The Region : Army Suspends Long Beach Recruiters

The U.S. Army has suspended its seven-man Long Beach recruiting staff after a preliminary investigation turned up evidence that six of them falsified high school diplomas so recruits could qualify for military service. The six men’s supervisor was also suspended. The Army’s investigation uncovered nine phony diplomas used since October, 1986, spokesman Fred O’Donnell said. If the suspensions--under which the men are still paid--are upheld through a several-step appeals process, the recruiters will be punished through reassignment, which will hurt their service records, he said. The case surfaced when a recruit was confronted with one of the phony documents when he showed up for processing in downtown Los Angeles. The youth later said that one of the recruiters assaulted him after he admitted to Army investigators that the sergeant had provided him with the diploma, O’Donnell said.