CBS has an excellent article covering the treatment of women in the military. The article notes that the U.S. military is issuing "moral waivers," which allows felons, including convicted rapists to enlist. From CBS:
It's a potent environment, with female soldiers working - and living - under hostile conditions with their male counterparts.
One soldier, who asked us to call him Robert, spent three tours in Iraq as a signal unit leader out of Ft. Lewis in Washington state.
“For the female soldiers, it was far harder to adjust,” Robert told CBS News anchor Katie Couric. “Because not only did they have to deal with combat - mortar rounds, rockets, bullets - they also had to put up with male soldiers who were away from their families for a year.”
A decorated soldier in his unit, Robert says he went to his Command on many occasions after female soldiers complained of sexual assaults. Nothing was done.
“The last thing a commander wants, other than a death in his unit, is sexual harassment, or an assault case, because that makes his unit’s command look bad, Robert said.
For Wendy - an idealistic 17-year-old - the military seemed like the answer to her prayers.
“I was mostly going in for school,” Wendy said. “But I was also going in to see the world and travel.”
Deployed as a combat medic, Wendy was thrust into a chaotic and increasingly violent situation. Not long after, she experienced another kind of trauma, when she was assaulted by a fellow soldier in her barracks while she was sleeping.
“He started pushing himself on me,” she said. “And I wasn’t having it. So I started punching him and I actually kicked him in the groin.”
One soldier, who asked us to call him Robert, spent three tours in Iraq as a signal unit leader out of Ft. Lewis in Washington state.
“For the female soldiers, it was far harder to adjust,” Robert told CBS News anchor Katie Couric. “Because not only did they have to deal with combat - mortar rounds, rockets, bullets - they also had to put up with male soldiers who were away from their families for a year.”
A decorated soldier in his unit, Robert says he went to his Command on many occasions after female soldiers complained of sexual assaults. Nothing was done.
“The last thing a commander wants, other than a death in his unit, is sexual harassment, or an assault case, because that makes his unit’s command look bad, Robert said.
For Wendy - an idealistic 17-year-old - the military seemed like the answer to her prayers.
“I was mostly going in for school,” Wendy said. “But I was also going in to see the world and travel.”
Deployed as a combat medic, Wendy was thrust into a chaotic and increasingly violent situation. Not long after, she experienced another kind of trauma, when she was assaulted by a fellow soldier in her barracks while she was sleeping.
“He started pushing himself on me,” she said. “And I wasn’t having it. So I started punching him and I actually kicked him in the groin.”
The military has long had a reputation for not effectively combating sexual violence by its soldiers. Adding rapists to the population of recruits will certainly not help.
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