Marine Corps ousts Parris Island recruit training commander after death of recruit

Not enough Info to know what really went on. I suspect it had a lot to do with the kid being a suicide threat and being put back in training. Its a slippery slope. During my last tour at MCRD it was something the Command never took a chance on. If a kid threatened to hurt himself or made a gesture or attempt he saw the wizard. The wizard would dig around and find some disqualifying factor and reccomend discharge.
The problem was that it got around through the recruit grapevine that it was a ticket home, so a some of the weaker recruits would use it to get out of their commitment.
This forced the Drill Instructors to be amatuer Psychiatrists. They would have to try to make an informed decision on whether or not the recruit was a serious threat to harm themselves. 99.9% of the time they were right in their judgement . As for that other .1 %.. the SOP was clear, if they didn't report it to the chain of command they could be relieved of their Duty.
I'm betting that with or without the Colonels knowledge this is what was going on. Throw in a senator and he's toast.

When I was on Parris Island there were two recruit deaths and one DI suicide.
One recruit had a heart attack during company PT and the other was struck by lightning while leaving the rifle range. The DI did himself in front of a company of recruits at the new pool (it was new when I was there) because his wife left him. While there were numerous policy changes I don't recall anyone getting relieved of command.

After reading the article you posted, the only relevant thing I gather is that the recruit jumped off the top deck ladderwell. Is that the Colonel's fault really? Or was he simply a scapegoat?

As Marines, we are trained that our actions have consequences and sometimes they can be severe. I ask, what could this officer have done to prevent this tragedy? The only answer that I can see is that you can't predict what a person will do under pressure until you expose them to what pressure can do to you mentally. While also teaching, him or her, how to overcome it. If becoming a Marine was easy, everyone would claim the title and it would be meaningless as to the nature of one's character.

Yes probably - someone died on his watch and a commander bears ultimate responsibility. That is the way it works - pretty sure heads rolled up and down the chain of command for this. Speaking as a former drill instructor, it's likely someone didn't follow SOP or went over the line.