Over 500 Reports of Sexual Assault among U.S. Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan

Guess the little ladies should stay home where they have sufficiet lighting to do there daily routines.

Why are woman in the combat theater? What do you expect men to do after being away from home and sexual contact for months. It’s like women reports in pro sports men’s locker rooms, why are they there? And if a man shows himself while showering the man is fined. Please, men and woman in the same location for a given length of time will start having sex, this is human nature. You can try to cover up the animal instinct any way you want but this animal instinct cannot be removed. Hoping this will end is a far fetched as hoping that the insurgents in the middle east will stop killing people. Are these items really that bad: “lack of privacy to perform daily routines; insufficient lighting in and around the tents; isolation; existence of a sexually charged atmosphere; presence of pornography; and availability of condoms for male troops.”

Susan – your story and so many more!! You are a courageous woman. There are many courageous people in this world – the Iraqi and Afghanistan victims, the American victims – all for the cause of a few people who want more power and money. Girl – your fight may be just beginning – to bring your story to the young men and women who think that the military brings us freedom, when in fact what brings us freedom is the love and respect we have for one another and the rights of each individual person on this planet. Don’t give up – this will just make you stronger!

Susan,
Thank you for speaking out. We are
behind you here in Chicago.
To Hank….you make me sick!

Scott and Hank: GROW UP… You can argue all you want about the advisability of having men and women in the theater of war together, but once they’re there, EVERY person deserves respect. NO ONE deserves to be treated criminally by a fellow soldier. I’m sure the vast majority of our troops (bot men and women) would agree.

Boy, Hank and Scott must be from the 1950′s – Hey wake up you dolt this is the 21st century. RAPE is not haveing sex, you are both as ignorant as Susan’s chain of command. They should all have been brought up on obstruction charges, if the Military did that a few times and they saw that there was loss of pay and rank you can bet that this would no longer be a problem. Change is needed on this issue, I don’t blame the young lady from Oregon refusing to go to Iraq if she must put up with idiots that think they can just take what they want.
disgusted veteran

It’s a pity to see the leadership of the US Army under-mind women because of their gender because this is what we have. It’s very obvious that the “good old boy” club exist even in the military.
To rid of women, men belittle and rape them, to make them feel superior, and strong, all in hopes it will intimate and ridicule them; to go back home to cook and clean.
A dangerous mind game the leadership team is role playing with their troops. They should be listening and setting the example, regardless what the issue is, this is why they are in those positions, they earned that ranked.
And when these individuals finish serving their time, they will continue on with this same attitude in a civilian life, and our country will endure more crime because this is what they learned from the US Army.
Is ethics completely lost within the government?
God Bless.

x, apparently afraid to sign his name, said :”Why are woman in the combat theater? ”
Because there aren’t enough men to do all the jobs, x. How hard is that to grasp? They NEED every soldier, sailor and Marine, male and female. The Guard and Reserves are stretched thin, and active duty units are often on their 3rd tour of duty in 3 years. Women drive trucks in convoys, which is NOT considered a combat position, though it is one of the most dangerous jobs in Iraq, as well as work in many other positions, from female soldiers on patrol (in order to deal with female Iraqis) to nurses and doctors and corpsmen in MASH units. They fix planes. They FLY planes. 16% of Gulf War vets were female. There are 215,000 women serving in the U.S. military as of 2003, according to census figures. If you think women shouldn’t be in the military, why not enlist and take the palace of one?
Scott also said: “What do you expect men to do after being away from home and sexual contact for months.”
Umm, how about what my husband did when he deployed during the nearly 15 years he was active duty (we’ll be married 18 years in August)? He kept his pants zipped and was faithful to the vows he’d made me.
This shows your ignorance about the facts of rape. Rape is seldom about sex–it’s about POWER and control. The officers and NCOs women complain to are part of a system that sees protecting the band of brothers as more important than a woman’s right to say no. The problems faced by women in the military who report rape are similar to the harassment they still get from some police officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges if they aren’t 7 year old virgins on their way to First Communion–and I was a rape crisis volunteer counselor who had to deal with these people (mostly male, by the way).
I spent 7 years overseas as a Navy wife, and about once a month there be another trial for rape or sexual harassment, and every time the defense consisted of “Who will you believe? This young woman barely out of boot or this fine upstanding NCO with X number of years of honorable service?” And even if there were 5 or 6 women testifying to the behavior, 9 times out of 10, he walked free.
x also claimed “Please, men and woman in the same location for a given length of time will start having sex, this is human nature. You can try to cover up the animal instinct any way you want but this animal instinct cannot be removed.”
Get REAL. Many of these men are married. They promised fidelity. Are you saying any man who works around women can’t be faithful? Guess the Iranians and Saudis are right then: women must wear burqas and chadors and abayahs and face veils and never come in contact with any man to whom they aren’t related by blood or marriage. After all, in AMERICA, men work side by side with women in almost every office. This is such bs,and you know it. It’s the same crap that began with Adam, blaming the woman.
Yes, some people WILL have consensual sex–affairs happen during deployments and every military couple recognizes the dangers. I have no problem with unmarried people having consensual sex, whether in a combat zone or not (though fraternization is a crime under the UCMJ). But we are talking about sexual assault, RAPE, not consensual sex. Rape, where the woman says no, and he doesn’t stop? THAT kind of rape? It’s a crime, whether committed by a civilian or a soldier–and it should be punished. But I suspect too many juries have male chauvinists like you on them, who assume “No” means “yes” unless she has a broken jaw, two black eyes and other injuries.
x opines: “Are these items really that bad: “lack of privacy to perform daily routines; insufficient lighting in and around the tents; isolation; existence of a sexually charged atmosphere; presence of pornography; and availability of condoms for male troops.”
Porn doesn’t bother me–I truly tend to doubt claims that porn causes rape, because there is NO research to back it up (in fact, according to Donnerstein studies, the ONLY sexual material linked to negative attitudes toward women are slasher films–in other words, linking sex to violence causes problems). Lack of lighting is ALWAYS a problem and invites crime–whether rape or mugging–back home, so why shouldn’t it be a problem in a combat zone. So is lack of facilities for women troops to bathe and wash in. How hard is it to rope off the facilities for an hour or two a day for women only? I am unsure what is meant by isolation–but if it means that the women’s tents are off by themselves in poorly lit areas where no one can hear them if they scream, that IS a real issue. My college had done something similar back int he 60s–all women’s dorms were on one side of campus, next to a railroad track and open ground. We had to rely on campus police patrols for help. After some very nasty assaults and rapes within he dorms themselves, they decided to turn two of the dorms over to men, and move women into previously male dorms. Guess what? The number of attacks fell by 90%.
x is part of the problem women face in this country as well as in the military. He is why date rape is still such a huge problem—even though rape rates HAVE fallen over the last 20 years, we still ahve a number of Neanderthals like him who beleive that no means “kep trying” and that a drunk or unconsciosu woman is fair game, as is any woman who doesn’t meet his high standards of proper chastity and ladylikeness.

I believe that this report will backfire and give ammunition to those saying that this is one of the reasons why women don’t belong in the combat zone.

As a Soldier, I am disgusted by the chauvinistic remarks made by a couple of the men who have commented here.
“Why are woman in the combat theater?” Women are in combat because they are Soldiers…PERIOD. I do not see such harsh criticism over female Federal agents, Police/Corrections Officers, EMTs/Paramedics or Nurses; who are in more danger on a daily basis than I am as a Soldier.
Need examples? A Texas State Trooper was beaten beyond recognition by an assailant…I didn’t see any men posting outlandish criticisms of her, or hearing that Congress was rushing to bar females from being law enforcement officers. A Corrections Officer was sexually assaulted during a hostage stand-off at the State Prison in Phoenix, Arizona. Again, no derogatory comments from men, and the House Rules Committee didn’t try to stop women from becoming Corrections Officers. You have female Federal agents in a myriad of agencies that face life and death situations daily, would you take away their ability to participate in their jobs also?
Like the women in the aforementioned professions, I volunteered of my own free will, with the understanding that I might find myself in harm’s way. Asymmetric warfare is a reality, but it shouldn’t be a reason for relegating all females to non-combat roles where they will have little opportunity for advancement. Likewise, sexual assault shouldn’t be a reason to keep women out of combat either.
If these two Neanderthals had their way my service to my country would suddenly become less worthy than that of my male counterparts. The military has always led the way in social justice and I do not believe that a male Soldier should sacrifice his life in my place to defend this nation. I have no doubt that his family would miss him just as much as mine would if I were to give my life in the service of this Great Nation.
“What do you expect men to do after being away from home and sexual contact for months.” I have served for over 13 years, working with hundreds of men who have been respectful of my service and conducted themselves as professionals. Of the harassment cases I had detailed knowledge of, most had a severe lack of command concern in punishing those involved. I had an acting 1SG in a fellow company who had sex with several of his Soldier’s wives while their husbands were away. The command swept the issue under the rug, while punishing a SSG for adultery after he had had consensual sex 10 months into a mandatory state required separation from his wife before he could file for divorce. In another instance a 1SG was found not-guilty of sexual harassment, even after 32 females stated he had sexually intimidated them. This 1SG also threatened his own Soldiers to “stay away” from these women because they were “his property.” The problem of sexual assault is NOT the females’ fault, rather a serious failure of leadership to impose fair and equitable punishment on those who do not conduct themselves as true professionals.
I believe the comments of Mr. Leikam, “Scott,” and those of like-mind, do not represent the sentiments of the People. These comments are misogynistic at best and degrade the sacrifices of our hard-working female Soldiers.
How sad that I serve to protect the right to free speech of such idiotic statements.
V/R,
SSG Manning

ok guys, are you trying to tell me that men don’t have the brains to keep control thenmselves?? The fact that “they’re just men in a battle situation. What do you expect them to do?” is no longer acceptable. This is 2006 and you’ve got to be kidding me. In the 50′s it was women that didn’t have the brains to hold a job outside the home and now you’re telling me that men don’t have the brains to control themselves. We’ve got to expect more of our young people, or this mentality is gonna continue. And you’re right. The military takes responsibility from the top ranks down. We need to look at the comander in chief and his attitude and how it’s trickled down to the troops on the ground!

Perhaps ABC could ask about data on pregnancies that have resulted from units serving in Iraq. That might indicate more about the environment the military is struggling with.

Larry said: ” believe that this report will backfire and give ammunition to those saying that this is one of the reasons why women don’t belong in the combat zone.”
Why punish WOMEN for what MEN are doing? THEY are the ones doing the raping.
Many years ago when Golde Meir was mayor of Jerusalem, there was a rapist in the city–so the council decided to declare a curfew for women. Golde correctly pointed out that WOMEN weren’t the ones breaking the law, yet they were the ones being confined by a curfew.
I am SURE some of the Religious Right and their supporters will declare that this proves that women can’t hack it–but it proves nothing other than some men in the military sleep through anti-sexual harassment and anti-sexual assault training.
As for the other person who seemed to think having a shower area set aside for women at a specific time of day and lighting bright enough to discourage assault– he’s wrong. It isn’t too much to expect. Women’s tents need to be in an area with high traffic, and lighting that low endangers everyone because it bloody well makes it easier for insurgents to gain access. Theya rent asking for luxurious conditions, just for easily managed awareness.
As someone who was a military wife for 15 years, I can assure you htta most active duty men are not rapists. If women were bunked in the center of a compound, I can guarantee you that many of them would run to aid a female soldier if she screamed. That doesn’t have a thing to do with Susan’s post, as her assault happened in Germany, not Iraq–but the number of assaults on female soldiers over there is appallingly high, and indicates a lack of concern (and perhaps even sympathy for the rapists) on the part of the higher-ups.

I could never have sex if only I enjoyed it,I have had a satisfactory sex life, but would NEVER force myself on anyone just because I wanted it, if you really feel like sex and there is no consenting person available, there is an answere. it is called masterbation,
P.S. I have very good eyesight

I do not give one hoot if a woman says she was raped in the military. Warren Farrell in the book “The Myth of Male Power” shows how women lie about this all the time, and when confronted with the facts and stats, they change the subject and make excuses, just like they do over the “Pay Gap” they allege to be going on, which is not. When men complain about double standards that women commit, like them being allowed to be reporters in men’s locker rooms and men having to cover up so they do not get fined, etc, women do not care or just ignore and change the subject. They make excuses saying that abortion is not murder. If abortion is not murder, then according to that logic, rape should not be a crime. They say about abortion that it is their body, that they can do with it what they want. So I say, since they do not believe in applying logic to evil acts and crime, then neither should anybody else be expected to when it comes to their excuse making and double standards.

Susan
I am so sorry to hear about your ordeal. I have never understood how and why the military allows and covers up such happenings. These so called men make me sick, like some that have made negative comments. Thank you for standing up for all the others that have not yet found the strength to do so. Hopefully one day we will have real men and LEADERS in those positions to teach that those acts will not be tollerated in our military. We as the UNITED STATES should be better than that, if for nothing more than an example to the World. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

As a former Marine and Gulf War Vet I am appalled and shocked by what I read and the comments of some of the readers.
These are men, not animals but if they chose to act like animals they are unfit to serve this country in uniform.
We take an oath to defend our nation and its interests, we put place our trust in the soldier/ marine next to us to carry out his mission as we complete ours. We do not harm or take advantage of our brothers or sisters in uniform.
Any commander, officer, SNCO, NCO, enlisted or recruit that doesn’t share my viewpoint is a disgrace to all that have worn that uniform and especially those that died in service to our nation.
There is no excuse for any in uniform attacking another member of our armed forces, an investigation should be launched as soon as possible when an allegation of misconduct/ criminal behavior has been made, failure to do so should result in swift, strong disciplinary action!

Rape is rape no matter where it is committed. I am a military brat and know for a fact most soldiers are decent and law abiding but there are still some who believe in the “good old boy” system and will turn a blind eye on many things including drinking and doing drugs while on duty as long as it doesn’t compromise their position.
The Pentagon and many civilian observers have stated that recruitment is at an all time low. The Army hasn’t been able to meet it’s quota for several months. If they want to get more people to sign up,male or female, the top brass needs to clean up their act not dismiss harassement or sexual assaults by sweeping them under the rug. Denial or supression of information by the military leadership neither solves the problem nor makes it go away.
If the two men with the unrealistic comments were raped by their fellow soldiers and suffered the same treatment as Susan, they would have most likely committed suicide or murdered the perpetrators of the crime or other military personnel.
Mr. Rumsfeld, take note, you are not going to gain any thing by ignoring this problem. You are going to lose many good, qualified soldiers because of few bad ones!

The best way to resolve this problem is get rid of all the men in the services and let the women do all the fighting.

You want more lighting? So does our enemies. Why? Because it makes better targets for them. A male soldier HAS to think thusly: ” I may have my life taken any time soon. I haven’t even begun to live. Does my life count for nothing?” Women in the military cause more problems then they’re worth. I wouldn’t want to be commanded by women or depend on them for survival. They can be very useful but not in combat. Can a women hoist a wounded man out of harm’s way as well as a man? Can a woman kill with the same efficiency as a man? Can women keep up with the Company in a withdrawal or would they hold up the Company? Hand-to-hand fighting? Forget it! And when they’re captured by the kind of enemies we now face, what do you think they can expect?
Women soldiers, 20 years old, in their physical and sexual prime, what do you expect? Are we supposed to teach our soldiers to be quire boys? Is this what our military is for? The military is to hunt down and exterminate our enemies, i.e. do unto them before they do onto you. Sounds savage? That’s war. Remember?

Gillian, being a military wife doesn’t make you an expert on the military. My wife thinks she’s ‘Little Miss Air Force’. Alot of your comments are right on, but I have to add that I have heard of several younger enlisted women crying rape to get back at guys, or because they later regret sleeping with that person, or because they cheated on a spouse or boyfriend with that person and got caught. Anyway, you weren’t in the military, your husband was, so you really have no idea what goes on in forward locations. Not trying to insult you, just letting you know. 500 cases out of over 100 thousand isn’t that bad. Also, I can guarantee you that a portion of those women were lying about being raped. I am in no way siding with rapists, they are sick individuals. I just think that is a relatively small number of incidents. Someone in an earlier post had mentioned the national average was like 2% higher than the military average so at least be happy about that.

This is a comment to Scott’s post. Yes, it is true that in that type of situation it is highly likely that men and women will start having sex. But there is a very large difference between sex and rape. You might want to find a dictionary and look up the difference between the two. And for a crime like that to be condoned in the U.S. military is absolutely wrong. And any assault like that on a U.S. soldier should be punished to the maximum extent of the law. If you say you support our troops, that includes all of them. Not just those with the “right” anatomy.

Thanks to John for pointing out that the rate of these henious crimes is actually lower in the military than civilian life, but I have to doubt his numbers. Susan is not the only victim to encounter obstructions from her chain of command. My guess is that fewer rapes are actually reported in the military rather than that fewer actually occur.
Even if there truly are fewer rapes in the military, we need to remember that even one single rape would be one too many. For every crime, the life of a woman is changed forever in a way that men can barely understand. I have a relative who was the victim of child sexual abuse. Even now, her life is a shambles, not only because of the abuse, but, as with Susan, because those who should have known better repeatedly denied that the situation had taken place.
Throughout the history of the world, rape is mentioned right along side of pillage as a natural, nasty consequence of war. True, in past wars it was the women of the enemy city that had been captured who were the victims, but the fact that young male soldiers tend toward this type aggression should not come as a suprise to any student of history.
I believe that when you put a group of young men in a combat atmosphere where they must use their aggressive tendancies to survive every day, you run the risk of igniting their passions to a point where they lose control (especially where alcohol is involved). While it is true that rape is about power, it does also have a sexual element, just as it does for serial killers, so the problems are in fact aggravated when men are away from the women in their lives. Pornography, as mentioned in the article, can also serve to ignite these passions (my relative was assaulted by a brother who looked at porn frequently).
In young male soldiers, all of these factors together can easily lead to sexual assault and rape. That doesn’t make it right or mean that we should sweep it under the rug. These crimes must have full exposure both so that justice is done on the perpetrator, and so that other men know they cannot succeed. All men should keep control of themselves for all the right moral reasons, and in any given group of men, most will, but of those who will not do it for the best reasons, many will do it out of fear of reprecussions. It is the Military’s job to see that those reprecussions are carried out in a fair and timely manner, and that victims are encouraged to rather than discouraged from reporting these crimes.
I am pleased to be able to say that my neice, who is enlisted in the navy, and was witness to one such incident, had a very different experience than Susan. She, as witness, found that the victim was treated appropriately and taken seriously from the start, and that the perpetrator was successfully brought to trial and convicted with a minimum of delay. Of course, that was here in the states and not in the combat theatre, but at least it seems to argue that the Navy has appropriate policies in place to minimize the damage to rape victims.
Regarding things like proper lighting, centralized location, and separate bathing facilities,I am absolutely of the opinion that if women are present in the combat theatre they need these things to minimize the opportunities for sexual assault. It is in the military’s best interest, as it is much easier to prevent the crimes than to deal with them after the fact.
As a competent professional career woman, I understand that women feel the need to be able to advance their military careers in any way they can, but given the realities of warfare, there are real questions in my mind as to whether the preventative measures spoken of above are truly practical or sufficient during war.
I have wondered whether full segregation of troops, allowing women to be part of the action but separate from their brother soldiers and so protected from the small number of predators among them, might not be a more practical solution to this difficulty. I believe that during the great wars of the last century, that was the case. Women were generally off limits, and men were therefore placed in a position which more readily led to self control or at least lack of opportunity.
Sorry to be so long winded. This has been the most interesting debate I’ve read on the net in a long while, and I guess I got carried away.
Susan, woman to woman, my prayers are with you that you will be leave this terrible experience behind you and lead a productive life. I am so sorry this happened to you.

whom ever the man is he has no respcect to women in milteary
i do believe that men should respect women no matter where they go or do men need to keep themself zip up and learn to respect women’s right and know better

Had it been a male sexually assaulting another male I doubt if such obstacles would be placed in front of the complaintant.
Anyone who commits such acts is not fit to serve. Anyone who tolerates such acts, or takes them with a grain of salt is not fit to serve.
If someone would assault their own troop, then certainly they would assault a civilian in the field of battle. We do not want our military to be “soft”, nor do we want them to be “animals”. We DO want them to serve with honor and distinction. When the honor is dead, the soldier is dead, with little regard to the life within the corpus.
It is my furtive hope that such incidents are the exception and not the norm. Anyone who wishes to serve this country, placing life and limb in the way of patriotic service, should be able to do so with equality, the equality that they put just as much up on the line as the next trooper. That trooper may be the PERSON to someday save your life, whether a field hospital nurse to a front line infantry soldier, and it may very well be a female troop. Those who would subject a fellow soldier to such treatment undermine the entire unit, both male and female, and when they lose their honor, they also take from the honor of the entire unit. Such a unit is not battle effective, nor deserving to be in a place where the enemy is mixed with the innocent, where they will have to make hard decisions about friend or foe.
I am proud of our troops abroad, and think that they are doing a tough job where few of us, given the opportunity, would choose to go. As bravery and leadership can rally a unit to surpass combat and service expectations, so also will acts of cowardice, such as sexually assualting a military colleague, detract from the overall effectiveness of a military unit.

Simple enough: you don’t assault your buddies, you don’t assault soldiers on the same side. A soldier is a soldier is a soldier regardless of his or her anatomy.
I know this stuff goes on in the military. It DID NOT go in in my unit (approx. 40% female, usually deployed forward of the FLOT and sometimes the FEBA) during Operation Desert Storm. We valued each other too much as fellow soldiers and as comrades to attack one another. We NEEDED each other to survive. It’s pathetic that not all male soldiers realize that.

War breeds the worst behavior in everyone. Forward combat is the most adrenalin-driven release of raw emotion that there possibly is. “Living to kill” we used to say. Military discipline seeks to contain and focus these outward displays of emotion in a way that will ensure the achieval of the military objective. But discipline goes only so far. The frequency with which one exhibits these behaviors taken with the inherent level of mental control combine to produce an outward behavior that will continue to degrade as long as the stimulation (combat conditions) continue. The longer that a war continues the more freqently violent behaviors occur (Abu Ghraib, rape, murdering innocents) These are known and proven facts backed by statistics and testimony. With these facts in hand, the military command must either limit the amount of time that soliders are in theater or anticipate these violent behavior changes and make adjustments for them. Women are extremely useful in the military, but should be adequately informed of the risks associated with wartime behavior and should be kept isolated from the men in forward locations. This does not excuse the men from their actions, but it does explain them. Combat scenarios are not the same as normal life “back-in-the-states”. It is not fair to judge these atrocities from a perspective of “civilized society” since war itself is inherently uncivilized. If you were ever so unfortunate to have your comfortable civilized life stripped away and forced to merely survive, how many of yout behavioral barriers that define “normal” would fall? Would you steal to eat? Would you kill to protect? What else? Wartime, natural disasters, extreme poverty all show us that our civilized behaviors are delicately balanced and take very little to be tipped toward an unpleasant but predictable extreme. Our animal instincts are not so deeply masked as we would like to pretend and to try and legislate or adjudicate them on civilized principles is simply senseless. I sympathize for the unfortunate woman who was assaulted, but to expect civilized behavior in an uncivilized scenario is not realistic. It would be preferable if it were so and would make things plain and simple, but human behavior can only be modified so much… less in some. Hence the existence of so-called “criminal” behaviors on and off the battlefield.

Am I the only one questioning these numbers? When you look at what a soldier must endure to report any type of crime how are you thinking, logical people actually believing that the number is only 500.
Secondly, How do we rationalize the impact this is doing to our own moral fiber. We went to war for cheaper oil. We market that we went there to free the Iraqi people from all sorts of human attrocities yet we allow our women to be subjected to the type of abuse that we “liberators” would never commit. You can not in the same breath say you support the efforts of the war while looking the other way as our soldiers commit acts of violence against their own people.

Folks, it makes absolutely NO difference whether the troops are “forward” or “behind” (stress and associated factors considered) RAPE is UNACCEPTABLE. How she dresses or comports herself should NOT be a factor! Men – if she did NOT invite you – then you have NO right going there!! Admittedly, there are a small minority of charges brought by a young woman who has second thoughts about what she might have taken part in – and there are “old timers” who feel that women are there to “entertain” the troops – - but these also need exposure to the light of day and need to be weeded out. Susan, I am sorry that you have suffered – and as an old non-com – I am incensed at a command structure that would allow something like this to happen – I take my hat off and I salute you – GO GIRL – and may the succor of many days soothe your soul.

Some of the comments prove to me that the world hasn’t changed much in the past 30+ years.
It still takes a woman of incredible strength and tenacity to EVEN be in the military. Yet a stronger woman to speak out about the injustice and wrong done to her.
First, RAPE is not sex- it is a crime of power committed against a physically weaker person.
Second, the military hierachy still values a man over a woman.
Third,RAPISTS do not rape someone because they have kind regard for them.
Guess I could go on but it is apparent that the world, sadly, inclulding the United States Army, still treat women, and yes men who have been raped, as second class citizens with virtually no rights, value or future career.
I was in the Army as a young enlisted woman at the end of the Vietnam war. Not only was I sexually harrased, but raped more than once and knew many other women who were raped. (None of the rapists I personally knew of were prosecuted or EVEN diciplined!) One woman was raped and became pregnant. She was told she would have an abortion or she would be discharged. Her religious beliefs were trampled, but she insisted no abortion, and was discharged.
I MUST ADD THAT I KNOW OF NO RAPES IN A COMBAT ZONE-I WAS NEVER RAPED IN A COMBAT ZONE when I served there, BUT IN THE U.S.and Germany.
Rapists lurk everywhere and making excuses of alcohol, porn or whatever, does not lessen the crime, nor change the sick nature of the rapist. I know many people who have served in the two primary combat zones today who tell me that alcohol was nearly impossible to get and porn has to be small and carried on your body or you were “out of there” and heavily diciplined. One of the young men I know had to stop the rape of a fellow service member at gunpoint. Yet another was forced to defend himself from rape by two differant Iraqi men
(who by the way, see a male sexual partner as a socially acceptible way to postpone sex until married to a woman, and who do not see it as homosexuality) by using his rifle.
Real men protect those who need to be protected. That is what a society is about: helping each other, helping a society grow from the contributions of all the good that accumulated from a mutually beneficial relationship.
Rapists have no place in the military or the world. They need to be seperated or executed to prevent the repeat behavior that they are so famous for.
Any man or woman who behaves in an official capacity to protect a rapist needs to be diciplined and educated in order to understand how far reaching a crime it is.
AH, and lasting consequences do deserve compensation THAT IS GOVERNED BY THE VERY STRICT GUIDELINES SET FOR IN THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION REGULATIONS.
The real tragedy is that the rapists walk the streets, after jail, or worse yet no jail, while the victims carry the scars througout life.
Today I have a 30 year old daughter that I discouraged from the miitary, as I do all the young women I encounter. I am very explicit about the dangers of rape when I speak. The military,
when I entered, required women to score at least 30 points higher than men to enter, and required longer enlistments. A rational person would expect better protection for such valuable property.

I feel that some of the responses to the issue are not only jaded, but fail to understand that there are entities within the military to address these ssues and more. They are CID and NCIS. Both do an outstanding job of investigating and charging those who commit UCMJ and criminal offenses. The problem is that the military, in some cases is still behind the times. Male egos are still in the way of true equality, however the Navy has seriously stepped up it’s program. It is called SAVI or Sexual Assualt Victim Intervention. This program is mandated at all USN commands, representatives are trained and fully supported by the commands. This program allows male and female victims to come forward and report incidents, get help and file formal charges to be investigated at different levels that the victim decides, and the victim can remain anonommous if they chose. Most large commands have required a meeting monthly and or quarterly to give females a chance to come forward, understand what things are considered assualt and to give the opportunity to talk with other females about a situation that may have happened that she has been unwilling to bring to the command. The other thing that was not addressed is tha men can and are vitcems as well. The SAVI program has proven that as more men are coming forward with cases. The big issue here is giving females, and males in teh military the training and support to properly deal with seperation from the support networks they have, commanders need to make sure to be cognizant that these issues do excist and that they make sure that if an incident occurs that the victim is properly protected from the offender, if she or he chooses to persue the case, and that the victim is given the opportunity to get counseling and medical care imediately.
I am proud to serve my country, as is my daughter. I know that each day I get up could be my last, and the dangers of rape and assualt have not changed for me being outside of the civilian world, in fact I feel safer in the military than I did outside of it.
To the idea that “animal instinct” takes over away from home….WE ARE NOT ANIMALS! We have free will and that means we can make a choice and we CAN control our actions, because we understand consequences. Apparently a few haven’t figured that one out.
To Ms. Upchurch:
I hope that you are successful in your battle to gain control of your life. Remember that each day that you let the memories and the “scars” control you he still has control. You survived, yes now it feels like just barely, but you really did survive, and you can keep surviving. As you move through the process, give a voice to an issue, you will become more alive and not just a survivor, that you will always be. Remember when you get up each day to smile, and tell yourself “He will not control me today. I am in control and I’m taking it back from him” and then do it. You are stronger than he. You are out there giving a voice to a cause and he is where? Not standing up about an issue, like you, not willing to be out in front putting a foot down to an injustice, he’s hiding, avoiding who he is and what he did and so are the rest of the enablers that stopped you from getting help and putting a stop to his actions in the right way.

What I have found after ten years of service in the military is that while we are expected to be of the highest moral character, that is not the case 100% of the time. Servicemembers are human beings. We wear the uniforms of our armed services, but we are still the kids from the neighborhood. There are bad apples in every bunch. Any person who harms another doesn’t do it just because the opportunity is there, such as in a war zone. I would like to see a comparison of sexual assaults and rapes in our Universities compared to the military. I’m sure there are fewer in the military. It’s in no way an excusable act and those guilty should be punished accordingly. I know of it occuring in garrison more often then during deployments. It isn’t just females being assaulted by males. I was a witness in a case in 1998 where a unit tried to cover up the sexual assault of a female sodier by another female. We were told to keep quiet because the publicity would be horrendous. Military or domestic it is a big problem. We need to fix it and stop blaming male to female ratios and combat zones. It’s all about the individual who commits the crime.

As a US Army vet, 1966-1968, I am disgusted by rape committed by fellow soldiers. Rape is wrong anywhere and anytime. I doesn’t matter if the victim is an enemy, civilian or fellow soldier. A soldier that rapes another deserves swift justice or lacking that … fragging.

I think that this Country is Going to Hell in a Hand Basket….there’s to many dam people that need to be killed if you ask me! Hell the only and I mean ONLY reason 1,000′s of people still are living is because it’s Illegal to Kill them.

I am a woman; never served in the military but wanted to (big brother said “no way” – hummmm, now I know why).
I’m most offended by the women who more or less say because a woman is in the military “she is asking for it.” Not exact words but the feeling I get when I read their notes.
You are sick people. There are other countries, Israel for example, where the women have to serve in the military. What makes you people think that the American women are any different? I would say women go into the military for the same reasons men join. It’s a steady job, the money isn’t great, but it isn’t bad. Good health insurance. A way of life that will give their children a safe environment in which to live. WHY CAN’T WOMEN WANT THE SAME THING THAT MEN HAVE.
I have never believed that a woman should have a job, rather than a man, because she is a woman. If she is qualified, then give her the job.
But I do believe women are capable of doing a job as well as a man – if that is in the military, who are all of you people to say she shouldn’t be there.
The women who have made the insinuations toward the military women come from the era of “barefoot and pregnant” cause she doesn’t know any better.
Oh, well, this is getting ridiculous on my part. Sorry. But, gals in the military – stay strong, fight the creeps that try to put their hands on you – you have the same training they do. It might be worth it to spend a few days in the brig just because you protected yourself and punched out a pig’s eye.

Abraham Lincoln said: “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Not only is rape a violent act, it’s also cowardly, like kicking a dog that can’t fight back. What I find mind-boggling is how the military chain of command can protect such cowards. Soldiers, both male and female, ultimately lose respect for unjust “leaders”.

I was told a loooong time ago that men got sex starved when they were away at war or on tour of duty when the joined the army and other forces.So some brilliant officers came up with the idea of having ladies in the forces as officer’s comfort.I guess they never told the ladies that part of what they needed them in the army for never really included them becoming heroines but that their main but unspecified,undocumented job detail was to lay down when any of their colleagues needed to relieve himself sexually.Now,please note that I do not support this ideologoy but understand that it actually is what is going on in the forces all over the world.Well,if the rules of war dictate that a soldier may not rape his enemy(Female),then I guess the army also need to educate these crop of soldiers how to sweet talk their ways into a lady’s pant(even the enemy) when they need to and also how to accept No for answer if the lady isn’t willing.I am glad though, that with all this harrasment of female officers,the ladies have not taking it into their head to take the law into their hands in crisis situation by using friendly fire or accidental discharge.For this I praise them and acknowledge them as better soldiers than their male counterparts.
For the guys I am sure your blood would run hot if someone rapes/raped your sister(s) but yet you think it fit and somewhat gentlemanly to rape someone else’s sister right??.

WOW!
I do not no what to say? You see I am a victim! I am a wife of a accussed sailor who has been convicted of adultery and fraternization. You see a female sailor told everyone she had sex with my husband. When they investigated it they found no wrong had happen. She did not like that so she went to NCIS and changed her story from just having sex to rape. NCIS investigated and found no evidence and sent it back to the Command. The Command then sent it to a summary court martial where he was found guilty of adultery and fraternization. Now to the real of the story! This female sailor was assualted that night! Not by my husband, but by a married man that she been having a affair with. He admitted to lying in his first three statements to NCIS and confessed only after he realized he would fail the polygraph test he had agreed to earlier.
Now I do not believe the new CO read over any of the evidence, because if he had he would have read that NCIS when asked at the trial did you find any evidence of adultery or fraternization? The agent answered no we did not find any evidence of adultery or fraternizaion!! Wow and my husband got convicted any way!
The real kicker is the other sailor got reduced in rank and 60 day restriction. Well the CO
dismissed all charges and let this sailor free. Now we have been told he has been advanced to CPO and was signing directives by the CO ( he was the CO’s YN) this after he confessed to indecent sexual assualt and making false statments.
My family because of the reduction in rate had to file bankruptcy. You see this all happened only 4 months before he reitred from the Navy after 23 and half years faithful service.
Just like my husband case women (not all women ) use these crimes to get out of trouble. Don’t believe me just look what just happened at the Coast Guard Academy. He did not get convicted of rape. He got convicted because of sexual favors that the both committed because the female was hiding a secret that could get her kicked out of the Coast Guard. I bet nothing happens to her!
They only way any of these crimes will get fairly punished is everyone invovle gets fair treament. Remember everyone is innocent until proven guilty!!!

Females should not be in our military. John Lofton, Recovering Republican…

How many times does this have to be said before it sinks into the minds of some males (note I did not say “men”) — rape is a crime of violence, not an act of sexual gratification. If there were another way to degrade and humiliate a woman that was more horrid than having her body invaded against her will, rapists would switch to THAT method instantly. This is NOT ABOUT SEX!
Having said all that, you should know that I retired from the Coast Guard after 22 years of oftentimes arduous service; for 18 of those years I was married. Guess what? Even though there were temptations (of the consensual sort) I remained faithful to the vow I made on my wedding day. Believe it or not, this was not so much out of respect for my wife (which is high enough to be off the scale), but more because this was an agreement that I had entered into voluntarily, without be coerced; it was a simple matter of keeping my own word. True morality arises from actually keeping those private agreements that you make with yourself. If a male cannot keep his word to himself, as well as the one that he claims to love above all others, how can he be trusted in any other matter? He has shown that his word is worthless, and that he is bankrupt of personal integrity.
The services have made great strides in getting rid of the “good old boy” mentality, the “boys will be boys” attitude about inappropriate sexual activities. Have they done a perfect job? Hell, no! To accomplish that would require perfect people, and there are no such extant. But let’s keep all this in perspective: language and actions that would have been accepted without question when I first joined in 1968 will get you a court-martial now. What happened to Susan is a dirty shame, and her chain of command should be hoisted for it. But let’s agree not to do two things:
1) Tolerate, in any way, the sort of treatment that Susan experienced, and
2) Blame the military en masse for somehow being responsible for it
Combat situations are hellish, and many things can happen that are later viewed with regret; this has been true of every war since we started hitting each other with rocks. But also bear this in mind: Susan’s experience took place in GERMANY; I seem to recall that area has not been a designated combat area for quite some time.

Good man wrote, “. . . the military, once an example for our children is rotting from the inside.”
Considering the examples set by the commander in chief and his cronies, is anyone surprised?
As for the other posts along the lines of “what do women expect?” etc., I wouldn’t know where to begin. I do wonder, though, if there were no women in a cbt theater and men really are such animals as to not be able to control their desire, aggression, etc., then what would happen? Hmmmmm….

Susan,
I pray for your recovery and sympathize with your frustration about the number of people who denied you justice in the military. I learned from my son’s ordeal in the military that there are essentially two sets of rules involved. There is, of course, the UCMJ, which should govern all activities of personnel who serve. Then there is the unwritten code by which the military actually operates. This code is based on the premise that no individual soldier has any value except as an asset of the military. All acts to preserve the status quo, no matter how despicable can be justified if the chain of command is protected. Anyone who defies the unwritten code is targeted for destruction. It’s very simple, but for many young inexperienced recruits it is hard to understand how the values drilled into them during basic training are consistently ignored and trampled upon once they are in the military system. Because my son attempted to report an assault by his drill sergeant he was offered bribes, his life was threatened and he was denied medical treatment when he developed a severe panic disorder and PTSD. It takes a long time to recover from this kind of treatment. A recruit is told repeatedly that the entire force of the American military is there to back her or him up. When that same young person attempts to get justice for a violation of the military code, imagine their level of fear when they discover that the entire force of the American military is deployed against them. Even the chaplain I appealed to for help when I was concerned that my son would harm himself was dismissive and unconcerned.
If any young person asked me for advice about military service, I would have to tell them the truth — that I believe the values that the military is supposed to represent are noble, but the reality of military service is something else entirely.

It is sad to hear this is still going on over 30 years after I served. It is sadder still that our Congress only heard from one person. There are many more and you have gone a long way in taking back part of what those monsters stole from you Susan. God love you. God Bless you for speaking out and lets hope those males on the committee hear you. Shame on them for not hearing from more of us.

Susan,
apparently there is some censorship here on this site but believe me there are many who have exact stories like yours. Don’t let the negative comments bother you as the media is part of the ones who silence those who want to speak out. they should be helping more. There are many sources of support out there on your side. Believe me, there are many women cheering you on. You go girl!

As a veteran of the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq, a former special agent with the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, and one of the hundreds of military women whose career ended because of rape, I would like to share my opinion on sexual assault in the military. I will begin by saying that this issue needs more media scrutiny than it is receiving, because it is not being dealt with properly. It is a shame that a forum such as this, which could be constructive, has eroded into an atmosphere in which everything is addressed except the real issue, which is sex offenders and how they are dealt with by the military. I applaud the survivors for coming forward with their stories, and hope more do the same. I intend to do so myself in a separate posting.
I want to point out that this issue has nothing to do with the debate of whether women should be in the military or in combat, nor does it have to do with “bashing” servicemen. These misconceptions seem to be running this forum, and should not be part of it at all. This issue has to do with the few sex offenders who make their way into the military and are then allowed what is basically a “free pass” to rape and otherwise offend as they please. If there were no women in the Army or in combat, these offenders would simply find civilian women to rape. Rape is not something that the average serviceman does out of sexual frustration, but a crime committed by a handful of lifetime sex offenders who will not stop until they are caught.
Let’s talk about sex offenders. Most of them start offending early in life, in their teenage years. Behavior will often start early on and continue to develop in severity. A third of rapists will molest children at some point in their lives. Offenders may become more and more daring as they continue to get away with their crimes, and will not stop without some type of intervention. Many are very calculating criminals, and will intentionally choose lines of work or atmospheres to live in that allow them to continue to offend. On the outside, they are not much different than you or I, and are often regarded as hard workers, nice guys, not “the type” to do something like that. Many offenders intentionally choose victims that are unlikely to tell or who nobody would believe. Some actually construct circumstances that will deter the victim from reporting the offense, (such as providing a minor with alcohol) so that the person can’t tell without getting in trouble.
Following this discussion about sex offenders, it seems that the current military system provides a desirable atmosphere for them, especially in the combat theater. I personally believe that many sex offenders seek out the military as a profession for this reason. Noticing the permissive atmosphere of deployment, they obviously feel free to give their fellow servicemen a bad name by using the atmosphere and the support of the troops to get away with sex offenses.
The majority of servicemen are decent, hardworking men who serve with honor. Several of them have posted here, disgusted by the defense of the sex offenders in their ranks. That leaves only the sex offenders, who do not belong in the military, as the recipients of your “support.” These are the same offenders who are more likely to be discharged without punishment, relocate to your neighborhood, and molest or rape your loved ones. Will you still be “supporting the troops” in this misguided fashion when that happens? Of course, then comes the debate about “false allegations.”
False allegations rarely occur, but the idea is often used as a denial mechanism by people who don’t want to believe how rampant the problem is. Because of this, legitimate allegations are often questioned because of the circumstances, which were often intentionally manipulated by the offender for that precise purpose. False allegations are almost immediately apparent to an unbiased investigator, and have been shown to be only a fraction of all reports. Anyone who knows what kind of agony is involved for the victim during the reporting process would hesitate to jump to conclusions about the viability of her allegation. The “woman scorned” philosophy is a tired stereotype, and should not be blanketed to every allegation.
While the Pentagon says that the military has “zero tolerance” for sex offenders, it continues to condone discharge in lieu of trial, resulting in the release of hundreds of offenders per year into the civilian population without a criminal record or entry on the sex offender registry. In an effort to “prevent” sexual assault (which is next to impossible), the services have implemented “consideration of others” training directed toward victims and law-abiding soldiers (sex offenders aren’t stopped by such training) and have done absolutely nothing to ensure that the actual offenders are punished. Meanwhile, the justice system remains broken to the point that even serial offenders walk free.
I hope that the coverage of this issue continues and that more victims of sexual assault in the military come forward. Regardless of what other interests cloud the issue, I would certainly hope that people wouldn’t find it excusable that victims are punished to the extent that they are while sex offenders are allowed to walk free.

The last 12 years of my life has been dedicated to helping the survivors of MST (Military Sexual Trauma) to obtain benefits and counseling for free. Attorneys cost $30,000 if you can find one to represent you.
My comments:
Why is it that men do not want homosexuals in the military? Is it because they are afraid they will be raped? Somehow is the don’t ask, don’t tell policy supposed to stop that? NO! Because the laws of the military should uphold it, but they are not.
I have not seen one mention of male rape, and I might ask those who think it is no big deal if they would mind me shoving an M-16 up them, and then laughing at them for being horrified?? Think about it ‘men’. Many of my clients are men, raped by gangs as a part of indoctrination into the military…
What about the convicted sex offender, who goes troops to teachers, and lands in an elementary classroom without having to go through the regular ‘credentialing process, because military service counts? Does that bother anyone? Criminal records do not always follow the criminal outside the military.
What about the McDowell Checklist that is built into the system, so that any victim of any crime will not have evidence against the perpetrator but themselves? Think of the Sgt Wood case a couple of years ago, they got her to shut up by filing Adultery charges against HER, due to the fact that she was married at the time of her rape (that left her brain damaged-being hit over the head with a rock in an under-lit latrine). Again, by one of our own….
I appreciate that you all have something to say, and especially to Susan for letting others know exactly what it is like. Working with over 600 clients, men and women, I hear the same storyn again and again. I have not wanted to time to think of many other things, since everyone is talking and no one else in the country is DOING anything about it. Today I got 3 new clients.
You guys talk, I have to get back to work.
Susan Avila-Smith

Rape is wrong period. What is worse is that after you are raped, assaulted, etc., that your command retraumatizes you. Why don’t they follow their regulations, do a proper investigations, seperate the victime from the perpetrator, etc.? Some commanders completey disregard the rules. I wasn’t raped but I was injured by a drunk fighter pilot. I lost everything and he was promoted to Wing Commander. The commander spied on my communications with the IG. I was denied my benefits and he keeps moving up the chain. The system to protect the victim is broken and there is nothing you can do. I’m trying to go on with my life but every day is now a struggle for me. I’ve been hospitalized several times and have had three surgeries. I have a battery in my hip and electrical leads on my spinal cord. I take medications daily for chronic pain. I’ve gone through several years of rehabilitation. I’m in constant physical pain, I have a nerve disease that can eventually kill me and he wasn’t even punished. How are we different from the people we’re fighting when women really don’t have the rights or freedoms that men do in this country? The Good Ole Boy network is alive and well. It disgusts me. I started out enlisted and became an officer. I worked very hard and had a 16 year career flushed down the toilet because of someone else’s stupidity and I was treated like I never existed. How do you ever really get over that? All women need to have their voices heard on these issues. No one who has the power or authority to do something about it seems to care. If they would just do the right thing from the beginning, they could avoid the embarassment of all these stories coming out. Many men just don’t get it and never will. I agree now that women shouldn’t join the military. It isn’t worth what you have to go through. Not because we can’t do the job, but because they can’t handle us doing it better than them.

What if one of you men got raped forcibly by another man (or for you extremely macho types, a group of men)?
Would you want something to be done about it?
It could happen to you.. and I’m sure you’d get the same or worse treatment for trying to do something about it.
You’d probably just not report it, right? Just take it like a man and let them continue to do it to you regularly and do it to other people.
It takes a lot more balls to report it and go through what she has gone through than it would to just continue to take it “like a man”.

I know that what I am about to say is going to cause an uproar. However, I feel strongly about Femaales in the military. THEY SHOULDNT BE THERE. Especially in combat deployment situations. I have 2 sons in the Military. While serving in Iraq they both reported that femaales that were deployed with them asked for parfumed tolietries and even on a web site for female deployed marines everyone of the females mentions that she is a woman and NEEDS to feel feminine. OMG give me a break. These guys are dying everyday and risking their lives and all you think about is smelling nice??? Who are they smelling nice for???????? Well, its your sons, husbands etc. That is who. NO wonder there are sexual problems in our military. Leave females out of our military. Especially on deployments. One son was deployed on an aircraft carries. Several female sailors had regular “wrestling” matches where they wore short cheerleader type shorts(no underwear) and short over sized tee shirts with.. you guessed it NO BRAS. These women knew what they were doing. Are you aware that the military performs breast implants on female military….because it boost their moral and self esteeme? Whow are you kidding. THen send these busty women out to fight the war with our husbands and sons? Give me a break. Stay home and learn your place.

I am not writing about the rapes and the issues in Iraq. I am a vet and I was raped in Iraq and sexually assualted in Korea. I reported it and you know what they did???NOTHING!!!! I am now a spouse of a service member and I am being treated so bad by the military. I am so close to suicide, because I am tired of them treating me badly. I served the war they wanted me to I took too many blows, I got taken advantage of and even when I am not in anymore, they kept breaking me down and down and down. I am in pieces now. I just wanted to let the whole world know what my experience is with the military and when you hear of my death…..The army brought it on. I am tired of them abusing me.I can’t take this anymore and I don’t know who to turn to

I feel sorry for any woman who is mis- treated in the military. But you have to remember that when you join the Military you lose all of your rights. There are cases of male soldiers being singled out and punished for things that never happened. Secondly, women in this country should remember that if their sons join the NFL or NBA, they will have to get used to showering and dressing with women reporters watching and some of these women have written books.So I think it is time for women in this country to clean up their own act before pointing the finger at others.

I can relate. Will at my first base in Guam, I wasn’t even deployed, it was my assigned base. I was sexually harrassed by a spouse who was a prior military personnell. When it was reported nothing was done. I was almost a victim of rape except I got lucky and was able to escape. It continued even after it was reported. My authorities did nothing., I am no longer in the military because of the mental effect it had on me and my ability to do my job. Right after Christmas of this year i was contacted by OSI bc he doing it to other women and teenage girls, and still nothing is being done. The military should be protecting the rights of women and me the same. To all you men out there who tell us women that serve our country to stay home, well we can’t bc if we don’t fight then who will? You sure as H*** aint.