Lawsuit: Ex-Marine Suffered Vicious FDNY Hazing

A former Marine captain who served in Afghanistan before becoming a New York City firefighter claims in a lawsuit that he was viciously harassed and hazed by his colleagues while he was battling post-traumatic stress.

The New York Post reports that Charles Hughes, 32, retired in 2014 after serving for three years in the Marine Corps, including a tour in Afghanistan, before he joined the FDNY last year.

The lawsuit claims that upon being assigned to Ladder 151 in Queens, Hughes was doused with water and flour on his first day before he and a group of other probationary firefighters were greeted in upstairs quarters by a firefighter wearing thong underwear after they were told they were meeting their lieutenant.

Other claims in the suit involve Hughes' military service and PTSD diagnosis, saying he dealt with written and spoken phrases such as "operation cuckoo" and "off the wall." Hughes even claims one fellow firefighter said, "no one gives a (expletive) about your military service, dude."

The FDNY says it took immediate action after Hughes filed a formal complaint, including giving Hughes a new assignment.