(Via Milinet)

Marines Remove Commander At D.C. Barracks

By Steve Vogel
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday , July 14, 2000 ; B01

The commanding officer of the historic Marine Corps Barracks in
the District
has been relieved of his post by the commandant of the Marine
Corps,
officials said yesterday.

The action comes during criminal investigations into allegations
that Marines
under his command have been involved in distributing and using
ecstasy, a
drug whose use among the military is increasing rapidly.

Marine Corps officials said there is no connection between the
probes and the
decision to remove Col. G. Kevin Brickhouse as commanding
officer.

Brickhouse, who took command of the two-century-old installation
last July,
was personally relieved of command Monday evening by Gen. James
Jones, the
Marine Corps commandant, who lives at the barracks at Eighth and
I streets in
Southeast Washington.

"It's one of the key posts in the Marine Corps, and the
commandant has made
the decision to move the barracks in a new direction," Maj.
Patrick Gibbons,
a spokesman for Marine Corps headquarters, said.

Officials familiar with Brickhouse's removal described it as
resulting from a
"bad fit" with Jones. "He wants it run a certain way, and if
he's not getting
it, he'll make a change," one official said.

Brickhouse's relief is not based on any misconduct on the part
of the
colonel, officials said. Jones "considers Col. Brickhouse a fine
Marine and
values his service and sees him continuing to make a valuable
contribution to
the Marine Corps," Gibbons said.

Nor is the action related to the drug investigations involving
Marines at the
barracks and and at the Marine security detachment at the U.S.
Naval Academy
in Annapolis, according to Gibbons.

"We're aware of the investigation, and while it's something
we're not pleased
about, it has no relationship to the reassignment of Col.
Brickhouse," he
said.

Two Marines in the Annapolis company tested positive for use of
ecstasy in
April, according to members of the unit. Under questioning, the
Marines
identified three other members of the unit who were allegedly
distributing
and using the drugs and 10 others who were allegedly using the
drugs.

The investigation has roiled the Annapolis detachment and
prompted
accusations that the Marine Corps has trampled the rights of the
accused. "We
were being treated guilty until proven innocent," said Lance
Cpl. Anthony E.
Barron, one of those under investigation.

On the night of April 27, shortly after they were accused, the
13 Marines at
the barracks were ordered to stand at parade rest--with their
faces six
inches from a wall--to await Brickhouse's arrival, according to
Barron and a
second Marine.

"The colonel ordered us to sit in chairs . . . which may seem
like a relief,
but I cannot even express to you the confusion, nervousness and
grief I felt
by not knowing why I was there and being yelled at for the
littlest, most
minute thing like not looking straight ahead into the white
wall," Barron,
who asserts his innocence, said in a written statement.

Since the investigation began, the accused Marines have been
treated as if
they are "diseased and contagious," Barron said. They have been
segregated
from the rest of the company, cursed at, punished with cleanup
duty and
banned from participating in company sports, he said. "It's
harassment," said
Dwight Thompson, the father of one of the Marines.

Some of the Marines in the unit, including Thompson's son, Lance
Cpl. Jeremy
Thompson, have written letters to members of Congress
complaining about their
treatment. The Marine Corps has received inquiries about the
handling of the
case from two members of Congress, Gibbons said. "We have no
information
about any mistreatment," he added.

Defense lawyers specializing in military law said any
mistreatment may
violate military justice directives for handling those accused
of wrongdoing.

At least two Marines based at the barracks also face charges of
distributing
ecstasy, officials said.

Brickhouse's removal has shocked the barracks, where Marines
said they have
little inkling as to why the commander was removed halfway
through his
two-year tour. "A lot of people are asking the same question,"
said one
Marine stationed at the barracks.

Lt. Col. Samuel E. Ferguson, who was second in command at the
barracks, was
named acting commanding officer until Brickhouse's replacement
is selected.

The barracks, the ceremonial heart of the Marine Corps, is home
to Marines
involved in presidential security as well as such high-profile
units as the
Marine Corps Band.
Established in 1801, it is the oldest post in the Marine Corps
and is on a
site selected by Thomas Jefferson when he was president. Home to
more than
1,100 Marines, sailors and civilians, the barracks is of great
symbolic value
to the Corps. Jones, the commandant, served there as a company
commander.

Brickhouse did not respond to a request for comment.

© 2000 The Washington Post Company

As an E-4, he should know better. The Corps is under the UCMJ. If you are told to lock your Heels and face the Wall. Just Do It!
What a terrible situation to be in. I do not condone drugs of any sort. If you are going to conduct an investigation, do it right. SF Jose