Marine training lawsuit proceeds in San Diego

[unhappycamper]

Marine training lawsuit proceeds in San Diego
By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Nov 23, 2007 15:08:16 EST

OCEANSIDE, Calif. — A civil lawsuit filed by a former Marine against a San Diego-based military tactical training company will be back in court on Monday, a month after the region’s October wildfires shuttered the courts and forced the scheduling of a new trial.

Former Lance Cpl. Jesse Klingler is suing Stu Segall Productions, his Strategic Operations, Inc., and an actor hired by the firm for injuries he suffered during an Iraq training exercise three years ago.

Klingler, 21, had been tied and bound in the impromptu mock interrogation while training with members of his platoon with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. An actor playing the role of an insurgent pointed an AK-47 assault rifle at close range and fired two blank rounds, which caused burns and muscle damage to the young Marine’s leg.

Klingler, who left the Corps in 2005, is seeking unspecified damages. The former Marine contends that he suffers from post-traumatic stress from the incident, which left him wounded and unable to deploy overseas with his battalion.

The incident happened on Sept. 18, 2004, while the platoon trained at a makeshift Iraqi village set at Camp Elliott, part of Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego. Strategic Operations is a contractor that provides tactical trainers, role-players and facilities in urban warfare training scenarios designed to be more realistic.

During the original trial in mid-October, Klingler and his defense attorney argued that the training company failed to vet or adequately train and supervise the actor, Rocky Mohsen. They were not suing the Marine Corps, and the former Marine said he didn’t blame the service for what happened that day.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/11/marine_traininglawsuit_071123/



uhc comment: Previous threads on Former Lance Cpl. Jesse Klingler

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=259&topic_id=5843
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=259&topic_id=6064