Soldier to be discharged, charges dropped in comrade's suicide

First Lt. Daniel Schwartz's case was handled through an Article 15, which is a non-judicial punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, authorities said.

Schwartz was one of eight soldiers in the 1st Brigade Combat Team 25th Infantry Division out of Fort Wainwright, Alaska, charged in the death of Pvt. Danny Chen. Chen, 19, shot himself in a guard house at an Afghanistan base Oct. 3, 2011.

The Army said the soldiers hazed Chen in the weeks before his death. According to court documents, Chen was kicked, dragged from his tent, forced to crawl on a gravel path and had sandbags tied to his arms. The son of Chinese immigrants, he also was called racial slurs like "dragon lady" and forced to speak to his fellow soldiers in Chinese.

Chen's family agreed to Article 15 disposition of Schwartz's case, authorities said.

The other seven soldiers have already been convicted in the case.

Sgt. Jeffrey Hurst was sentenced to reduction in rank and hard labor without confinement for 45 days; Sgt. Andrew J. VanBockel was sentenced to reduction to the grade of E4, 60 days hard labor, with a 45-day credit, and a reprimand; Spc. Thomas Curtis was sentenced to reduction in rank and three months confinement, with seven days credit for time served; Sgt. Travis Carden was sentenced to reduction in rank and forfeiture of two-thirds of his pay for one month; Staff Sgt. Blaine G. Dugas Jr. was sentenced to three months in prison and a one-rank demotion; Spc. Ryan J. Offutt was sentenced to six months in prison, demotion to private and a bad conduct discharge; and Sgt. Adam Holcomb was sentenced to 30 days in prison and the loss of one rank.