The first time I ever heard the term military sexual trauma was when I was living with my future husband in Olympia, Washington in 2006. He was active duty Air Force stationed at McChord Air Force Base. I was a traditional National Guardsman. I had just transferred from a combat communications squadron in 2005 to a … More Paying It Forward Thanks to Army Specialist Suzanne Swift
In a recent episode of Deadly Women, profiler Candice DeLong highlighted the case of Paul Berkley, a US Navy reservist living in Raleigh, North Carolina. After returning from a deployment overseas to the Middle East in 2005 without injury, he returned home to his wife, Monique, who had him murdered by her teenage lover less … More Life Insurance Fraud is a Common Motive for Murder in the Military
In a recent article published in the Stars and Stripes, the public learned that military commanders were forced to overlook bad behavior to include assault due to wartime demands. According to the article, a recently retired general stated that the “Army desperately needs to clean up misconduct in its ranks.” The response from the Army’s top … More The US Military Recruited Violent Felons to Support the War Efforts
“These are future leaders in the Army, the same officers the enlisted are supposed to report violent crimes to.” ~JSN If you haven’t kept up with the fight in Congress regarding how the military should best handle sexual assault complaints and retaliation, this article will help you understand. Claire McCaskill wants sexual assault victims in … More The Army Wants You to Report Violent Crimes to These Future Military Officers at West Point
Fact: 62% of military sexual assault victims report that they suffered both personal & professional retaliation after they reported the crime to their Chain of Command. (Department of Defense, 2014) The retaliation is what makes PTSD so debilitating and if witnessed by others will prevent them from coming forward. It also is the precipitator for … More If Military Sexual Assault Victims Experience Retaliation, the Military Justice System is Broken
Retired APG general: The players change, the ‘GAM’ remains the same Sixteen years ago, Robert Shadley, then a major general in the Army, uncovered disturbing news from an important Army training facility at Aberdeen Proving Ground. Drill sergeants and other instructors were regularly using their power to get sexual favors from young female trainees, or sometimes … More Retired APG general: The players change, the ‘GAM’ remains the same
The Uncounted Every day, 22 veterans commit suicide. That number is sadly familiar. It has become a symbol of the cost of war that extends beyond the battlefield. But no one is tracking war’s impact on another group: military spouses, siblings and parents. Their suicides go uncounted. The dozens of military family members I interviewed over the … More The Uncounted (CNN Special on Caregiver & Family Suicide)
Uniform Betrayal: Rape in the Military
Now That Women Are Cleared For Combat, How About A Rape-Free Workplace? January 24, 2013—the day Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Martin Dempsey signed a memorandum allowing women to serve in combat for the first time in American military history—may one day be looked as a milestone for gender equality … More Now That Women Are Cleared For Combat, How About A Rape-Free Workplace?
Jennifer S. Norris 