Navy officer charged with hazing after forcing sailor to carry around Charlie Brown figurine

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April 18, 2017 9:01 PM

A Navy lieutenant has been charged with hazing after making

A soldier is hazed with a malet. WWMT

A Navy officer is facing several charges, including hazing and maltreatment, after verbally and emotionally abusing and taking reprisal against a sailor who asked to stop being called "Charlie Brown," the Virginian-Pilot reported Tuesday.

The unnamed lieutenant commander, a reservist assigned

Congress and the Defense Department have attempted to crack down on military hazing in recent years after a series of high-profile cases.

In 2011, Congresswoman Judy Chu’s nephew, a 21-year-old Marine serving in Afghanistan, fatally shot himself after his fellow Marines stomped on his back, kicked him, poured a sandbag onto his face and into his mouth, and forced him to exercise more than three hours in full body armor.

In 2016, three Marines were charged after an investigation revealed that they engaged in a pattern of suicide death

The Government Accountability Office criticized the Defense Department in 2016 for not sufficiently tracking incidents of hazing. The Navy regulary trains sailors to know that hazing won't be tolerated, but incidents persist.

The officer in this latest case waived his right to a preliminary hearing and will face a general court-martial, Lt. Cmdr. Jennifer Cragg, a spokeswoman for Virginia Beach-based Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, said.

The court-martial

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