BlogHer - military - Comments

Military Sexual Trauma and Statistics

Erin Solaro — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 09:42:08 -0600

I deal extensively with sexual assault in my book Women in the Line of Fire: What You Should Know about Women in the Military (Seal Press, 2006).

The problem of sexual assault in the military is a real and serious one but it is not helped by conflating 1 in 3 women who use VA services with 1 in 3 of women veterans. The former group is self-selecting from the larger group.

The real scandal is that an enormous number of military units simply do not have problems with sexual assault and the predator's foreplay of harassment because they do not tolerate these behaviors. I am not talking about sensitivity training as commonly understood. That would have been useful for the old guys, the Vietnam generation, who had never worked with women professionally and simply did not know how to deal with women in professional situations. (Of course, they were not a significant part of the problem.) For young guys, that kind of sensitivity training is dumb, offensive, and useless. The junior enlisted may be, well, junior enlisted, especially in the infantry, but they know how to treat women. They have mothers, girlfriends, sisters and female friends. Anyone of them who doesn’t know how to treat servicewomen—does not want to know.

The only sensitivity training needed is for men, preferably with shaved heads, big biceps and combat decorations, to say Anyone who hurts or disrespects our sisters is not our brother and has no place amongst us. And for every other serviceman who is tired of servicewomen having to regard sexual harassment and assault as part of the service, or even part of life, to back them up, formally and informally, in word and in deed. And the Chief of Staff of the Army and the Commandant of the Marine Corps need to summon up the manhood to say publicly what their junior officers and sergeants are making stick at the small unit level.

And yes, the combat exclusion rule needs to be dropped. It has only ever harmed military efficiency, discipline, and cohesion, by stigmatizing women as second-class troops who can’t be counted upon in a fight, alienating the good guys, rendering the women vulnerable to the bad guys, and also making them more likely to be killed by the enemy than able to kill the enemy.

Cheers,

Erin Solaro

PS: The folks who wrote in with some of the more outrageous comments are nothing but apologists for rape. Hoep you said so.

Wow. Talk about strength.

L16 — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:06:35 -0500

Wow. Talk about strength. Thanks.

Thoughts with You

rebellious thinker — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:57:31 -0500

Oh, how the big events can change our lives. May your father and all of his compatriots stay safe and strong.

Laura, www.rebelliousthoughtsofawoman.com

Beautiful ode to your mother

Lisa Stone — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:32:09 -0500

Thank you!

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

Loved It!

Southerngirl — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:08:54 -0500

What a great story. I agree that not having heros is hogwash as you say. My mom was one of my greastest heros as well. Loved the pictures!! She was truly a fearless girl and you should absolutly tell her story every chance you get.

Michelle

Great family history!

Denise — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:41:40 -0500

I love your mom and Rosie was right. It should be a movie.

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings

And it is a fabulous story.

Wyliekat — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:41:02 -0500

And it is a fabulous story. No wonder you're so very proud of your mom. What a history to have!

Kim, thank you for your

Dana J. Tuszke — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 08:25:37 -0500

Kim, thank you for your prayers. I can't wait for the day when all of our troops come home. The war is dragging on for too long. It makes me and so many Americans heartsick to watch as we send more troops over there.

Thanks, Alyssa! And I just

Dana J. Tuszke — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 08:24:21 -0500

Thanks, Alyssa! And I just clicked over to Anne Marie's story. It's absolutely fabulous.

I just have to keep praying that this war will end sooner rather than later.

I pray for your siser's well being

Kim Pearson — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:17:00 -0500

My friend was in Iraq. My cousin is in Afghanistan now. One of my best friends is scheduled to arrive in Baghdad this summer.

I hate that your sister has to go. I pray for your family's strength and her safety.

Kim
BlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|

Oh Dana...

alyssaroyse — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 08:53:07 -0500

I hate hearing that. I am so sorry for all of you, the fear is just hard to navigate. My "step brother" was over there in the army, as was a good girlfreind. They are both back safe and sound, but I know the weight of worry.

And yes, all of us liberals care abotu the soldiers!

Anne Marie mentioned your sister in her Just Cause Blog called A Soldier's Story - it's a great read about the human faces and impact of being deplyed.

___________
Alyssa Royse
JUST CAUSE: A Web Site To Save The World

Start Her Up: A blog for Women Entrepreneurs

Thanks, Jim! I'm going to

Dana J. Tuszke — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:01:56 -0500

Thanks, Jim! I'm going to pass the "Luck" to Rachel.

And for the record, I know lots of Libbies who pray. ;) Your prayers mean a lot to me. Thank you.

Luck

heivilinj — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:22:26 -0500

As an old soldier I can say to your sister, Luck (and "keep your head down").

To you and your family I also send my prayers (didn't think a liberal like me prayed, did you! ;-P ). The rest I say in my blog post below. :)

Jim Heivilin

To Our Friends Who Are Still In The Desert

Thank you, Kalyn! I

Dana J. Tuszke — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:58:17 -0500

Thank you, Kalyn! I agree. Stupid is the only word for it. And I don't know why I feel awful saying that. Our troops deserve better treatment. They deserve to come home.

Very sorry to hear it

Kalyn Denny — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:54:49 -0500

I'm so angry about the war, and I don't even have anyone close to me who has been affected by it. I'm very sorry to hear your sister will have to go, my best to your family as they deal with it. I hope it will go by quickly and your sister will return home safely.

It's such a stupid war, which only seems more stupid by the day.

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen