Marines forced naked recruit to eat dog food
THREE Marines were locked up by a military court yesterday for subjecting a new recruit to “40 minutes of depravity and naked humiliation”.
Rookie commando Carlo Nicholson was forced to lie in a paddling pool of urine and vomit and was waterboarded with cider in a ritual known as a “joining run”.
Mr Nicholson and 24 fellow marines were also forced to strip naked and fight each other covered in cooking oil and eat dog food out of mess tins.
The abuse was watched by troops at RM Condor, home of the elite 45 Commando in Arbroath, Scotland.
Humiliation in a “joining run” was a fact of life in the Royal Marines, a military court was told.
New recruits were expected to take part in eating and drinking challenges as well as naked runs around camp.
Failing a task or coming last meant being punished, including a beating with a rubber belt.
Mr Nicholson, 29, was forced to lie in a foetal position in a paddling pool of vomit and urine while he was pelted with eggs in May 2014.
He contemplated suicide after the incident, the court heard, and said he felt obliged to quit a job he loved.
Lance Corporal Ian Tennet, 22, was found guilty of ill-treating a subordinate after a court martial last month.
Former Marine Ryan Logan, 25, was found guilty of battery and disgraceful conduct of a cruel kind.
Lance Corporals James Taylor, 27, and Scott Simm, 26, both admitted ill -treatment of a subordinate.
Judge Advocate Robert Hill condemned “joining runs” as “40 minutes of depravity and naked humiliation”.
“There is no place for it in the Royal Marines in 2016,” he said.
Tennet was sentenced to 11 months and two weeks detention by Portsmouth Military Court yesterday.
Taylor and Simm each got eight months detention. Logan must carry out 220 hours of community service.