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Jason Smedley remembers the pain of his 2000 attack by lower-ranking Marines during a training exercise he led as a lance corporal at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton’s School of Infantry. While some held Smedley, the others beat him, knocking out many of his teeth.
“They just didn’t like taking orders from a Black guy,” Smedley said. As punishment, the group was barred from going out that weekend.
Unable to speak after enduring multiple dental surgeries, Smedley fell behind in the training and almost had to start over. At his breaking point, Smedley planned to leave the Marine Corps, until a Major convinced him to stay and ensured he would graduate with his group.