seems they have a different take on how ships should be manned, sailors trained, and how much sleep everybody ought to have. https://features.propublica.org/navy-accidents/us-navy-crashes-japan-cause-mccain/
Thanks!