Guest Post: Sexual Predators in the Military
From Sara Rich
Good Order and Discipline
From Suzanne’s case to the world at large
In thinking about this phrase “Good Order and Discipline” and its impact on my family, I have to come to the conclusion that the people defining “Good Order and Discipline” for Suzanne’s case are comparable to the Commander and Chief. They share his Ignorance and Arrogance and appear incapable of vision beyond the aggressive, authoritarian, paternalistic, moralistic, punitive attitude.
There were many opportunities for the Army to equitably enforce “Good Order and Discipline” in my daughter’s case. The Equal Opportunity Officer could have honored her complaint about the Platoon Sgt. and investigated, rather than dismissing Suzanne, thereby making her feel abandoned and at the mercy of her abuser. I cannot believe that no one else knew what the MoLester was doing. Shame on the 66th MP company command for not protecting Suzanne. The Squad Leader MoLester should have been held accountable for his actions. Where is their sense of “Good Order and Discipline in a combat zone for a 19 year old private? Did they knowingly allow the MoLester to have easy access to her with nods and winks between battle buddies?
Suzanne returned from Iraq damaged and scared, but working hard to keep her “military bearing” and perform her duty as an MP. She was moved to another Unit where she was again sexually harassed with comments like: “What color are your panties, Swift?” “Report to my bed naked in the morning, Swift” She tolerated this at first, but finally reported him and was treated like a traitor or even a criminal. Is it Good Order and Discipline that the victims of sex abuse are interrogated, humiliated, and further abused by the system that is supposed to protect them?
Over the last year, hundreds of soldiers and veterans have contacted us about their experience with military sexual violence. In each of these reports the military appears to condone and perhaps even support sexual assault by male soldiers. How is this Good Order and Discipline? Again the knowing wink and nod: “Boys will be boys.†The devastation experienced by victims breaks my heart and I am consistently reminded that this archaic institution is not only demeaning the victims but it is creating a dynamic in the sexual predators that results in abuse beyond the parameters of war into mainstream American society. This type of moral ambiguity sets a dangerous president. Who will be the next victims to join Melissa, Jessica, Lawanda, Jason, and so many others.
The military justice system is by these ignorant and destructive policies corrupting the moral fabric of an institution established to serve and protect our Nation. The Military claims to be so honorable and disciplined, yet those in charge are allowing the soldiers in their commands to rape and abuse other soldiers without being held accountable. What are we as parents and families of loved ones supposed to do when we see the military treating our children as chattel and ruining their futures?
I for one will not ever stop fighting for my daughter’s deserved freedom. Suzanne was abused by individuals in the US Army and she continues to be abused by the military justice system, which has forced her to serve time in a military prison, not allowing her to have the medical discharge she needs. It is abominable that anyone would even consider sending a sex abuse victim to prison. When she was hospitalized in the psych unit on base three weeks ago, you can imagine my fear. She survived these trials, but today she called me crying because she is so devastated by the institution that allowed these men to hurt her. For those of you wondering about Suzanne, although she got through the court martial, things are certainly not resolved. She is still suffering and feels humiliated because she was stripped of her rank. It is difficult for her to get dressed in her uniform now. Every day she is reminded of being demoted, which adds to her depression and anxiety. How can it be a part of good order and discipline to degrade soldier who has returned from combat?
Do our young people have to be subjugated to maintain Good Order and Discipline? Is demanding sexual favors part of this? In the stories I have heard, person after person has told us what happened to them and how they were the ones punished for the crimes committed against them. WHO is responsible for making the decisions that create this moral vacuum? Who in the US Military going to step up and demand that this stop? These are not isolated incidents. Our sons and daughters are experiencing rape, harassment, threats, and intimidation. All the policies in place are not stopping the abuse. This blatant immorality is a plague ruining the lives of thousands of our soldiers.
Where are the civil rights of our soldiers? Who gives the military the authority to deprive our children of their human rights when they voluntarily become soldiers? Who is perpetuating this violence against them? Who can hold the military accountable? Do we all need to take on some responsibility for allowing this to happen? US Congress? US Senate? Your help is needed to stop this madness on every level.
Colonel Katherine Miller, what point are you trying to prove by refusing to allow Suzanne a discharge? Has being in the military stripped you of your compassion and humanity? We know it is you that is standing in the way of Suzanne’s much deserved healing. I pray you or your daughter are never sexually abused, and if you are that you meet up with people that understand and are helpful. You are a disgrace to our gender and the role of mother’s everywhere. When we had our conversation this summer you told me this would end badly. I did not realize that you were threatening me. You fit the stereotypical “female in military command” model and have turned into a “Yes woman.” Who is pulling you strings?
Free my daughter Suzanne. That would be the highest level of Good Order and Discipline I could think of. Secondly, bring our troops home. Not one more life should be sacrificed. General Dubick, stop making an example out of Suzanne and Ehren. Their courage is the highest level of honor our military could hope to have.
On a personal note, I know that my daughter and I will continue to seek justice, but how does this happen in a system which appears to lack Good Order or Discipline?
Peace~
Sara Rich, M.S.W.
proud parent of Suzanne, Sonja, Brandy and Jake
http://suzanneswift.org
ify:
I was coming here cause I was mad about some Stan Goff said about Sabra and Shatilla. I still want him to read because they hate page 92-93. But I did not expect a treat like this. I was following your daughter’s case. I know she was put in the brig for 30 days. I thought about it alot. Its been the source of one of the reasons for people turning to me and saying why are you talking to yourself. Griumbling about injustice probably. I thought to myself, if I was there I would fight with her, we would hid in her room, and when he busted in at night, we would pull a gun on him. Sorry. Iam suppose to be a christian, but I wonder if the big public talkers in right wing christianity would say stuff to drive back justice. Probably. I can imagine how they would be calling her names. Victimology they would sneer. All because she was raped. And then as soon as it is a different culture that they are trying to subvert, they are talking about women’s rights like it is a priority to them. Oh this culture shames the rape victim. So do you. Anyway. Take the example of Arar, or the Catholic church victims. Class action lawsuit. Watch who screws you over and hates you for demanding your rights. pathetic. Love, and I hope you all get justice…Ify
3 February 2007, 1:02 amify:
Don’t bother asking them about their compassion and justice. Like Jesus said, don’t throw pearls to pigs. Don’t give to dogs what is sacred. The only thing that people like this understand is making them get stripped of their medals. All of a sudden the laughing and the picture taking during the rapes gets real quiet.
3 February 2007, 1:08 amKevin:
Why do you delete my posts. That was meant to show what what is being done to keep rape from occuring. I am just as disgusted as you are.
STAN: If you want to behave, you can come back on probation. But after a series of plain, name-calling flames, I just hit the delete botton. I ban people when they display that kind of behavior.
7 February 2007, 11:55 pmLisa:
Pretty amazing article at Counterpunch:
Learning to be a Lean, Mean Killing Machine
Structured Cruelty
By Sgt. MARTIN SMITH, USMC, Ret.
http://counterpunch.com/smith02202007.html
20 February 2007, 7:05 pmDeAnander:
cross-ref to the above article which I also noticed and flagged for IA:
Mad Scientist Plans for Dolphins from US Military
warping and coercing life into the service of death… they have lost the close-knit protection of their family pod and may not survive the rigors of the open ocean describes more than one vet I have known.
21 February 2007, 8:07 pmJack Bauer:
As a former investigator in the military I can tell you the problem in investigating military sexual assaults is about 90% of the cases involve boozy, consentual sex encounters which invariably lead to he-said, she-said cases.
Now, as a civilian investigator, I see the military is no more and no less reflective than civilian life. What magnifies it is the military has so many mechanisms set up to report/investigate these sexual assaults, which in the civilian world would never be reported.
Sure, there are some bad things that happen in the military, but don’t besmirch it. It does more for prosecutions, victims, etc than the civilian world could ever hope for.
STAN: As a former member of the military for just a couple of minutes, I can say that this is bullshit. Besmirch, my ass. Outside of perhaps a men’s prison, there is no more consistently misogynist culture within the general culture (that is still deeply misogynist). A tremendous number of cases in the military never make it to any investigator’s desk, because victims are pressured by the chain of command and made very aware that – unlike in other cases in the military (like the prosecution/persecution of homosexuality) – there is a very strong defense bias in the UCMJ and its application when it comes to male sexual aggression. Partly because in so many cases, sexual advances are tangled up in a strict heirarchy whose preservation is seen as a higher priority than pretty much anything else; but also because male aggression (seen as a net-positive in the miltiary) is in almost every case irrevocably interfused with male sexual aggression. It is only recently – after tremenedous pressure from outside – that the military even acknowledged marital rape. Male-on-male rape still does not exist according to the UCMJ. There is no doubt that latent within the miltiary, because of its command-structure, is the capacity to prosucute rape/sexual assault/sexual harrassment more effectively than civilians. If there were a genuine command-emphasis (as there was to accomplish racial integration within the Army, e.g.), the military could move ahead of the civilian sector; but latency is all it is. What remains manifest in the military is the firm belief that Man-the-Conquerer is the only paradigm that works (an imperial as well as patriarchal trope); and the phony-baloney programs to “sensitize” the military to these issues are designed to get those pesky civilians off their back. Which brings me to my other point: we have to keep the pressure on the military for its sexism in every case, because it is an institution that is constantly in the far hinterlands of legality and public legitimacy (if people understand what we actually do), and as such, the armed forces are exquisitely sensitive to public opinion. The paradox is that we could see progress in the military – under the right civilian leadership, and absent our current imperial wars – faster than we might in general society.
26 June 2007, 8:14 pmAudrey:
Jack just gave a perfect demonstration of what to expect from an investigator, if you are a woman in the military pressing forward with a rape case.
According to him, our resident investigator, 90% of sexual assault cases come down to he-said, she-said, which he describes as “consentual.”
Is there any doubt where the bias lies?
27 June 2007, 9:05 amDeAnander:
I think there’s a dead giveaway in the phrase “good order and discipline” — revealing a fault line that runs through the whole culture.
One interpretation of good order and discipline is the ostensible function of the state: to enforce the law evenhandedly, to preserve ideas like fairness and the prevention of abuse and bullying.
But there are unwritten laws about the correct “order of things,” as in white people are supposed to dominate “lesser races” and men are supposed to dominate women. So lynchings and rapes, sexual harassment, domestic violence, while they conflict with “good order” by violating the ostensible agenda of the State in enforcing an evenhanded law, actually conform to the unwritten order of things (white supremacy, male supremacy). In raping and harassing women, persecuting gays, encouraging racism, elements in the military are enforcing a “good order” and a “discipline” that date from long before the notion of democracy and the rule of law — a “good order and discipline” that still strongly appeal to most men (the gender angle) and most whitefolks (the race angle).
As a culture we have got to face that fault line and really, honestly regard these assaults on women — also queerbashings and race hatred — as offences against good order and discipline, and not as righteous enforcement of a white/male supremacist order against the dangerous incursions of uppity women, dusky heathen, etc.
27 June 2007, 12:19 pm