7th Marine Guilty of Disobedience
The last of seven Marines to be tried at Camp Pendleton for refusing to train for combat in the Middle East was found guilty of conspiracy and disobedience, a base spokesman said.
They were dubbed “The Magnificent Seven” by fellow Marines.
Pvt. Donald Dickey was sentenced to six months’ confinement, fined and given a bad conduct discharge by a special court-martial, the spokesman said.
The trials stemmed from an incident Nov. 21 at the base’s School of Infantry in which the Marines refused to continue training after a senior sergeant said their class was being prepared for Operation Desert Storm combat.
Only one of the seven, Pvt. Eric Ruzek, did not receive a sentence. The judge presiding over his court-martial ruled that Ruzek had served sufficient time in pretrial confinement. Six hours after he was released, Ruzek was reported an unauthorized absentee and is still at large, the spokesman said.
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