Marines expel 7% of recruits for mental disorder

By Lee Tae-hoon

The Marine Corps, still reeling from criticism following a shooting rampage in July, has sent home 7 percent of its new recruits for failing to pass psychological screenings, a senior officer said Tuesday.

“We strictly screen people with a personality disorder through a thorough character test at our boot camp,” said Col. Kim Tae-eun, spokesman for the Marine Corps. He noted that it discharged 35 of some 490 recruits on July 22 based on the test.

Kim made the remarks as he announced a set of measures to prevent another tragedy, including the removal of the red name tag, an emblem of the Marines, from the uniforms of soldiers caught bullying colleagues.

He said 14 Marines have been stripped of the symbolic tag since adopting a stricter code of conduct last last month.

Kim added that the Marine Corps plans to discharge some of the remaining recruits this week, which marks the fourth week of boot camp, after carrying out another round of comprehensive evaluations.

“In 2010, we discharged only two recruits for mental problems,” he said, acknowledging that most recruits found to have mental problems have thus far been allowed to serve in the Marines.

“The Marines used the results of the test only as a reference.”

Kim Min-chan, a 19-year-old corporal who went on a shooting spree on July 4, was also found to have suffered from anxiety and personality disorders and showed signs of schizophrenia during the personality evaluation.

Kim opened fire on his fellow Marines in retaliation against physical bullying inside the barracks of the Ganghwa Island unit near the tense maritime border in the West Sea. Four were killed in the incident.

Nevertheless, those expelled for mental disorders will still need to fulfill their mandatory service.

“Those who have been rejected by the Marines have to find another way to serve the military,” he said. “We do not share personnel information of conscripts with other forces.”

Meanwhile, Kim said Marines who lost their tags will be able to receive the emblem after undergoing adjustment training and if they show improvements in their behavior.

“Since the shooting incident, we’ve tried hard to clean up and root out violence and abusive practices,” he said.

The red tag is awarded to those who have successfully completed six weeks of training at a Marine boot camp. It is widely viewed as a symbol of the Corps and losing it can be regarded as one of the most severe and disgraceful forms of punishment for individual Marines.

The Marine Corps is also planning to set up a leadership training center for young officers and squad leaders, so that they will be better equipped to prevent and manage abuses in the barracks.