Marine sergeant major fired from West Coast bootcamp now in brig amid investigation

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The former senior enlisted leader for the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California, is currently in pretrial confinement amid an ongoing investigation, Marine Corps and Navy officials told Task & Purpose on Monday.

Sgt. Maj. Gerardo Trevino was relieved of duty on Sept. 12 by Col. Peter Rummler, commanding officer of the Recruit Training Regiment, due to a “loss of trust and confidence,” said Capt. Austin Gallegos, a spokesman for the recruit depot. Gallegos confirmed that Trevino was arrested and taken into custody by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service on Sept. 11.

“Naval Criminal Investigative Service is conducting an investigation, and no further details will be released at this time,” Gallegos told Task & Purpose.

Trevino has been placed in pretrial confinement, said Darwin Lam, a spokesman for NCIS, who also confirmed that agency is conducting “a thorough investigation” into Trevino.

Lam did not specify what investigators are looking into or why Trevino is currently being held in confinement.

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“Out of respect for the investigative process, NCIS will not comment further while the investigation remains ongoing,” Lam said.

No information was immediately available about the specific reason why Trevino was relieved of duty  or why he is being investigated. The military services frequently use the term “loss of confidence” to explain why commanding officers and senior enlisted leaders have been relieved for a wide range of alleged personal and professional misconduct.

Originally from McAllen, Texas, Trevino graduated from Marine Corps Recruit San Diego in December 2004 and went on to serve as a disbursing technician, according to his official biography, which has been taken down from Marine Corps Recruit San Diego’s website.

In 2006, Trevino was selected as the Noncommissioned Officer of the Year and he received orders to receive airborne training. After joining the 1st Marine Logistics Group, he deployed to Rawah, Iraq in 2008 and Marjah, Afghanistan in 2010.

Trevino later received orders to attend Drill Instructor School, and he served with 3rd Battalion, India company as a drill instructor, senior drill instructor, and Marine Corps Water Survival instructor. He went on to serve as an inspector on the Marine Corps Administrative Analysis Team at Headquarters Marine Corps, Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Quantico, Virginia.

In 2019, he was promoted to first sergeant and assigned to Marine Barracks Washington, D.C.

Trevino was promoted to sergeant major last year, when he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment. His military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal in lieu of second award, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal in lieu of fourth award, and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal.

He is among several senior enlisted leaders who have been fired recently, including Army Sgt. Maj. Jaime I. Rubio; Command Sgt. Maj. Harold “Ed” JarrellCommand Sgt. Major Veronica E. Knapp; and Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew Carlson.

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Jeff Schogol

Senior Pentagon Reporter

Jeff Schogol is a senior staff writer for Task & Purpose. He reports on both the Defense Department as a whole as well as individual services, covering a variety of topics that include personnel, policy, military justice, deployments, and technology.