US Marine drill instructor should face charges over 2021 death of recruit, 19: collapsed in 90F heat

A Marine drill instructor showed 'indifference to the well-being of recruits' when he forced a 19-year-old to complete extra physical training last summer in 90 degree heat, leading to the recruit's collapse and death.

Pfc. Dalton Beals, 19, from New Jersey, died at the Parris Island training camp in South Carolina on June 4, 2021.

On Monday, the internal investigation into his death concluded that it was 'likely avoidable', and was strongly critical of his instructor.

The instructor, who the Marines are not naming, was described as being a terrible leader - unapproachable, disinterested and lacking the 'the maturity, temperament, and leadership skills' for the job.

Recruits were reluctant to tell him about their problems, including medical issues, the report concluded, in a copy obtained by the website Task and Purpose.

Pfc. Dalton Beals, 19, died in June 2021 during a test known as the Crucible, at the end of the Marine recruitment course

Beals, from New Jersey, died of overheating after being forced to take part in additional physical training in 90 degree heat

Marine recruits are pictured during the Crucible training in Parris Island, South Carolina, on March 24

A drill instructor is seen shouting at a recruit on Parris Island on March 24

Beals died during what is known as the Crucible - a series of challenges that test recruits 'physical strength, skills and the Marine Corps values they have learned throughout training,' the Marines say on their website.

It adds that recruits are 'only allowed a limited amount of food and sleep'.

The Crucible is the test at the end of the grueling 13-week training course, and includes an intense nine-mile hike, which concludes with the recruits receiving a pin which signifies that they have earned the title of Marine.

The Marines' investigators said that the Crucible demonstrated the instructor's incompetence for the role.

'While his performance as a senior drill instructor appeared to improve somewhat throughout the cycle, during the Crucible he demonstrated little leadership over his team, and at times appeared disinterested in leading or supervising them,' the investigation says.

'Although it is impossible to determine, his perceived indifference to the well-being of recruits demonstrated prior to the Crucible, could have impacted Recruit Beals or other recruit's willingness to seek medical attention when Recruit Beals was clearly showing signs of a heat injury during the Crucible.'

The investigators found that the drill instructor ignored warnings about the temperatures that day.

'Instead of appropriately taking into account the weather conditions (as reflected by yellow red, and black flag conditions throughout the Crucible), Recruit Beals' team leader [REDACTED] intensified training for Recruit Beals' team, including directing unauthorized incentive training throughout both days of the event,' the investigation says.

'Those actions increased the impact of the weather conditions on Recruit Beals and other recruits.'

Temperatures of 90 degrees and above represent Black Flag conditions, during which, 'Physical training and strenuous exercise suspended for all personnel (excludes operational commitment not for training purposes),' according to the Marine Corps.

Beals (center) is pictured with his family. The seemingly-healthy teenager died suddenly during the Crucible 

Beals, pictured with a friend, will be be awarded his Marines title posthumously

A native of Pennsville, New Jersey, Beals only graduated from Pennsville Memorial High School the year before his death

The cause of Beals' death was determined to be hyperthermia, commonly known as overheating.

On the day he died other recruits said that Beals 'looked wobbly, drained, and didn't look like himself.'

He often slowed down, the report concluded - irritating other recruits.

Beals was native of Pennsville, New Jersey, and only graduated from Pennsville Memorial High School the year before his death. 

Brigadier General Walker Field, the commanding general at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, is now reading the report and considering whether to refer charges.

'An Article 32 hearing has been conducted and a Preliminary Hearing Officer Report has been provided to the Commanding General of MCRD Parris Island/Eastern Recruiting Region, which includes recommendations as to referral of court-martial charges,' said Major Philip Kulczewski, a spokesman for Parris Island.

'The Commanding General is considering the recommendations of that report at this time, and will make a decision as to referral of charges after consultation with legal counsel.'

Brigadier General Walker Field, the commanding general at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, is now deciding whether the unnamed drill instructor should face charges

A sign over a road at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina

Beals was one of two recruits to die at Parris Island in 2021.

Pvt. Anthony Munoz, 21, died on his first training day in October 2021 after falling from a balcony.

Five years ago, another Parris Island drill instructor was sentenced to 10 years in prison for abusing recruits, one of whom was killed after he jumped over a stairwell and fell to his death.

Beals' mother, Stacie Beals, said she hopes the instructor involved in her son's death is charged.

'You get one bad person that gets all these recruits in their hands and they take it to the extreme,' she said.

'And they feel that they can do what they will and what they want, instead of following the guidelines of the military. They need the harshest penalties.'

She added: 'It's not ever going to bring my son back.'