Pvt. Danny Chen was found dead after shooting himself Oct. 3 in a guardhouse in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. Investigators and Chen's parents say that before his death, he had been subjected to racial slurs about his Chinese-American heritage and been forced to crawl 100 meters across gravel in full equipment while fellow soldiers threw rocks at him.
Charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice against 1st Lt. Daniel Schwartz include eight counts of dereliction of duty. Sgt. Travis Carden faces two counts each of violating a lawful general regulation and maltreatment, as well as one charge of assault. An investigating officer recommended adding an additional charge of reckless endangerment against Carden.
A third soldier, Spc. Ryan Offutt, was recommended for court-martial last month on 11 charges including assault, negligent homicide and reckless endangerment.
All of the soldiers were assigned to C Company in the 3rd Battalion of the 21st Infantry Regiment, a part of the 25th Infantry Division’s 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team stationed at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks.
The brigade’s commander will consider whether to forward the charges to the regional military commander for final disposition.
