Sexual Assualt in the Military

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 20:10:12 -0400

Just watched "The Invisible War." What is everyone's thoughts on this?

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2014 8:17 PM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 20:17:12 -0400

I hatred it! It is crazy to think that happens in our military. For a different perspective, you should also watch Justice Denied, if you are strong enough. That one is from a male perspective.

Response by SSG V. Michelle Woods made Jun 2 at 2014 8:21 PM

SSG V. Michelle Woods — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 20:21:28 -0400

I believe that awfully painful and tragic documentary is a true reflection of the reality we live in.

If you think it is an exaggeration of the military's problem, you are deeply mistaken. This documentary should be a huge part of SHARP training.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2014 9:13 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 21:13:37 -0400

It is a good documentary and, as SSG Woods mentioned, needs to be part of SHARP training. There are a few issues though, and I'm speaking as a SHARP rep. While the video is worth using as a discussion tool, it must be done very carefully by someone who is passionate about the subject, has watched it multiple times and understands the pros and cons of the video. As much as the video does the job of bringing sexual assault into the open and slams the military (in several scenes), there are several distortions in it.

I bought the video early last year after watching it in the SHARP certification class. I wanted to use it as a discussion tool (I hate powerpoint slides for training) for my unit. Unfortunately, our BDE CDR put a temporary halt BDE wide on the use of the video due to the inflammatory verbage against the military. I had watched the video several times before speaking to him and explaining why it is a good video to watch but heavilly supervised. To this day, i have watched the video over a dozen times and still believe it can be worthwhile.

Response by SGM Matthew Quick made Jun 2 at 2014 9:32 PM

SGM Matthew Quick — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 21:32:06 -0400

It forced the Department of Defense to take immediate action...can't solve the problem, but you CAN take care of the victims.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2014 10:16 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 22:16:05 -0400

First I would like to say that what happened to these women should not be tolerated and these are some of the worst cases that I can imagine. Commanders at all levels across all the services should seek to find those guilty of these crimes and punish them.
But that said, I think this movie is a pile of crap that is grossly exaggerating the situation and pushing an agenda of taking power away from commanders and giving it to a new army of civilian employee lawyers.
ALL of the statistics in the movie are extremely questionable. In fact when I watched the movie over a year ago I pointed out all the inconsistencies to the SHARP coordinator she agreed with me. The Part that made me mad was the disregard for the rule of law and demanding punishment without regard for the rights of the individual to due process. In the movie they mentioned that soldiers getting NJP for sexual assault is “sweeping it under the rug”. If you think that when someone get’s NJP or a letter of reprimand for sexual misconduct that is “sweeping it under the rug” you are wrong. In the civilian legal system these are cases where no charge would be made at all and the offender would walk. In the military a commander needs NO evidence to give a letter of Reprimand, he needs a better than 50% chance you did it for NJP. In the Civilian system the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the offender committed the crime.
I would argue that the military punishes a much higher percentage of offenders than does the civilian system. I don’t know how we couldn’t with the way the systems are set up. When I was a Company Commander one of my Soldiers was sent to the USDB for sexual assault for having sex with another soldier who was too drunk to consent. Without a long CID interrogation he would not have been convicted. The women in my family who have been victims of similar sexual assaults did not have their attackers given such rigorous questioning and NONE of their attackers were charged.
In fact I challenge you to take your own informal poll of the people you have known who have been victims of sexual assault. How many civilians’ victims do you know whose attackers were charged or convicted?
I think too often we reactively set our “number one priority” without looking at the whole story and how we compare to our civilian counterparts.

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Jun 2 at 2014 11:30 PM

SSG (ret) William Martin — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 23:30:31 -0400

I saw this documentary several months ago. Unless I was asleep which I did not, I missed the part about men being sexually harassed and assaulted.

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2014 11:42 PM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 23:42:10 -0400

SRA Constable,

I don't think you realize how happy it makes me that you were impacted by this documentary. Remember, you are the change. It is far too common that many want to wash their hands of the scary horrible things that are happening around. Please use your new found shock to help prevent it in your wing. I'm not saying go out and scream from the top of a mountain, however, just sharing with your wingmen will help make a difference. It is your generation that can help implement the necessary change. The more it is discussed in the open, the more others are aware of its occurrences and may even be able to prevent it from happening. At the very least, some may think twice before engaging. There are always going to be those perverts and others lacking the mental will power to resist, but some conducting these atrocities are well adjusted and just have a lapse in judgement, unable to comprehend the impact it will have on others. Look out for your fellow Airmen, male and female alike, as it can help prevent lives being shattered, perpetrator and victim alike.

Response by MSG Lance Kelly made Jun 17 at 2014 1:11 AM

MSG Lance Kelly — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 01:11:34 -0400

I had to walk out. I know a couple of females who were sexually assaulted, one was there that day. At the time I was also taking a "Women in Leadership and Film" course and we were focusing on movies where women were abused in many forms and unable to stand up for themselves.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 18 at 2014 11:12 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 23:12:50 -0500

I am a SARC/VA for the Louisiana National Guard. During the two week training we watched the Video. It is a good Video. i went to a refresher course and this guy really hits the nail on the head.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElJxUVJ8blw
It deals with changing how we all look at sexual assault and harassment.