BY ALINE REYNOLDS | A U.S. Army staff sergeant has been sentenced to just 15 days of hard labor and a rank demotion for bullying Danny Chen prior to the East Village Army private’s suicide in October of last year.
Sergeant Andrew Van Bockel is the seventh of eight soldiers to be tried and sentenced in the Chen case, as the four months of trials tied to the 19-year-old serviceman’s apparent suicide in Kandahar, Afghanistan, are drawing to an end.
City Councilmember Margaret Chin and the Organization of Chinese-Americans’ New York chapter (O.C.A.-NY) — a Chinatown-based advocacy group — are contesting the latest two convictions for what they call extremely light punishments.
Van Bockel was convicted of hazing, dereliction of duty and maltreatment on Nov. 20, following a court-martial at the Fort Bragg, N.C., Army base. The sergeant was consequently sentenced to a reduction in military rank and 60 days of hard labor. However, Van Bockel only has 15 days of work to complete, since he already performed labor for 45 days upon initial charges prior to the trial, according to military officials.
Elizabeth OuYang, president of O.C.A.-NY, blasted the jury’s decision, saying that Van Bockel, whom she called a “disgrace” to the Army, deserved harsher punishment for what she called tortuous behavior toward Chen. OuYang has regularly attended the Fort Bragg trials with Danny’s parents, Su Zhen and Yan Tao Chen, and a handful of others.
Van Bockel reportedly testified that he ordered Chen to crawl over 100 meters of rocks and watched other soldiers lob stones at him. The sergeant also mockingly called Chen names such as “Dragon Lady” and “Fortune Cookie,” and ordered the soldier to give his English-speaking platoon instructions in Chinese.
“He not only fostered a climate of unrelenting and escalating hazing that ultimately cost Danny his life, he instigated the hazing,” said OuYang. “His light sentence indicates that Danny and other victims of hazing cannot get justice through the military court system and that the Army places a higher priority on protecting rank and file than stated Army values of respect and dignity.”
Chen might still be alive had Van Bockel not participated in or condoned acts of hazing toward Chen, OuYang noted.
Councilmember Chin also criticized Van Bockel’s sentence, asserting that the sergeant was Chen’s main tormentor.
“It is shocking that he will face virtually no punishment for his role in Danny’s death,” Chin said. “Van Bockel was the leader, and his racist and violent behavior set the standard for his platoon.
“I am outraged and disappointed by the failure not to prosecute this individual for his crimes,” Chin said. “It is a sad day when the U.S. Army chooses to turn a blind eye to such flagrant hazing and bullying among its service members.”
Van Bockel’s sentence followed the Nov. 9 conviction of Sergeant Jeffrey Hurst, who was found guilty of dereliction of duty for overlooking the maltreatment of Chen by two of Hurst’s subordinates. Like Van Bockel, Hurst’s court-martial’s sentence includes hard labor for a period of 45 days and a reduction in military rank and, similarly, does not include jail time.
Even after being convicted, the sergeant reportedly told the court he didn’t believe Chen had been mistreated.
“His light sentence is no deterrent to turning a blind eye to unlawful conduct,” said OuYang. “This is not the type of leadership to promote integrity and respect in the Army, and he should be discharged.”
Three of the seven soldiers already tried in connection with Chen’s death have been sentenced to jail time, while only two have been discharged from the Army for poor conduct.
“There was a culture of unchecked hazing at this platoon, and it’s the leaders of the platoon who set the climate,” OuYang said. “The public is watching this case closely to see if those in power who not only knew about the hazing but ordered it will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
