HONOLULU (AP) -- The Marine Corps said Wednesday it was expelling one Marine and disciplining another for their roles in a video showing a Marine throwing a puppy off a cliff while on patrol in Iraq.
The 17-second video posted on YouTube drew sharp condemnation from animal rights groups when it came to light in March.
The clip shows two Marines joking before one hurls the puppy into a rocky gully. A yelping sound is heard as it flips through the air.
"That's mean. That's mean, Motari," an off-camera Marine is heard telling the Marine who tossed the black and white dog. The off-camera Marine snickered slightly afterward.
Lance Cpl. David Motari, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment at Kaneohe Bay, is "being processed for separation" from the Marine Corps, the Marine Corps said in a news release. He also received unspecified "non-judicial punishment."
NJP in the Marine Corps is referred to as "Office Hours," or used to be. It means that the Marine faces his commanding officer one-on-one, and the CO decides his punishment. There are guidelines that limit the punishments the CO may mete out; in this case, Motari was probably busted two ranks, to E-1, possibly fined and possible confined to base or quarters. (At sea, Navy Captains have the option to confine in the brig with 3 days' bread and water). You can't be given a Dishonorable or Bad Conduct Discharge as part of Non-Judicial punishment, that can only be done by court-martial. Apparently Motari was close enough to the end of his enlistment that it was decided to allow him to separate under a general discharge. Having been punished with NJP, Motari will forfeit any chance of receiving the Good Conduct Medal.
No other details are released by the Marine Corps, including the most important: was it an actual live puppy that Motari threw? We may never know now.
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