They refer to the indignities inflicted on women in the militaries of the so-called liberated societies. There are a number of websites where women soldiers from these societies exchange their experience and seek counseling to get over their trauma. Extracts from some of the letters appearing on the websites are given below:
“I can understand because I was molested by five different people and then raped in 1999.”
“Just want to add my name to the list of female veterans that suffered sexual discrimination/harassment and a rape while in the Navy. I have not been able to get any type of compensation for what happened to me, but it is good to read that some females in each branch of the military services are receiving some type of compensation.”
“I joined the US Army at the age of 17. I endured much more in the Army than I had ever bargained for. I cried many nights during basic training, but I was a survivor, and determined to make it through. At the base, I was escorted to my room by the staff duty NCO, who later demanded a reward for his kindness. He pushed me onto the bed, forced himself upon me and did ‘his business’.”
“I grew up in a patriotic family. The thought of serving in the military was as natural as breathing. Today I live with so many conflicting emotions. I hate the military and what it allows to happen to women. It does condone rape. If it didn’t, there wouldn’t be so many cowards and rapist still wearing uniforms. Whenever I see any news item concerning the US stance of condemnation against foreign militaries that assault and rape, I get sick. Why in the hell don’t they clean up the mess in our military before they pound on someone else? I was even denied access to records about my assault case.”
“I was one of several single female officers (nurse corps) on a Southwestern air base in the middle of nowhere in the early 1990s. A famous squadron was performing at the upcoming air show and needed escorts. They preferred single female nurses in something short, sexy and black. This suggestion made me feel dirty and I felt as if the Air Force was asking me to be a prostitute. I was told that it was expected that the female nursing officers sleep with pilots. And it’s unsetting when I think that this was and could still be a standard practice. How many women and men had their military careers cut short because of adultery and then the Air Force seems to encourage it in the elite pilot corps.”
“I am an Army veteran now. During my time in the service I was raped and assaulted and nobody did anything. They did some corrupt things and didn’t even counsel me correctly. They covered everything up. They did not believe me. I was harassed repeatedly and everyone thought I was crazy.”
“I joined the reserves when I was 17. I decided to join the regular force as an artillery person and moved to my new base. There were some people who, not much later on, ended up harassing me, both sexually and physically. A year and the court case is still going on. It has drawn attention to me, to my name, to my reputation amongst and to my sex so much that I no longer want to be a soldier in the Canadian armed forces, something which at one time I use to love very much. They say it’s getting better, what they mean is we’re telling you less about it now!”
“When I joined the Army, I was a 21 year old very enthusiastic female who enjoyed the challenges of military life. Reality came quickly. Drill sergeants flirted and had sex both consensual and not with recruits and so the story begins in basic training. Being a strong minded individual or so I thought I shrugged off my share of flirtations, propositions and dates, that is until 1991, when a supervisor I had in a very high position continually harassed me nonstop for 2 years and was always propositioning me for sex. Things got out of hand on a duty trip to Atlanta where he finally forced his way into my hotel room, which he booked next to his, and he raped me. I requested out of the military after 14-15 years of service, because I felt trapped.”
I am a 35 year old prior service Army veteran who left the military after a period of sexual abuse that ended with my suicide attempt. My attacker is a married white senior NCO who continues his career unscathed 6 years after my initial report of the abuse and 5 years after the first substantiated investigation report. If the regulations tell you a sexual harassment case should be decided within 120 days of the investigation, why has the Army National Guard kept me on hold for eight years?”
Many still recall the shameful Tailhook Incident of 1991, where naval aviators at their annual convention surrounded over 80 ladies including 14 women naval officers stripping them and assaulting them sexually. According to most women, the incident reveals an attitude of contempt towards women and worse, it is tolerated by the military leadership. The naval enquiry tried to downplay the whole incident but the subsequent public uproar forced the US Government to act tough. A number of senior naval officers were forced to retire.
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