"When I first got to my unit, someone said we should do 'Racial Thursdays' because it's been a tradition," a soldier who had served at the unit was quoted as saying by the Army Times on Wednesday.
"It's something they made up where you can say any racist remark you want without any consequences," he explained.
Another soldier in the unit, who also wished to remain anonymous, verified the claims.
While you were not forced to participate in the practice, other soldiers would remind you every Thursday, he said. "A soldier I'm pretty good friends with, he was getting picked on the whole entire day until we were off work.”
US Army Alaska has initiated a commander’s inquiry into the claims, according to a spokesman.
“An informal complaint was made through command channels, and the commander has already assigned an investigating officer and the investigation is ongoing," Lt. Col. Alan Brown told the news outlet.
The command is “extremely sensitive” to any allegations of discrimination, he stated, refraining from providing further details on the case while the investigation is underway.
Brown rejected the current probe is related to the case of Danny Chen.
