WTF?

All bolds are mine.

Boot Camp Cadet Dies in Florida

MIAMI - A 13-year-old cadet at a private military academy who died while camping at a state park refused food throughout the excursion, the father of two fellow cadets said Sunday.

Victor Jusino of Sunrise said his sons, ages 9 and 10, told him the boy continuously threw away food after the 33 cadets arrived early Wednesday at the Back to Basics Christian Military Academy’s Training and Leadership Corps campout.

The "Back to Basics" Christian Military Academy.

Training and Leadership campout.

O...kay.

“They described to me that he wasn’t eating. He wasn’t feeling well. His stomach was hurting him and the heat was getting to him,” Jusino said.

Other cadets gave similar accounts to WFOR-TV in Miami.

“He wasn’t eating any food,” 12-year-old Joanna Miller said. “He would ask people if they want his food or he would just throw it on the ground. When he was supposed to drink water, he didn’t want to.”

And yet, he was not removed from the "campout," he was not hospitalized, and means of feeding him such as an I.V. (not that I'm suggesting they should have given him an I.V. at the camp), were not looked into. This is just horribly sad.

Jusino said his sons told him they were given three meals a day after starting each morning with a long hike. But the boys were dehydrated, sunburned and had insect bites when he picked them up Saturday morning, he said.

“They were very dirty, their clothing was wet. They had been sleeping in wet clothes, and their hair had been cut,” Jusino said.

What the fuck was going on there? These are kids, for chrissakes.

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

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.

But this wasn't a camp for juvenile offenders, this was a "Christian Military Academy," whatever the fuck that is.

Again... what the hell is going on there?

Floridians... are these "academies" something everyone knows about in your state? I'm finding it highly disturbing that this "Christian Military Academy" is government-operated. Are they funded with tax dollars? And who runs these things? And what exactly does "Back to Basics" entail?

Something is rotten in the Sunshine state.

(I'm all dressed up with nowhere to cross-post...)