Rape in Military

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...c9848c-6c09-11e3-a5d0-6f31cd74f760_story.html

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/27/world/asia/japan-controversial-u-s-airbase/

This is a cultural problem. What is there about this base that there are so many rapes? Why doesn't the military come down so hard that rapes wont happen?

The numbers are indicative of a large population, not a cultural issue. Half of all military members in Japan are stationed there in a high density population center. Statistically, crimes will happen and happen more frequently as you increase the number of people in an area. If you were to compare the numbers to other military bases of roughly the same size, you'll likely see similar rates.

Also, there is no magic bullet to stopping rape, or any crime. The US military has murderers, rapists, drug dealers, child pornographers, and other criminals in its ranks. So does the US civilian population. A commander can order service members not to rape, the ones who are going to are still going to. They can segregate the population by gender, people will still get raped. You can restrict people to base, crimes on base will escalate and people will flaunt the restriction. You can require everyone to always be in pairs to escort each other, how do you keep one escort from raping the other? You can put the death penalty on sexual assault, people will still do it. This is backed by numerous studies that show the death penalty does not serve as a deterrent for crimes where it is a penalty. It is a punishment, pure and simple.

The only answer is time and education and changes of social norms that dictate gender roles and equality, as well as eliminate entitlement towards sex. I've said this multiple times in the thread, try reading all of it.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/natio...in-military-sexual-assault-air-force/4371569/

cont

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/invisible-war-updates

What we need is DoD to nuke itself.

I'm disgusted by these military people trying to keep court martial authority for rape with commanders. That's ridiculous nonsense. Serious crimes like rape and murder should be handled by professionals only who are well versed in the legal system. Just because you put on a star doesn't mean you have some great insight into the law and the crime is so severe it has significant repercussions beyond "good order and discipline". We aren't talking about people behaving improperly, rules about respect or following orders, standards of conduct for NCOs and Officers, special good order rules on fraternization, even drinking and fighting, the things that ARE a Commander's problem. We are talking about RAPE and SEXUAL ASSAULT. If a type of crime is so serious there's a god damn Law & Order series dedicated to it, perhaps we should accord it the level of severity it deserves in how we prosecute it.

Speaking as a commander, my first concern is and should be the welfare of my unit, and if my unit has a rapist then I want to make sure it's the lawyers and not me who decides how we go after them. That's how I look after my unit. Rape isn't a discipline issue.

I was in the navy for 6 years, an i never saw an officer or senior enlisted(e7 and above) held accountable for anything.

was in the Army and i agree with that some people get away with stuff due to their rank it's sad

http://www.armytimes.com/article/20.../Criminal-hazing-Raped-by-his-fellow-soldiers

I read the army times once in the VA office waiting room. It was talking about how we should go easy on generals when they have sex scandals. That editorial pissed me off. This was after the pistorious cheating scandal. My thought after reading that was "how many emergency leave chits did this useless fuck deny because he did not value family".

I have a very low opinion of that "newspaper". however, if you want to find more rape articles, also use the key word "hazing" as half the rape seems to be charged under the lesser charge of hazing.

I am of the opinion punishments should be harsher the higher up you go in rank. A Private misuses a Government Credit Card? Company Grade Article 15 and be done with it. A Lieutenant misuses a GCC? Send them in front of the CG and take their money and give a GMOR so they're done. A General misuses a GCC? Destroy them. They should know better. That's what it boils down to in the end, as a leader and senior ranked individual YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER what is right and what is wrong.
The higher you climb, the more precarious should be your fall when you make a major misstep. Common sense to me.

They really complain about officer retention, yet from what i understand, its the highest its ever been.

On the enlisted side however.....

We have been blindsided with technicians leaving, and not being able to replace them. People are not scoring the numbers needed on the asvab, and the ones that do fail the drug test on the way to the ship. I won't risk name fagging myself, but my ship had to go two years without someone to replace me. Meanwhile, when the equipment broke, and since there was no one able to troubleshoot it, SPAWAR got paid 600 an hour to do the job an enlisted person could have done.The never work less then 4 hours per ship either.

for those not familiar with spawar
http://www.public.navy.mil/spawar/Pages/default.aspx

I can't speak on the Navy's personnel issues. Army officer retention is where it needs to be (mostly) but they're still doing separation boards for several year groups. The 2005 Year Group just had a record low promotion rate to Major (~60%) compared to what the average for the last decade has been (~80%).

They're gutting us, officer and enlisted. Fortunately they're cleaning out the dregs in the process but it's also leaving a lot of shortages in its wake.

well, if they need people. there are always private contractors.....

ROE? That's not in the contract. Geneva convention? That is also not in the contract. There is a REASON why some CIA interrogators LEFT. I have no dox, but i am suspicious that contractors have been used to circumvent laws.

If you think rape in the military is bad....

http://illinoislawreview.org/wp-content/ilr-content/articles/2011/3/Snell.pdf
chew on that. Just chew on it. Because of the nature of contractors, you can rape ANY one you want, in the theater, and get away with it. Consider it a job perk.

I was in for ten and wish I could say you are wrong but you are not.

Yeah, the whole "act of congress required to be disciplined" is a very nice perk. Especially since congress is completely uncaring about the military.

What branch were you in?

US Navy. Joined up in the mid 70's. Racked up a buttload of GI Bill money and went to college.

I did something with it anyway. My parents could have covered school but it would have been tight as hell. Did not have a clue what I wanted to be when I finally grew up (still don't). If I had been half as smart as I thought I was I would have left the day before I got shot.

Go for a swim in a nice bay followed by a casual walk on the beach and get shot for my trouble.

From intrepid John Young @ Cryptome:

17 May 14

MEMORANDUM FOR .....

FROM: Staff Sergeant Brandon Enos

SUBJECT: Sexual Assaults in the Military

1. The purpose of this Memorandum is to address the many issues I have encountered while I was a case agent working numerous sexual assault cases and my operation I named Operation Gridiron. Operation Gridiron involved approximately 25 collegiate athletes suspected of range of charges to include using and distributing controlled substances to sexual assault. I have significant concerns of reprisal on this issue because it has already happened to me on numerous occasions. I also still belong to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) under the command of Lt Col Vasaga Tilo, who has a lot of power over me and my Air Force career. On 9 Dec 13, Lt Col Vasaga Tilo gave me a direct order not to speak with anyone about the Eric Thomas incident to include the media, Lt Gen Michelle Johnson, or anyone from the US Air Force Academy (USAFA).
   
   ...

It did not take long for me to realize that there was a huge problem with sexual assaults at this location. My first case assigned to me was a sexual assault case. During the course of this investigation, I interviewed female cadet as a witness. I will never forget what this female cadet told me, as it changed my view of USAFA forever.

That female cadet told me she was a victim of sexual assault at USAFA but there was nothing AFOSI or anyone else could do about this issue. That was because the cadet who sexually assaulted her was a USAFA football player and she thought he was very well protected.

This female cadet further stated there were numerous other victims, and that football players at USAFA could “get away with murder”.

I felt sick to my stomach that someone could think this way. I then realized why so few female cadets had reported that they had been sexually assaulted. I felt it was unacceptable for anyone to get away with such a grievous crime as sexual assault simply because of a collegiate sport they played at USAFA.

[...] ... a 12 page PDF that reports on an extensive probe into the relationships between professional sport players, military service members and the commission of rape.

well damn just found out a 1stSgt at my old unit got nabbed for Sexual Assault didn't know him but still pissed as fuck

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/29/military-rape-jokes-now-this-rants_n_5732100.html

Thank you for sharing this. I'm sickened this is still going on and within OSI itself.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...-instructor-sex-assault-dies-prison/15007015/
Boo hoo

Photos: Women Who Risked Everything to Expose Sexual Assault in the Military | Mother Jones

Mary F. Calvert won the 2013 Canon Female Photojournalist Award for this body of work and is showing it at the 2014 Visa Pour l'image in Perpignan, France. Calvert also just won the Alexia Foundation 2014 Women's Initiative Grant to help fund her related project, Missing in Action: Homeless Female Veterans.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/09/sexual-violence-american-military-photos

Wow! What a nightmare! Thanks, White Tara, I read the whole article, and it paints a vivid, disturbing, horrific picture of the inescapable torture of living with your tormentors, bottling it all up because no-one wants to listen, no-one wants to help. The contrary seems to be the norm - to further traumatize the victims, force them to deny the truth or force them to leave on a 'less than honorable discharge'.

It seems like a systemic problem requiring a systemic remedy.

Thanks for sharing this. We're doing Sexual Harassment/Assault Response/Prevention (SHARP) training tomorrow. I'm going to print the article out and use it as part of the training.

Follow up. I think the article was very helpful in making an impact with my Soldiers. Not as good as it needs to be as one of my Soldiers is about to go to court martial for sexual assault. I can't provide any more details but I will say this:

-When the allegation against the Soldier was reported, it was taken as serious and legitimate both by his chain of command (my underlings, me, my boss, etc) and CID who advised us on what actions to take/not take in order to not risk jeopardizing the outcome.
-The entire investigation, preference of charges, and court martial have been handled outside the chain of command. The stuff you used to hear about commander's trying to sweep stuff under the rug or just dispatching of it like you would a Soldier talking back to an NCO, none of that happens anymore. Automatic court martial and handled by law enforcement professionals at every step of the way. CID is even expected to get special investigation teams, exactly like an SVU, in the near future.

Thank God and soldiers like you.