Soldiers Punished For Incident

Three members of an Army unit that fired off dozens of tear-gas grenades, sickening residents of a neighboring community, have received career-ending administrative punishment, officials say.

The commander of the 66th Military Police Company and two senior sergeants supervising the night training exercise at Fort Lewis were removed from their jobs and given “other appropriate administrative action” as a result of an investigation, base spokesman Lt. Col. Gene Pawlik said in a statement Monday.

Because the punishment was administrative and not judicial, the federal Privacy Act prohibits release of the soldiers’ names and details of the punishment, Pawlik said.

On Sept. 23, the unit was in a training area near the base perimeter fence adjoining Spanaway, Wash., when soldiers set off several dozen smoke pots, pyrotechnic charges and CS tear-gas grenades.

The explosions released smoke and tear gas over the neighborhood. Hundreds of people were sickened and more than 60 had to be evacuated.