The U.S. Army is investigating allegations of "racial Thursdays" being held by a platoon of soldiers based at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks.
According to an Army Times article, "racial Thursdays" were days when soldiers in the 2nd Platoon, C Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment were permitted to use racial slurs and make racist comments. The battalion is part of the 25th Infantry Division's 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
"Racial Thursdays" were a tradition in the unit, one soldier told the Army Times.
"We are already aware of these allegations, as an informal complaint was made through command channels about this alleged behavior," said a statement issued Thursday by U.S. Army Alaska.
The informal complaint was filed last week and an informal investigation was underway as of Wednesday, the Army Times article said.
"The command has assigned an investigating officer and the investigation in the form of a commander's inquiry is ongoing. The command is extremely sensitive to any complaints that involve equal opportunity or discrimination and will investigate every allegation," the Army statement said. "Based on the results of that inquiry, and if the evidence supports it, the commander, usually the brigade commander, can elect to conduct a formal ... investigation."
The unit allegedly holding "racial Thursdays" is the same unit that the late Pvt. Danny Chen belonged to, Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Alan S. Brown confirmed.
Chen, 19, shot himself in a guard tower on Oct. 3, 2011, while deployed to Afghanistan after allegedly being hazed for his Chinese ancestry. Chen's family said he was forced to crawl 100 yards with equipment on his back while his comrades threw rocks at him the day he died.