13 year old cadet dies at "Christian boot camp"

[Mr. Authority]

NORTH MIAMI, Fla. (AP) - A 13-year-old cadet at a private military academy died Saturday during an orientation camping trip, the school's principal said.

Authorities rushed the child from Oleta State Park to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, North Miami police said.

The cause of death was undetermined, pending a medical examiner's report, police said. No additional information was released.

The boy was one of 33 cadets attending the Back to Basics Christian Military Academy's Training and Leadership Corps campout. The students, in grades 4-10, had been camping since Wednesday, Lynda Browne, the school's principal and owner, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel for Sunday's edition.

The boy got out of bed in the middle of the night to tell a drill sergeant he didn't feel well, Browne said. He boy collapsed on the way to the restroom.

Browne said the boy's mother told her that her son ``wasn't the most physical, strong or athletic child.''

She said the academy subcontracts with Fort Lauderdale-based Juvenile Military Training and Leadership Corp. The camp is run by certified National Guard drill sergeants.

``The children get the very best of care,'' Browne told the newspaper. ``Under no circumstances are our students brutalized, nor are they maligned verbally. They are treated with the utmost respect.''

Brown and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission did not return messages Saturday from The Associated Press.

In January, a 14-year-old boy died after a confrontation with guards at a Panama City boot camp for juvenile offenders operated by the Bay County Sheriff's Office. Martin Lee Anderson died one day after being roughed up by guards.

His death remains under investigation. The state's government-operated military-style boot camp system was shutdown in May.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlates...012171,00.html

The " Back to Basics Christian Military Academy"? Is Florida making it's own Bush army for Jesus or something? WTF?

[MrsDark]

Sounds like a place parents ship their kids off to when they start fucking up.

[western]

NORTH MIAMI, Fla. (AP) - A 13-year-old cadet at a private military academy died Saturday during an orientation camping trip, the school's principal said.

In January, a 14-year-old boy died after a confrontation with guards at a Panama City boot camp for juvenile offenders operated by the Bay County Sheriff's Office. Martin Lee Anderson died one day after being roughed up by guards.

I love how they make it look like a pattern. Like a private school is the same thing as a jail for juvenile offenders.

[LynnieD]

I'm sure the lawyers are lined up for this one.

[Grimmlok]

Christian military schools = Militant Islamic Madrassas

Same shit, diff pile.

[Mr. Authority]

Sounds like a place parents ship their kids off to when they start fucking up.

That's what I thought. But really what's the point of having boot camps anyway. I doubt a bunch of fucked up kids will get any better with some pyscho militant yelling in their faces and beating them up. They probably get more crazy leaving the camps then when they got in.

I also balme the dumb-ass parents for putting their son through some hell like this. If he "wasn't the most physical, strong or athletic child" then why the fuck did you put him in a crazy kooky ass boot camp!?!?

[Grimmlok]

What doesn't kill you.....

.. well in this case, what doesn't kill you immediately kills you slowly.

[Lobelia]

That's what I thought. But really what's the point of having boot camps anyway. I doubt a bunch of fucked up kids will get any better with some pyscho militant yelling in their faces and beating them up. They probably get more crazy leaving the camps then when they got in.

It works sometimes. Like with any punishment, it's most effective with kids who aren't the most terrible to begin with. They're the ones who think the experience sucks so much that they never want to do it again. The ones who are the worst don't really give a shit, and they're just as bad or worse when it's over.

It's easy to quickly judge this situation, but this kid could have had a heart condition, or anything really. I wonder what was meant when they said he was "roughed up by the guards." ??? If they hurt him (which is certainly implied by "roughed up") then I guess it could have contributed to his demise.

The thing I've noticed over the years, is that your typical "guard" job tends to attract the kind of person who is willing to work for very little money, because he/she is very personally rewarded by positions of authority over weak people. Unless they're extremely well supervised, they can go nuts with their control measures, as has been extensively studied and documented.