The Marines Defend Their Women

SSG V. Michelle Woods I commend you for posting this. The majority of men in the service are men of honor. I believe we (Soldiers) stand for each other regardless of gender.

Is it just me or do these marines look really young? The fish eye camera makes them look like kids in the picture.

Unfortunately if I did this in the Army I would be ostracized, if not for Equal opportunity than for sharp.

I must say that i don't agree with what say about army soldiers. it all has to so with the environment one foster, coming up through the ranks i see the good and bad. And i will say if you think u can get away with it mess with one of the female in or around my watch and find out.

SSG V. Michelle Woods, I think you are mistaking a primal male response with some uniquely military sense of honor.

What those Marines did was nothing more than what my dormmates and I were prepared to do when a coed we knew collapsed in front of us after escaping from a would-be rapist -- as soon as she described her attacker, all but one of us (one of the guys had the sense to help her to a chair and call the police) was out the door scouring (unsuccessfully) the area around the dorm. Somewhere, I still have a copy of the school paper where we responded to an accusation that we acted like a bunch of "angry white dudes" looking for a black guy in jeans (the description we got was a bit more detailed than what got published in the paper).

You could call what we did some expression of Southern honor, but the reality was that we were presented with a no-question instance of one of our women being roughed up, and in our Neanderthal brains that meant we were driven to respond to protect her. The situation was clear, and we acted almost without thinking. We were of the same mind as the man who shot his son's molester.

Most sexual harassment experiences are nowhere near as undeniable, nor do they offer an opportunity for such dramatic heroism.

I still remember being baffled that a friend I met on my first deployment to Germany got no traction with her chain of command as her NCOIC's actions drove her from being a firecracker of a PV2 to accepting a discharge not much more than a year later. Thirty years later, I still feel I should have done something more, but I'll be damned if I can see what I could have done -- I was in a border Cav unit, and my home station (when we were there) was a kaserne 20 or 30 miles from where she was stationed, and the Army was overflowing with discipline problems in those days.

(Yes, I'm rationalizing my inaction, because remembering her tears still revives my first urge, which was to punch out the SOB. I'm not sure where I picked up the notion that problem people can be solved by an appropriate application of violence.)

Protecting women from harassment is much harder than stopping a blatant assault, and I think there are several posts here which show that the Marines haven't solved that fuzzier issue either.

Though it may seem simple, that's a very complex question. The military teaches us to see each other as equal regardless of gender. However human nature thinks otherwise. In my experience in the Navy I usually see females receive either preferential treatment or prejudicial. Rarely do I see the gender blind style of leadership. Though most female service members would not want any special treatment, many can't deny they benefit from it. Unfortunately there are those that use this to their advantage, giving all a bad rap. There are also those male leaders with ulterior motives for "protecting" their females. Usually they are easy to spot. In closing I say you should expect help simply for wearing the uniform.

WHO RESCUES THE MEN?

I do find it very telling that no Active Duty Marines, Male or Female have responded to this thread. The only response from any Marine so far has been from a Vet who was just wondering at the value of any women in the Corps in Infantry at all; that is telling, but not news.

I really do not think it makes a difference in today's military, if you make enough noise, people will come to investigate and help. At least I have to believe rape is no longer a team sport.

This was never shown to me during my command time or in other staff officer positions, ever.

I always gave "the talk" about this and made it clear I would crucify anyone caught doing it, but I also warned about making false accusations.

Yes. We are our brother's (and sister's) keeper. I've always felt that men who sexually assault (or even disrespect) others are not worthy of my friendship. And, yes I will act if I ever catch anyone in the act. Only we can change the culture of the military or elsewhere. Friends don't let friends abuse our fellow service members.