WASHINGTON — The problem of sexual assault in the military came into unsparing focus on Tuesday as the Pentagon released a study estimating that 26,000 people in the military were sexually assaulted in fiscal 2012, up from 19,000 in the same period a year before.
That's quite an increase, especially with all the focus on it.
The military recorded only 3,374 sexual assault reports last year, up from 3,192 in 2011, suggesting that many sexual assault victims continue not to report the crimes for fear of retribution, or a lack of justice under the department’s system for prosecuting them.
The study, based on anonymous surveys, was released two days after an officer in charge of sexual assault prevention programs for the Air Force was arrested in Arlington, Va., and charged with sexual battery.
President Obama, asked about the new numbers during a news conference Tuesday, angrily condemned the sexual assault problem in the military.
“The bottom line is, I have no tolerance for this,” he said. “If we find out somebody’s engaging in this stuff, they’ve got to be held accountable, prosecuted, stripped of their positions, court-martialed, fired, dishonorably discharged — period.”
The officer’s arrest in Arlington drew strong condemnation from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday.
“If the man in charge for the Air Force in preventing sexual assault was alleged to commit sexual assault this weekend,” Gillibrand said, then perhaps military officials were not capable of investigating and prosecuting the crimes.
Gillibrand, who nearly yelled as she addressed Michael B. Donley, the secretary of the Air Force, said that the continued pattern of sexual assault of women — and to a far lesser degree of men — was “undermining the credibility of the greatest military force in the world.”
So full of ourselves. And if they treat fellow soldiers that way, you can only imagine how they treat the "enemy" they are occupying.
***********************
Gillibrand is seeking to have all sex offenders in the military discharged from service, and she would like to replace the current system of adjudicating sexual assault by taking it outside a victim’s chain of command. She is particularly focused on decisions, including one made recently by an Air Force general, to reverse guilty verdicts in sexual assault cases with little explanation.
Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, who is also on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is holding up the nomination of Lieutenant General Susan J. Helms to be vice commander of the Air Force’s Space Command. McCaskill said she wanted more details about Helms’s decision to overturn a jury conviction in a sexual assault case last year.
That's a woman lt. gen.?
McCaskill was also critical of the military’s current policies for sexual assault.
“It is hard for me to believe that somebody could be accused of that behavior with a complete stranger and not have anything in his file,” she said, referring to Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Krusinski, the accused Air Force officer .
Police say the colonel approached a woman in a parking lot in Arlington near the Pentagon and grabbed her breasts and buttocks before she fended him off and called 911.
US Representative Niki Tsongas, Democrat of Lowell and cochair of the Military Sexual Assault Prevention Caucus, was briefed by the Department of Defense on the report on sexual assault in the military.
“The unsettling numbers released in today’s Department of Defense report certainly show that we are a long way from removing sexual assault from our armed forces,” Tsongas said in a statement. “For example, the DoD report indicates a staggering amount of instances of perceived retaliation against victims of sexual assault, which confirms the alarming and persistent anecdotal evidence my office has heard.
“The statistics in the report continue to demonstrate the seriousness of this problem and support the need to root out the pervasive cultural flaws plaguing the United States military.”
Tsongas praised an announcement by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel of a strategic plan aimed at preventing and addressing sexual assault.
“For example, the independent review panel, which will convene as early as July to examine the programs and procedures used by the military to investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate sexual assault crimes, is a critical component to assessing effectiveness and setting the foundations for future change,” Tsongas said.
While the strategic plan is a step in the right direction, Tsongas said more has to be done. “The report, combined with the string of sexual assault scandals involving military officials, confirm a deep-rooted cultural failure,” she said.
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Related: Rep. Tsongas to discuss film on sexual assault in military
"Leader of sex assault unit is charged" Associated Press, May 07, 2013
ARLINGTON, Va. — An Air Force officer who led the branch’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response unit has been charged with molesting a woman in a parking lot....
A police report states that 41-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Krusinski of Arlington was drunk and touched a woman’s chest and buttocks. Police say the woman fought him off and called police....
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"The Air Force Times reported last month that Lieutenant Colonel James Wilkerson, a former inspector general at Aviano Air Base in Italy, had been convicted on Nov. 2 on charges of abusive sexual contact, aggravated sexual assault, and three instances of conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman. The incident had involved a civilian employee."
UPDATE:
"Army sexual misconduct riles Congress" by Robert Burns | Associated Press, May 16, 2013
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers say they’re outraged that for the second time this month a member of the armed forces assigned to help prevent sexual assaults in the military is under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct.
In the latest case, an Army sergeant first class at Fort Hood, Texas, is facing allegations involving three women, including that he may have arranged for one of them to have sex for money, according to a defense official....
Then he's a pimp.
The case, along with another one involving an Air Force officer, highlight a problem that is drawing increased scrutiny in Congress and expressions of frustration from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Lawmakers said it was time for Hagel to get tough with the military brass.
‘‘This is sickening. Twice now, in a matter of as many weeks, we’ve seen the very people charged with protecting victims of sexual assault being charged as perpetrators,’’ Senator Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, said. ‘‘It’s an astonishing reminder that the Pentagon has both a major problem on its hands and a tremendous amount of work to do to assure victims — who already only report a small fraction of sexual assaults — that they are changing the culture around these heinous crimes.
‘‘Secretary Hagel needs to act swiftly to re-examine sexual assault services across the department to ensure that these disturbing betrayals of trust are ended,’’ Murray said....
I'll bet he's wishing he didn't take the job.
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Time for an evaluation:
"Military to evaluate officers for character, competence; Misconduct fuels effort to overhaul assessments" by Thom Shanker | New York Times, April 14, 2013
WASHINGTON — After a series of scandals involving high-ranking officers, the US military for the first time will require generals and admirals to be evaluated by their peers and the people they command on qualities including personal character.
The new effort is being led by General Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as part of a broad overhaul of training and development programs for generals and admirals. It will include new courses to train the security detail, executive staffs, and even the spouses of senior officers....
--more--"
Also see:
Sunday Globe Special: AmeriKan Army Adrift
John Allen, ex-leader of US forces in Afghanistan, to retire
Those are the names they dropped.
Attention, ladies!
Those are the names they dropped.
Attention, ladies!
"Military to allow women into combat jobs" by Ernesto Londoño | Washington Post, January 24, 2013
WASHINGTON — Outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta plans to announce on Thursday a lifting of the ban on women in combat roles on, a watershed change that removes the remaining barrier to a fully inclusive military, defense officials said.
Translation: we are running out of troops.
Panetta made the decision ‘‘upon the recommendation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,’’ a senior defense official said Wednesday, an assertion that stunned female veteran activists who said they assumed that the brass was still uneasy about opening the most physically arduous positions to women. Officials said the decision was influenced by women’s valor in Iraq and Afghanistan....
Just wondering if it's a good idea to send baby-making machines into a war to get killed, especially when those wars are based on damnable lies.
Btw, that is not to denigrate women in any way; it is to recognize the rather unique function they play in the progeny of the species.
The decision comes after a decade of counterinsurgency missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, where women demonstrated heroism on battlefields with no front lines. It dovetails with another seismic policy change in the military that has been implemented relatively smoothly: the repeal of the ban on openly gay service members....
We need soldiers!
Advocates and experts say women are unlikely to flock to those positions, such as roles in light infantry and tank units and Special Forces — although some may. More substantively, they say, lifting the ban will go a long way toward changing the culture of a male-dominated institution in which women have long complained about discrimination and a high incidence of sexual assault....
If the women are going to be trained to kill in combat, then what difference does it make? The culture isn't changing at all.
152 female troops have been killed in the Iraq and Afghan wars....
Tell someone who cares (sorry, but after years and years of arguing for an end and against all the lies, I'm exhausted and no longer care).
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Related:
Local veterans respond to women in combat decision
Panetta ushers in new age for troops
Translation: we are running out of troops.
Also see: Panel criticizes military on sexual assault cases
And when you get out:
"Major hurdles remain to end veteran homelessness; Billions more in funds needed" by Julie Watson | Associated Press, November 12, 2012
CHULA VISTA, Calif. — Arthur Lute’s arduous journey from his days as a Marine to his nights sleeping on the streets illustrates the challenge for the Obama administration to fulfill its promise to end homelessness among veterans by 2015.
The fact that a single vet is living on the streets is a scandal, and it wasn't a problem created by me.
Lute has post-traumatic stress disorder from the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon. He spent years drifting through jobs, two years in prison for assault, then 15 months sleeping in the bushes outside the police department of this city south of San Diego.
Today, he lives in a $1,235-a-month, two-bedroom apartment in a working-class neighborhood.
The federal government pays nearly 80 percent of the rent and mostly covers the cost of medicines for his depression, high blood pressure, and other health problems. State-funded programs pay for doctor’s appointments for his 6-month-old son and therapy for his wife, who he said is bipolar.
Lute receives a Social Security check and food stamps. A Department of Veterans Affairs case manager communicates with him regularly and helps avert crises, like when Lute’s electric bill jumped in an August heat wave and he couldn’t afford diapers.
An upcoming report is expected to show the number of homeless veterans has dropped by at least 15,000 since 2009, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki said, and the drop is the result of an aggressive two-pronged strategy to not only take veterans off the street but also prevent more from ending up there.
But Shinseki made a bold promise in 2009: The administration would end homelessness among veterans by 2015. The former four-star general says now they’re ‘‘on target’’ to meet the goal.
Related: No Shit Shinseki
Officials and outside experts said it would take:
The fact that a single vet is living on the streets is a scandal, and it wasn't a problem created by me.
Lute has post-traumatic stress disorder from the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon. He spent years drifting through jobs, two years in prison for assault, then 15 months sleeping in the bushes outside the police department of this city south of San Diego.
Today, he lives in a $1,235-a-month, two-bedroom apartment in a working-class neighborhood.
The federal government pays nearly 80 percent of the rent and mostly covers the cost of medicines for his depression, high blood pressure, and other health problems. State-funded programs pay for doctor’s appointments for his 6-month-old son and therapy for his wife, who he said is bipolar.
Lute receives a Social Security check and food stamps. A Department of Veterans Affairs case manager communicates with him regularly and helps avert crises, like when Lute’s electric bill jumped in an August heat wave and he couldn’t afford diapers.
An upcoming report is expected to show the number of homeless veterans has dropped by at least 15,000 since 2009, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki said, and the drop is the result of an aggressive two-pronged strategy to not only take veterans off the street but also prevent more from ending up there.
But Shinseki made a bold promise in 2009: The administration would end homelessness among veterans by 2015. The former four-star general says now they’re ‘‘on target’’ to meet the goal.
Related: No Shit Shinseki
Officials and outside experts said it would take:
■ Billions more in federal money
■ More improvements and long-term commitment to programs aimed at the root issues that land people on the streets — mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction, unemployment, poverty.
The nation marked Veterans Day on Sunday, paying tribute to its members of the armed services Sunday.
President Obama laid the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and noted that this is the first Veterans Day in a decade with no American troops fighting and dying in Iraq, and that a decade of war in Afghanistan is coming to a close....
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Related:
Mass. agency reaches out to help veterans
The Fighting Females of Camp Homeless
Quick Vet Check
Nothing has changed and the problem has become worse -- despite the smiley face on the Boston Globe pos.
At least the VA will take care of you:
Mass. agency reaches out to help veterans
The Fighting Females of Camp Homeless
Quick Vet Check
Nothing has changed and the problem has become worse -- despite the smiley face on the Boston Globe pos.
At least the VA will take care of you:
"Home from war, veterans face battle with VA; Overloaded resources result in much red tape" by Kathleen Miller | Bloomberg News, November 22, 2012
WASHINGTON — ‘‘How many circles do I have to run in to get the care that I need?’’
‘‘The system is completely overwhelmed, and we’re trying to play catch-up.’’
The VA budget more than doubled to $125.3 billion in the past decade, while its full-time staff has risen 43 percent to 319,592 since 2002. Obama requested about $140 billion for the agency in fiscal 2013, which would make the VA one of a few big winners in an austere budget environment.
The administration also put the VA off-limits to $1.2 trillion in automatic budget cuts, known as sequestration.
‘‘My administration has made it clear,’’ Obama said at a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Reno last July. ‘‘Your veterans’ benefits are exempt from sequestration.’’
--more--"
The administration also put the VA off-limits to $1.2 trillion in automatic budget cuts, known as sequestration.
‘‘My administration has made it clear,’’ Obama said at a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Reno last July. ‘‘Your veterans’ benefits are exempt from sequestration.’’
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Let's hope you ladies don't need treatment at the hospital:
"Walter Reed acknowledges mix-up" by Mike DeBonis | Washington Post, May 06, 2013
WASHINGTON — Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is examining how it mistakenly provided a Virginia woman with a potentially deadly heart stimulant instead of the Vitamin B12 injection she had been prescribed.
Sandy Dean, a spokeswoman for the Bethesda, Md., hospital complex, said the mix-up was an ‘‘isolated incident’’ but the pharmacists and staff technicians will be retrained on verifying prescriptions and new protocols will be put in place to ‘‘ensure patients receive the correct medication.’’
If only it were.
--more---"
"Report details flaws in Army’s handling of PTSD" by Gene Johnson | Associated Press, March 09, 2013
--more--"
Also see: Cadet quits, cites overt religion at West Point
And that was about all you had left.
"Walter Reed acknowledges mix-up" by Mike DeBonis | Washington Post, May 06, 2013
WASHINGTON — Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is examining how it mistakenly provided a Virginia woman with a potentially deadly heart stimulant instead of the Vitamin B12 injection she had been prescribed.
Sandy Dean, a spokeswoman for the Bethesda, Md., hospital complex, said the mix-up was an ‘‘isolated incident’’ but the pharmacists and staff technicians will be retrained on verifying prescriptions and new protocols will be put in place to ‘‘ensure patients receive the correct medication.’’
If only it were.
--more---"
"Report details flaws in Army’s handling of PTSD" by Gene Johnson | Associated Press, March 09, 2013
SEATTLE — The Army still has trouble diagnosing and treating soldiers for post-traumatic stress disorder despite doubling its number of behavioral health workers, according to a report released Friday.
Confusing paperwork, inconsistent training and guidelines, and incompatible data systems have hindered the service as it tries to deal with behavioral issues, the Army report said. It’s a crucial issue: After a decade of war, soldier suicides outpace combat deaths....
The review came under pressure from Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, who was upset to learn that hundreds of soldiers at Madigan Army Medical Center south of Seattle had had their PTSD diagnoses reversed by a forensic psychiatry team, resulting in a potential cut to their benefits and questions about whether the changes were made to save money....
This government doesn't give a f*** about you, soldier.
This government doesn't give a f*** about you, soldier.
Also see: Cadet quits, cites overt religion at West Point
And that was about all you had left.
