The U.S. Army is investigating claims that one of its units created a slur-filled day called “Racial Thursdays” to build camaraderie among infantry troops.
Soldiers with 2nd Platoon, C Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment allegedly were given one person a week to say any racist joke or remark they could come up with. An NCO with the 25th Infantry Division’s 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, then filed a complaint against his platoon leader and went to the media.
“When I first got to my unit, someone said we should do ’Racial Thursdays’ because it’s been a tradition,” said the soldier, who asked to remain anonymous, Army Times reported Wednesday. “It’s something they made up where you can say any racist remark you want without any consequences. The platoon sergeant said no, but the [expletive] is still going on.”
Lt. Col. Alan Brown, a spokesman for the command, told Army Times that the unit is “extremely sensitive to any allegations that involve equal opportunity or discrimination,” and that a commander’s inquiry has already followed the informal complaint.
“It’s a shame that it’s coming to this, but I’m not even making this up. I’m not making any of this up,” the soldier behind the complaint told the newspaper. “Somebody needs to be relieved.”
Army Times spoke to another junior soldier, who also said “Racial Thursdays” took place.
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“We’re all young guys, and we all joke and play around, but I wouldn’t expect those kinds of jokes. It was wrong,” he told the newspaper. The soldier added that many men didn’t speak up because they didn’t want to be considered a “Blue Falcon,” an insult used to identify soldiers who cause problems.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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