Summary

Lance Corporal Matthew W. Fitch drowned during a training exercise in Panama in October 1989. A Judge Advocate General Manual investigative report recommended disciplining the four Marines involved in his death. Although the first lieutenant in charge of Fitch's detail received an adverse fitness report and was later transferred, none of these Marines was charged with an offense or received any disciplinary action, though recommended by the investigation and implied by a Navy letter to Congressman Les Aspin. The Marine Corps Ground Safety Office reviewed the case files and determined that no specific safety recommendations were warranted.

GAO found that: (1) the member drowned while engaging in a training exercise in Panama during October 1989; (2) a Judge Advocate General investigative report recommended that disciplinary actions be taken against four Marines involved in the death; (3) the officer in charge of the deceased's detail received an adverse fitness report and was transferred, but none of the Marines were charged with an offense or received any disciplinary action; and (4) the Marine Corps reviewed the investigative file and determined that no specific recommendations for safety improvements were warranted.