Major General Stephen M. Neary U.S. Marine Corps photo
Gen. David Berger, the commandant of the Marine Corps, relieved Maj. Gen. Stephen Neary of his command of Marine Forces Europe and Africa due to a “loss of trust and confidence in his ability to serve in command,” the Marines announced Tuesday.
According to an updated Stars and Stripes article published on Tuesday, Neary was at an outdoor physical training event for Marines at his headquarters where music was being played over loudspeakers. A witness to the incident told Stripes that after hearing some of the musical artists use a racial slur, Neary asked junior Marines nearby how they would feel if he used the word.
The witness told Stars and Stripes that his comment stunned the young Marines who said that even if Neary “was attempting to be instructive about the taboo nature of the word, it came as a shock to hear it from a white general officer.”
The investigation into the incident continues, but enough information had emerged that led Berger to relieve Neary of his command, the official told ABC News.
Navy Vet