Marine Corps Appoints General to Investigate Video

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 2012 — Marine Corps Com­man­dant Gen. James F. Amos has appoint­ed a three-star gen­er­al to inves­ti­gate and take any required admin­is­tra­tive or dis­ci­pli­nary action stem­ming from a video cir­cu­lat­ed on the Inter­net that appears to show four Marines uri­nat­ing on the corpses of ene­my fight­ers in Afghanistan.

Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Thomas D. Wald­hauser, com­man­der of Marine Corps Forces Cen­tral Com­mand, is offi­cial­ly des­ig­nat­ed as the “con­sol­i­dat­ed dis­po­si­tion author­i­ty” for the alle­ga­tions sur­round­ing the video. That des­ig­na­tion places author­i­ty in one com­man­der to ini­ti­ate any nec­es­sary inves­ti­ga­tions and take any admin­is­tra­tion or dis­ci­pli­nary action that results from those inves­ti­ga­tions, Marine Corps offi­cials said.

Waldhauser’s inves­ti­ga­tion will be con­duct­ed in coor­di­na­tion with the ongo­ing Naval Crim­i­nal Inves­tiga­tive Ser­vice inves­ti­ga­tion into the inci­dent, offi­cials added.

Defense Sec­re­tary Leon E. Panet­ta said yes­ter­day the behav­ior depict­ed in the video is “utter­ly deplorable,” and he ordered the Marine Corps and the Inter­na­tion­al Secu­ri­ty Assis­tance Force to inves­ti­gate. “Those found to have engaged in such con­duct will be held account­able to the fullest extent,” Panet­ta said in a statement.

ISAF offi­cials said the com­mand has begun a thor­ough investigation. 

Source:
U.S. Depart­ment of Defense
Office of the Assis­tant Sec­re­tary of Defense (Pub­lic Affairs) 

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