Below you will find a copy of a statement for the congressional hearing that is being held today on sexual assault and rape in the military. Good Morinning America called me yesterday about doing an interview with them for the show. However, they dumped on me just like the military did.

Anyway, here is the written statement I submitted for the congressional hearing. It's only a small piece of what happened. Just because the perpetrator was sentenced it doesn't make it a success story because my mental and physical conditions is equally to blame not just on the offender but the military too.

Here is my written statement:

Deceitful and untrustworthy is how my colleagues and superiors described me for reporting a crime of sexual assault on 30 May 2002 and rape on 10 June 2002. I was only 10 days into my first duty station in Germany when the offender sexually assaulted me. 10 days after that the same offender raped me. "it's your fault", my command stated. "He done it because you look like his wife," as they laughed. "Why didn't you want to have sex with him when he is sooooooo... cute", laughing again. "Keep your mouth shut, there is too much red tape," the sergeant stated over and over again.

That's only a few words that I was harrassed with during my time at my post. I never heard of so many horrific statements that could be made to one person or about one person. It took 7 days after the incidents that I was finally took to CID. After a number of attempts at reporting these crimes, a Sergeant finally took me serious and reported the crimes up the chain of command. I was immediately sent to fire my weapon. The next morning I had to take a physical fitness test when I wasn't even healed from the physical problems from the rape. After returning to the barracks, I found that the command moved the perpetrator into the same building in which I lived. When I asked about it, I was told he wasn't a dangerous man. Yet, three months prior to assaulting me he had an account of simple assult consumattd by battery and disorderly conduct. It took a Surgeon to get him removed from the building in which I resided.

Next, the rapist, was placed to work in the gym-a place that he could've repeated another crime of rape, sodomy, indecent exposure, and indecent assault very easily. He definitely did not need to be placed in an area where women's bodies were more exposed than usual while working out. It also caused me to lose my pivilege of working out because he worked in there. I had to face this offender on a daily basis for four months.

Harrassment was from privates all the way up to Colonel's. When I learned about IG and what their careers were about, I turned to them for help. Not long after calling the IG, I was took into the First Sergeant's office and threatned and forced to say that I would never call IG again.

All of my rights as a victim of sexual assault and rape were violated numerous times. Even after the trial and when I was finally moved back to the U.S., I was threatned with obstruction of justice and perjury if I didn't quit trying to find out the perpetrators status in prison and why his military lawyer was calling all the individuals that I was working with.

I barely had enough strength to fight off the horrific events the command had put me through. I had to keep repeating the fact that I wanted to pursue chages against him. He confessed and should have been put into pre-trial confinement, however, he plead not guilty. One of the most disturbing acts was the fact that the legal team lost the prelimanary hearing tape recorded testimony. I had to go through a second preliminary hearing in order to keep fighting to have him convicted. In the end, I came out strong during the trial. He was found guilty of rape, sodomy, indecent exposure, and indecent assault. My military lawyer ask that he be sentenced to 15 years. He did receive 15 years, forfeiture of all pay, loss of rank, and a bad-conduct discharge. With a bad-conduct discharge he has the opportunity to get his discharge upgraded. He should have definitely received a dishonorable discharge.

Still, four years after the incidents (the sexual assault, rape, and revictimazation by the ARMY), I have to be in psychotherapy twice weekly. I also still have to see a pshychiatrist once a month. I remain to have severe PTSD, major depressive episode, and self-mutilation. Why, you might ask-I see his face and hear his voice. However, I also see the faces and hear the voices of all of those who harrassed me. This is only a small portion of all the things I was put through because I reported a sexual assault and rape.

It is only and only in your hands to protect other victims of crimes from being treated in such a horrific way that I was. For those who do not follow the 7 Army Core Values and make sure they protect the victims, should get a stiff punishment. It is your power to employee victim advocates who are trained well enough to help the victim out instead of push them out of the way. You must create safe places that can be provided to victims. It is your duty to make all necessary changes to protect and treat victims with respect. You need to create and find a safe place that a victim can receive therapy when needed. While going through therapy, it is important that it be made private to protect the victims' privacy. It shouldn't be known to the whole post that a victim is getting therapy, just like the way that I was put out there for everyone to know I was raped and going to therapy.

It's not isolated incidents. Similar things are happening to the men and women who serve our country. They expect to be treated unfairly by an enemy, but not by someone wearing a U.S. military uniform, not their colleagues, nor their superiors. It will be a tremendous challenge for you to make necessary changes to protect our own men and women from our own military.

Those who are wounded in war have to live with those wounds for the rest of their lives. We, too, have to live with the wounds from being raped. The incident never fades and all the revictimazation from our military doesn't fade away either. The only good memories I have of the military is basic training and advanced individudal training-the things that most service members hate. There are no words for the horror I encountered for the rest of the period I had to stay in the military. Even when serving in the military, I had to seek support from those working outside of the military.

I had to be placed on Temporary Disabled Retired List because of the severity of the PTSD and depression. I currently receive a 100% rating from the Veteran Affairs because the PTSD, depression, and self-mutilation continue in my life. My life will forever be horrified by not only the perpetrator, but also the coleagues and superiors who I had to work with. It was nothing but pure revictamazation each day of my military career.

I ask that you please make necessary adjustments to protect our military women and men from being punished for reporting crimes. Victims of sexual assault and rape should feel comfortable enough that they can report the assaults without feeling they will be punished for keeping their loyalty, duty, respect, selfless serivce, honor, integrity, and personal courage. It is in your hands to protect our own from our own. Education can be a part of this plan, but other measures need to be taken to ensure that victims safety is priority. Anyone who violates a victims rights should be punished to the fullest. You must make this happen. Protect our own military personnel. You are the power to upholding victims' rights.

Susan N. Upchurch

803 Vance Street

Paragould, AR 72450

(870) 335-2109

Guess the little ladies should stay home where they have sufficiet lighting to do there daily routines.

It takes a real man to treat women like ladies. What real man needs to force themself on a woman? Is the military lacking in real men?

Why are woman in the combat theater? What do you expect men to do after being away from home and sexual contact for months. It's like women reports in pro sports men's locker rooms, why are they there? And if a man shows himself while showering the man is fined. Please, men and woman in the same location for a given length of time will start having sex, this is human nature. You can try to cover up the animal instinct any way you want but this animal instinct cannot be removed. Hoping this will end is a far fetched as hoping that the insurgents in the middle east will stop killing people. Are these items really that bad: "lack of privacy to perform daily routines; insufficient lighting in and around the tents; isolation; existence of a sexually charged atmosphere; presence of pornography; and availability of condoms for male troops."

The mindset of the people in power in our country has filtered down to everyone, it seems - and that mindset being one of lawlessness, brutality, torture, chauvinism, and dominance over those who are weaker. The mindset DOES come from the top. Changes are coming. Hopefully they won't be too late.

Susan - your story and so many more!! You are a courageous woman. There are many courageous people in this world - the Iraqi and Afghanistan victims, the American victims - all for the cause of a few people who want more power and money. Girl - your fight may be just beginning - to bring your story to the young men and women who think that the military brings us freedom, when in fact what brings us freedom is the love and respect we have for one another and the rights of each individual person on this planet. Don't give up - this will just make you stronger!

Does that hold true for your mother, Mr. Leikam? How about your sister? Your daughter? Neice? Aunt? Wife? Girlfriend? Should the same standard be applied to all women who are raped regardless of whether the assault occurs in a combat zone, on a military base, or in your neighborhood? Just how far does your line of "reasoning" extend, Mr. Leikam?

Susan,
Thank you for speaking out. We are
behind you here in Chicago.

To Hank....you make me sick!

For all those "women should stay at home" types, consider today's military -- stretched too thin, wearing out, becoming more and more psychologically damaged. The cures are either withdraw from all foreign conflicts (not likely) or reinstate the draft. When the draft is reinstated, be aware that the fight for equal rights will extend to the Selective Service where every man and woman between the ages of 18 and 35 (up to 42 in some cases) will be eligible for multiple years of compulsory service. That means your daughters, your sisters, perhaps even your mothers will be sent to duty with protected molesters and rapists. Sure, sneer at the women who are in the service now; taunt them saying that they got what they deserved. But in a couple years when your daughter cries "rape!" while in uniform, go look in the mirror at the guy who could have done something about it before it happened.

Scott and Hank: GROW UP... You can argue all you want about the advisability of having men and women in the theater of war together, but once they're there, EVERY person deserves respect. NO ONE deserves to be treated criminally by a fellow soldier. I'm sure the vast majority of our troops (bot men and women) would agree.

and now the military is "testing" viagra for MEN supposedly for high altitudes in Afganistan.
It is time to clean howse from Rumsfield down.
I am a proud veteran and proud not to be active duty with this embarassing administration.

Boy, Hank and Scott must be from the 1950's - Hey wake up you dolt this is the 21st century. RAPE is not haveing sex, you are both as ignorant as Susan's chain of command. They should all have been brought up on obstruction charges, if the Military did that a few times and they saw that there was loss of pay and rank you can bet that this would no longer be a problem. Change is needed on this issue, I don't blame the young lady from Oregon refusing to go to Iraq if she must put up with idiots that think they can just take what they want.

disgusted veteran

I am totally appalled by the treatment of this woman not only by the rapist, but by the commanding officers on up the chain of command -- that they are vulgar and crude is quite obvious. The remark by Hank shows he came from the same mold as the comanders she went to.
This is the stinking thinking that has been created by an administration that has no more right or sense to have gone to war and than to go to Moon.
The price of this war has been more costly than actual dollars spent, and the fact that it was an illegitimate war makes it even worse.
Ms. Upchurch has shown an extreme amount of Courage in pursuing her case. My prayers are with her.

It’s a pity to see the leadership of the US Army under-mind women because of their gender because this is what we have. It’s very obvious that the “good old boy” club exist even in the military.

To rid of women, men belittle and rape them, to make them feel superior, and strong, all in hopes it will intimate and ridicule them; to go back home to cook and clean.

A dangerous mind game the leadership team is role playing with their troops. They should be listening and setting the example, regardless what the issue is, this is why they are in those positions, they earned that ranked.

And when these individuals finish serving their time, they will continue on with this same attitude in a civilian life, and our country will endure more crime because this is what they learned from the US Army.

Is ethics completely lost within the government?

God Bless.

Overlooking the lack of proper sentence structure (education level?)in the telling of this story, I will admit that Susan sounds like a victim who suffered. However, I must object to the "expectation" level that was assumed regarding the comfort level ("lack of privacy to perform daily routines; insufficient lighting in and around the tents; isolation; existence of a sexually charged atmosphere; presence of pornography; and availability of condoms for male troops."). This is a war, not a campground. If you are not prepared to face the ugliness of war, Don't participate. I do not want to appear as though I don't care, just that people have a "movie-based" sense of reality. Anyone who has actually been in combat will tell you it is the worst experience of their life (if you can even get them to discuss the imagery). I feel for anyone who has been a victim of any crime, but 100% disability!? I know several veterans disabled physically and mentally who can't get 100%. I agree that the military has severe faults ( the main reason I didn't make it a career - I have morals), but move on. Just because life dealt you a pair of two's doesn't mean you can't win the pot.

x, apparently afraid to sign his name, said :"Why are woman in the combat theater? "

Because there aren't enough men to do all the jobs, x. How hard is that to grasp? They NEED every soldier, sailor and Marine, male and female. The Guard and Reserves are stretched thin, and active duty units are often on their 3rd tour of duty in 3 years. Women drive trucks in convoys, which is NOT considered a combat position, though it is one of the most dangerous jobs in Iraq, as well as work in many other positions, from female soldiers on patrol (in order to deal with female Iraqis) to nurses and doctors and corpsmen in MASH units. They fix planes. They FLY planes. 16% of Gulf War vets were female. There are 215,000 women serving in the U.S. military as of 2003, according to census figures. If you think women shouldn't be in the military, why not enlist and take the palace of one?

Scott also said: "What do you expect men to do after being away from home and sexual contact for months."

Umm, how about what my husband did when he deployed during the nearly 15 years he was active duty (we'll be married 18 years in August)? He kept his pants zipped and was faithful to the vows he'd made me.

This shows your ignorance about the facts of rape. Rape is seldom about sex--it's about POWER and control. The officers and NCOs women complain to are part of a system that sees protecting the band of brothers as more important than a woman's right to say no. The problems faced by women in the military who report rape are similar to the harassment they still get from some police officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges if they aren't 7 year old virgins on their way to First Communion--and I was a rape crisis volunteer counselor who had to deal with these people (mostly male, by the way).

I spent 7 years overseas as a Navy wife, and about once a month there be another trial for rape or sexual harassment, and every time the defense consisted of "Who will you believe? This young woman barely out of boot or this fine upstanding NCO with X number of years of honorable service?" And even if there were 5 or 6 women testifying to the behavior, 9 times out of 10, he walked free.

x also claimed "Please, men and woman in the same location for a given length of time will start having sex, this is human nature. You can try to cover up the animal instinct any way you want but this animal instinct cannot be removed."

Get REAL. Many of these men are married. They promised fidelity. Are you saying any man who works around women can't be faithful? Guess the Iranians and Saudis are right then: women must wear burqas and chadors and abayahs and face veils and never come in contact with any man to whom they aren't related by blood or marriage. After all, in AMERICA, men work side by side with women in almost every office. This is such bs,and you know it. It's the same crap that began with Adam, blaming the woman.

Yes, some people WILL have consensual sex--affairs happen during deployments and every military couple recognizes the dangers. I have no problem with unmarried people having consensual sex, whether in a combat zone or not (though fraternization is a crime under the UCMJ). But we are talking about sexual assault, RAPE, not consensual sex. Rape, where the woman says no, and he doesn't stop? THAT kind of rape? It's a crime, whether committed by a civilian or a soldier--and it should be punished. But I suspect too many juries have male chauvinists like you on them, who assume "No" means "yes" unless she has a broken jaw, two black eyes and other injuries.

x opines: "Are these items really that bad: "lack of privacy to perform daily routines; insufficient lighting in and around the tents; isolation; existence of a sexually charged atmosphere; presence of pornography; and availability of condoms for male troops."

Porn doesn't bother me--I truly tend to doubt claims that porn causes rape, because there is NO research to back it up (in fact, according to Donnerstein studies, the ONLY sexual material linked to negative attitudes toward women are slasher films--in other words, linking sex to violence causes problems). Lack of lighting is ALWAYS a problem and invites crime--whether rape or mugging--back home, so why shouldn't it be a problem in a combat zone. So is lack of facilities for women troops to bathe and wash in. How hard is it to rope off the facilities for an hour or two a day for women only? I am unsure what is meant by isolation--but if it means that the women's tents are off by themselves in poorly lit areas where no one can hear them if they scream, that IS a real issue. My college had done something similar back int he 60s--all women's dorms were on one side of campus, next to a railroad track and open ground. We had to rely on campus police patrols for help. After some very nasty assaults and rapes within he dorms themselves, they decided to turn two of the dorms over to men, and move women into previously male dorms. Guess what? The number of attacks fell by 90%.

x is part of the problem women face in this country as well as in the military. He is why date rape is still such a huge problem---even though rape rates HAVE fallen over the last 20 years, we still ahve a number of Neanderthals like him who beleive that no means "kep trying" and that a drunk or unconsciosu woman is fair game, as is any woman who doesn't meet his high standards of proper chastity and ladylikeness.

This is sad to hear how anyone is treated in such a demeaning manner. We are all in Irag for the same purpose, supposedly for our country, not just because the lonely men there have nothing better to do. Women do not belong in the military nor the men's locker room for reporting sports. If they only saw themselves for the joke men are making of them for being there.

I believe that this report will backfire and give ammunition to those saying that this is one of the reasons why women don't belong in the combat zone.

It would seem everyone has forgotten they have a mind which is supposed to make them human ,It would seem we have forgotten to be human ,and so animals we are, So that it seems this is what the armed forces have become, Shame on the keepers of peace, apparantly they have lost ther way, And it falls upon the leadership, BOB

As a Soldier, I am disgusted by the chauvinistic remarks made by a couple of the men who have commented here.

"Why are woman in the combat theater?” Women are in combat because they are Soldiers...PERIOD. I do not see such harsh criticism over female Federal agents, Police/Corrections Officers, EMTs/Paramedics or Nurses; who are in more danger on a daily basis than I am as a Soldier.

Need examples? A Texas State Trooper was beaten beyond recognition by an assailant...I didn't see any men posting outlandish criticisms of her, or hearing that Congress was rushing to bar females from being law enforcement officers. A Corrections Officer was sexually assaulted during a hostage stand-off at the State Prison in Phoenix, Arizona. Again, no derogatory comments from men, and the House Rules Committee didn’t try to stop women from becoming Corrections Officers. You have female Federal agents in a myriad of agencies that face life and death situations daily, would you take away their ability to participate in their jobs also?

Like the women in the aforementioned professions, I volunteered of my own free will, with the understanding that I might find myself in harm’s way. Asymmetric warfare is a reality, but it shouldn’t be a reason for relegating all females to non-combat roles where they will have little opportunity for advancement. Likewise, sexual assault shouldn’t be a reason to keep women out of combat either.

If these two Neanderthals had their way my service to my country would suddenly become less worthy than that of my male counterparts. The military has always led the way in social justice and I do not believe that a male Soldier should sacrifice his life in my place to defend this nation. I have no doubt that his family would miss him just as much as mine would if I were to give my life in the service of this Great Nation.

“What do you expect men to do after being away from home and sexual contact for months." I have served for over 13 years, working with hundreds of men who have been respectful of my service and conducted themselves as professionals. Of the harassment cases I had detailed knowledge of, most had a severe lack of command concern in punishing those involved. I had an acting 1SG in a fellow company who had sex with several of his Soldier’s wives while their husbands were away. The command swept the issue under the rug, while punishing a SSG for adultery after he had had consensual sex 10 months into a mandatory state required separation from his wife before he could file for divorce. In another instance a 1SG was found not-guilty of sexual harassment, even after 32 females stated he had sexually intimidated them. This 1SG also threatened his own Soldiers to “stay away” from these women because they were “his property.” The problem of sexual assault is NOT the females’ fault, rather a serious failure of leadership to impose fair and equitable punishment on those who do not conduct themselves as true professionals.

I believe the comments of Mr. Leikam, "Scott," and those of like-mind, do not represent the sentiments of the People. These comments are misogynistic at best and degrade the sacrifices of our hard-working female Soldiers.
How sad that I serve to protect the right to free speech of such idiotic statements.

V/R,
SSG Manning

The military, like the rest of our govt, promotes the idiots and those who are incapable of doing their jobs, as opposed to firing them. I know several retired military officers who collectivly have less common sense than a five year old. I realize the main body of our military is doing right, but lets not forget that the top brass set the bar for behavior and acceptable morals. When did they forget about common decency and protection of their fellow soldiers? Just what would they do if their daughters were the victims? When they retire they propogate their porr judgement and lack of common sense in the private sector and really stand out like a bunch of jackasses. I think the commanders who allow the criminal behavior and go to further lengths to hide and intimidate the victims should get the same, or worse, sentance as the perps.

ok guys, are you trying to tell me that men don't have the brains to keep control thenmselves?? The fact that "they're just men in a battle situation. What do you expect them to do?" is no longer acceptable. This is 2006 and you've got to be kidding me. In the 50's it was women that didn't have the brains to hold a job outside the home and now you're telling me that men don't have the brains to control themselves. We've got to expect more of our young people, or this mentality is gonna continue. And you're right. The military takes responsibility from the top ranks down. We need to look at the comander in chief and his attitude and how it's trickled down to the troops on the ground!

When these numbers are compared to the national averages for crime they dont look so bad, but ABC is not going to tell you that. 500 reports of sexual assult out of 120,000+ is less than 1%. The national statistics are much worse. Out of 300 million people in the US there was 95000 focible rapes. Thats 3% and that is much, much higher than what the military has. And that is just rapes and does not include other sex crimes. Now I wonder....why doesn't ABC report that. Because then people might have a good opinion of our military and that would not fit into the political ideology of the left especially since elections are coming up. Pretty sad to smear our soldiers for the simple goal of trying to sway people to vote a certain way. If the people of the military were a bunch of drunk, sex crazed, rapists as this story seems to suggest then why do we want them home so bad? Is it because they our our fathers, brothers, sisters and mothers. I know who they are to me......who are they to you? If you have never seved in a forward position and been in combat you will never know the hell that these soldiers go through 24 hours a day. EVERYDAY! So for the media to be so laser focused on every little thing that these soldiers do wrong is just not fair. They cry and whine when anybody tries to hold them accountable for there mistakes in reporting and yet no room for error with men and women who have to make snap life and death decisions everyday. I will never try and justify any crime against another person, but maybe we can give these guys a little break and focus on a few of the good things they do. If you hate Bush thats fine, but leave the fine men and women of our armed forces out of the mud-slinging.

Perhaps ABC could ask about data on pregnancies that have resulted from units serving in Iraq. That might indicate more about the environment the military is struggling with.

I mistakenly attributed to x comments made by Scott. x made supportive comments. Scott and Hank need to have some reality training--we're talking about rape, which is a crime even if it occurs in a combat zone. It has not a damned thing to do with consensual sex.

"NO" means "NO".

I pray these two guys are never on a rape jury or don't work in law enforcment.

Larry said: " believe that this report will backfire and give ammunition to those saying that this is one of the reasons why women don't belong in the combat zone."

Why punish WOMEN for what MEN are doing? THEY are the ones doing the raping.

Many years ago when Golde Meir was mayor of Jerusalem, there was a rapist in the city--so the council decided to declare a curfew for women. Golde correctly pointed out that WOMEN weren't the ones breaking the law, yet they were the ones being confined by a curfew.

I am SURE some of the Religious Right and their supporters will declare that this proves that women can't hack it--but it proves nothing other than some men in the military sleep through anti-sexual harassment and anti-sexual assault training.

As for the other person who seemed to think having a shower area set aside for women at a specific time of day and lighting bright enough to discourage assault-- he's wrong. It isn't too much to expect. Women's tents need to be in an area with high traffic, and lighting that low endangers everyone because it bloody well makes it easier for insurgents to gain access. Theya rent asking for luxurious conditions, just for easily managed awareness.

As someone who was a military wife for 15 years, I can assure you htta most active duty men are not rapists. If women were bunked in the center of a compound, I can guarantee you that many of them would run to aid a female soldier if she screamed. That doesn't have a thing to do with Susan's post, as her assault happened in Germany, not Iraq--but the number of assaults on female soldiers over there is appallingly high, and indicates a lack of concern (and perhaps even sympathy for the rapists) on the part of the higher-ups.

Having served in the Army for 10yrs, I have seen both sides of the coin. I knew of females who have claimed raped because they had sex with someone and got pregnant or the boyfriend/husband found out about the affair. So I think thats why some commands question such claims. Sadly, that what makes it bad for those who have been really raped. Rape and sexual harassement are wrong. Military personnel should not have to endure this, they have enough going on.

I could never have sex if only I enjoyed it,I have had a satisfactory sex life, but would NEVER force myself on anyone just because I wanted it, if you really feel like sex and there is no consenting person available, there is an answere. it is called masterbation,
P.S. I have very good eyesight

Susan, hang in there, eventually those voices will fade and all you will be left with is the strength you found to fight this terrible betrayal. I said similar things years ago when I served, almost, word for word. I found a similar reaction not only in the ranks among men AND women, but also a level of denial and disbelief in the civilian world that astounds me now.

You expect to be treated poorly by the enemy, but you never see it coming from the people wearing your country's uniform. It is the ultimate betrayal, because you and they took a SACRED oath that should have ensured that you all supported each other. After all, regardless of the plumbing, you are all still Americans sworn to protect the constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic, and that protection is for women too.

Instead you find that you took an oath to serve with some serious creeps who are nothing more than glorified air theives.

Women have served in the US military since its inception from Molly Pitcher and in every other war. The difference between now and then, is that women finally get veteran's benefits, so Hank and whatever your name is, get a clue.

For instance:
Thousands of women served in WWII, not just as nurses but as test pilots, plane mechanics and techs, and many paid the ultimate sacrifice without hope of receiving benefits, no memorial, no welcome home parade for them. Women also served as agents for the allied forces see the book, The Women Who Lived for Danger, as well as units of hit and run guerillas in Russia that fought off the Germans with planes from WWI, they were called The Night Witches and they laid on the wings of planes while they glided over enemy forces and dropped bombs by hand at night.

Women served in Korea, Veitnam, Desert Storm and Desert Shield.

The fact is, if I or any woman have to look over our shoulders worrying about someone raping us on post, we would have to watch for that same person in the civilian world. They have increased motive and opportunity in those close-quartered populations in the military that incubate this behavior by protecting and nurturing their mistaken notions concerning "manliness" and "brotherhood."

Men who want to blame that on women would probably commit the same behavior if they thought they could get away with it. Birds of a feather and all that.

I do not give one hoot if a woman says she was raped in the military. Warren Farrell in the book "The Myth of Male Power" shows how women lie about this all the time, and when confronted with the facts and stats, they change the subject and make excuses, just like they do over the "Pay Gap" they allege to be going on, which is not. When men complain about double standards that women commit, like them being allowed to be reporters in men's locker rooms and men having to cover up so they do not get fined, etc, women do not care or just ignore and change the subject. They make excuses saying that abortion is not murder. If abortion is not murder, then according to that logic, rape should not be a crime. They say about abortion that it is their body, that they can do with it what they want. So I say, since they do not believe in applying logic to evil acts and crime, then neither should anybody else be expected to when it comes to their excuse making and double standards.

My husband spent a year in Iraq and Kuwait. Some of those little ladies bring it on themselves and then scream rape. I have said it before and I will say it again "women DO NOT belong in the military", definitly not in a combat zone.

Susan
I am so sorry to hear about your ordeal. I have never understood how and why the military allows and covers up such happenings. These so called men make me sick, like some that have made negative comments. Thank you for standing up for all the others that have not yet found the strength to do so. Hopefully one day we will have real men and LEADERS in those positions to teach that those acts will not be tollerated in our military. We as the UNITED STATES should be better than that, if for nothing more than an example to the World. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

The women who serve in the military are there to protect and preserve the freedom of the United States. Pvt Jessica lynch was kidnapped in Iraq in 2003. There are alot of women in the military who do their jobs as well if not better than alot of men. As to those who say that it is inevitable for men to want sex when away from home for so long, well if there were no women in the military would they rape their fellow male soilders?

As a former Marine and Gulf War Vet I am appalled and shocked by what I read and the comments of some of the readers.

These are men, not animals but if they chose to act like animals they are unfit to serve this country in uniform.

We take an oath to defend our nation and its interests, we put place our trust in the soldier/ marine next to us to carry out his mission as we complete ours. We do not harm or take advantage of our brothers or sisters in uniform.

Any commander, officer, SNCO, NCO, enlisted or recruit that doesn't share my viewpoint is a disgrace to all that have worn that uniform and especially those that died in service to our nation.

There is no excuse for any in uniform attacking another member of our armed forces, an investigation should be launched as soon as possible when an allegation of misconduct/ criminal behavior has been made, failure to do so should result in swift, strong disciplinary action!

John - You almost make a good point, but ...

Maybe you're right that ABC should've also pointed out the 95000 rapes that took place here in the U.S. during that time.

But they should've done so in condemnation of the whole lot -- NOT to excuse the 500 reported cases in Iraq.

We as a country already regularly fail to enforce laws and hold law-breakers accountable.

Whether it's school dress codes, traffic laws, immigration laws, rape or worse -- without enforcement, laws are futile.

By the way -- The soldiers I know who've served in Iraq would certainly take issue with your comparing them to the other 300 million people in the U.S., and, for that matter, with your entire attempt to excuse this 1%'s despicable acts and the disgrace it brings to the other 99%.

Rape is rape no matter where it is committed. I am a military brat and know for a fact most soldiers are decent and law abiding but there are still some who believe in the "good old boy" system and will turn a blind eye on many things including drinking and doing drugs while on duty as long as it doesn't compromise their position.
The Pentagon and many civilian observers have stated that recruitment is at an all time low. The Army hasn't been able to meet it's quota for several months. If they want to get more people to sign up,male or female, the top brass needs to clean up their act not dismiss harassement or sexual assaults by sweeping them under the rug. Denial or supression of information by the military leadership neither solves the problem nor makes it go away.
If the two men with the unrealistic comments were raped by their fellow soldiers and suffered the same treatment as Susan, they would have most likely committed suicide or murdered the perpetrators of the crime or other military personnel.
Mr. Rumsfeld, take note, you are not going to gain any thing by ignoring this problem. You are going to lose many good, qualified soldiers because of few bad ones!

I think it is a sad,sad thing for our country to have people in it without any morals.I mean cmon,blaming the victim!How harsh is that.I think people forget to use the old thumb of rule"Think before you speak"!What if it were you or a family member ,who had went through a horrible act of violence such as this?Would you still be saying the same thing Hank or Scott?I think Not!But really what do we expect when our country has turned out like it has,I mean turning our backs on God and allowing such sin in the world to be defined as OK in our society!It really makes me sick some of the laws our country is trying to make for such blatant Sin!And whoever said that change needs to start at the top,You are so right!And susan,you will get over this, just keep praying and you will get even stronger!God Bless! Connie

The best way to resolve this problem is get rid of all the men in the services and let the women do all the fighting.

We are so concerned with helping other countries out that we aren't taking care of our own as well as we should be. We want to "help" these countries when in reality we are just as bad as they are?!?! We can't help the homeless kids, the drug addict parents, the rapes and sexual assult crimes; we have corrupt law enforcement, military soldiers who don't deserve the honor of being recognized as a defender of our nation because of the things they do, and we think we're big abd bad enough to go and help other countries? We want them to have something close to what we have? Why? We have this problem of rape and the higher-ups not doing anything about it in many different organizations, not just the military. It happens often enough in the homeland, and we don't do anything about it here, and as much as I truly love the military, there should be this much concern for all the corrupt organizations out there. I'm not yet 18, and I haven't graduated high school yet, but I have always wanted to serve. I am female, and I am well aware of what I would be getting myself into. If you don't know what you're getting yourself into, you need to do your homework. The military is made up of humans, not immortals, and they do not have godly powers. They make mistakes, they commit horrible crimes, just like the rest of the world. And not everyone does, and no, they shouldn't take the rap for it, but it happens. Focus on the problem, not how unfair it is. Make it right instead of bitching. And if you want to bitch, you need to try and do something to make it better, don't just sit back on the sidelines and watch. No one deserves to be raped, sexually assulted,molested,anything against their will, but as there is no one person who has the perfect mind-set and is controlling the rest of us on a computer or some other such nonsense, people will do horrible things. they will make mistakes. They will do things they may or may not regret. And if all we're gonna do is sit and watch, and not try to better ourselves and the world, we're just as bad. Who in the hell do we think we are to tell everyone else they are doing it wrong if we can't fix our own home issues?!

You want more lighting? So does our enemies. Why? Because it makes better targets for them. A male soldier HAS to think thusly: " I may have my life taken any time soon. I haven't even begun to live. Does my life count for nothing?" Women in the military cause more problems then they're worth. I wouldn't want to be commanded by women or depend on them for survival. They can be very useful but not in combat. Can a women hoist a wounded man out of harm's way as well as a man? Can a woman kill with the same efficiency as a man? Can women keep up with the Company in a withdrawal or would they hold up the Company? Hand-to-hand fighting? Forget it! And when they're captured by the kind of enemies we now face, what do you think they can expect?
Women soldiers, 20 years old, in their physical and sexual prime, what do you expect? Are we supposed to teach our soldiers to be quire boys? Is this what our military is for? The military is to hunt down and exterminate our enemies, i.e. do unto them before they do onto you. Sounds savage? That's war. Remember?

This country will NEVER learn. Get the damn woment out of THERE! Then you won't have a problem. Why are the troops overseas being so villivied by this country? By the stupid women, by the media, by the insurgens, and in some cases, by there own, then brought back to the US and even tried by this country. I would, and I wouldn't have my children, nor my grandchildren in the US military. We'll leave this country before be defend this awful place.

Gillian, being a military wife doesn't make you an expert on the military. My wife thinks she's 'Little Miss Air Force'. Alot of your comments are right on, but I have to add that I have heard of several younger enlisted women crying rape to get back at guys, or because they later regret sleeping with that person, or because they cheated on a spouse or boyfriend with that person and got caught. Anyway, you weren't in the military, your husband was, so you really have no idea what goes on in forward locations. Not trying to insult you, just letting you know. 500 cases out of over 100 thousand isn't that bad. Also, I can guarantee you that a portion of those women were lying about being raped. I am in no way siding with rapists, they are sick individuals. I just think that is a relatively small number of incidents. Someone in an earlier post had mentioned the national average was like 2% higher than the military average so at least be happy about that.

Jackie hit is right on the nail! "If you have never seved in a forward position and been in combat you will never know the hell that these soldiers go through 24 hours a day. EVERYDAY! So for the media to be so laser focused on every little thing that these soldiers do wrong is just not fair. "It's horrible for these cowardly journalist's sitting in their office back in Los Angelos to try and point figures at our military. Thats not an excuse by any means for the crime of rape! But again that small a % by such a large group of military personall strikes me as actually amazing compared to the civilian sectors. Punish those found guilty in the harshest means, but realize that determining such things is not the easiest matter. Think before you condemn people, especially if you only hear from one side of the issue!

This is a comment to Scott's post. Yes, it is true that in that type of situation it is highly likely that men and women will start having sex. But there is a very large difference between sex and rape. You might want to find a dictionary and look up the difference between the two. And for a crime like that to be condoned in the U.S. military is absolutely wrong. And any assault like that on a U.S. soldier should be punished to the maximum extent of the law. If you say you support our troops, that includes all of them. Not just those with the "right" anatomy.

Rissa - Thanks for the excellent perspective. Our country owes you, and others like you, a huge debt of gratitude. The People will not let your efforts to protect us go unnoticed.

Thanks to John for pointing out that the rate of these henious crimes is actually lower in the military than civilian life, but I have to doubt his numbers. Susan is not the only victim to encounter obstructions from her chain of command. My guess is that fewer rapes are actually reported in the military rather than that fewer actually occur.

Even if there truly are fewer rapes in the military, we need to remember that even one single rape would be one too many. For every crime, the life of a woman is changed forever in a way that men can barely understand. I have a relative who was the victim of child sexual abuse. Even now, her life is a shambles, not only because of the abuse, but, as with Susan, because those who should have known better repeatedly denied that the situation had taken place.

Throughout the history of the world, rape is mentioned right along side of pillage as a natural, nasty consequence of war. True, in past wars it was the women of the enemy city that had been captured who were the victims, but the fact that young male soldiers tend toward this type aggression should not come as a suprise to any student of history.

I believe that when you put a group of young men in a combat atmosphere where they must use their aggressive tendancies to survive every day, you run the risk of igniting their passions to a point where they lose control (especially where alcohol is involved). While it is true that rape is about power, it does also have a sexual element, just as it does for serial killers, so the problems are in fact aggravated when men are away from the women in their lives. Pornography, as mentioned in the article, can also serve to ignite these passions (my relative was assaulted by a brother who looked at porn frequently).

In young male soldiers, all of these factors together can easily lead to sexual assault and rape. That doesn't make it right or mean that we should sweep it under the rug. These crimes must have full exposure both so that justice is done on the perpetrator, and so that other men know they cannot succeed. All men should keep control of themselves for all the right moral reasons, and in any given group of men, most will, but of those who will not do it for the best reasons, many will do it out of fear of reprecussions. It is the Military's job to see that those reprecussions are carried out in a fair and timely manner, and that victims are encouraged to rather than discouraged from reporting these crimes.

I am pleased to be able to say that my neice, who is enlisted in the navy, and was witness to one such incident, had a very different experience than Susan. She, as witness, found that the victim was treated appropriately and taken seriously from the start, and that the perpetrator was successfully brought to trial and convicted with a minimum of delay. Of course, that was here in the states and not in the combat theatre, but at least it seems to argue that the Navy has appropriate policies in place to minimize the damage to rape victims.

Regarding things like proper lighting, centralized location, and separate bathing facilities,I am absolutely of the opinion that if women are present in the combat theatre they need these things to minimize the opportunities for sexual assault. It is in the military's best interest, as it is much easier to prevent the crimes than to deal with them after the fact.

As a competent professional career woman, I understand that women feel the need to be able to advance their military careers in any way they can, but given the realities of warfare, there are real questions in my mind as to whether the preventative measures spoken of above are truly practical or sufficient during war.
I have wondered whether full segregation of troops, allowing women to be part of the action but separate from their brother soldiers and so protected from the small number of predators among them, might not be a more practical solution to this difficulty. I believe that during the great wars of the last century, that was the case. Women were generally off limits, and men were therefore placed in a position which more readily led to self control or at least lack of opportunity.

Sorry to be so long winded. This has been the most interesting debate I've read on the net in a long while, and I guess I got carried away.

Susan, woman to woman, my prayers are with you that you will be leave this terrible experience behind you and lead a productive life. I am so sorry this happened to you.

Personally, I encourage women to not join the military. Never have thought that it was a good idea. The risks for abuse are too high and always will be. Even if our men don't rape them, any woman caught by the enemy has a greater chance of being raped. The history of war has always shown this to be true and factual. I'm sure this will continue, especially given the promuscuity and immoral behaviors of our society. The military is only a magnified reflection of our greater society. I don't excuse the men, but women in our country need to recognize where they are encouraging this behavior.

whom ever the man is he has no respcect to women in milteary
i do believe that men should respect women no matter where they go or do men need to keep themself zip up and learn to respect women's right and know better

There is no excuse for rape.

What's to talk about? Anyone trying to justify the rapists actions or find fault with the environment or womans' actions needs to look deep inside themselves. And while yu do this I pray my duaghters are never in your presence.

As men we have a moral duty to speak out to protect our daughters, sisters and mothers.

Had it been a male sexually assaulting another male I doubt if such obstacles would be placed in front of the complaintant.

Anyone who commits such acts is not fit to serve. Anyone who tolerates such acts, or takes them with a grain of salt is not fit to serve.

If someone would assault their own troop, then certainly they would assault a civilian in the field of battle. We do not want our military to be "soft", nor do we want them to be "animals". We DO want them to serve with honor and distinction. When the honor is dead, the soldier is dead, with little regard to the life within the corpus.
It is my furtive hope that such incidents are the exception and not the norm. Anyone who wishes to serve this country, placing life and limb in the way of patriotic service, should be able to do so with equality, the equality that they put just as much up on the line as the next trooper. That trooper may be the PERSON to someday save your life, whether a field hospital nurse to a front line infantry soldier, and it may very well be a female troop. Those who would subject a fellow soldier to such treatment undermine the entire unit, both male and female, and when they lose their honor, they also take from the honor of the entire unit. Such a unit is not battle effective, nor deserving to be in a place where the enemy is mixed with the innocent, where they will have to make hard decisions about friend or foe.
I am proud of our troops abroad, and think that they are doing a tough job where few of us, given the opportunity, would choose to go. As bravery and leadership can rally a unit to surpass combat and service expectations, so also will acts of cowardice, such as sexually assualting a military colleague, detract from the overall effectiveness of a military unit.

Susan: Although not a soldier, and never having been a soldier I am still an American. I have read many of the comments in response to your letter. To that end, On behalf of all soldiers, all non-soldiers, all Americans-- Please accept this apology for the manner in which you have been and are being treated. I would only hope those persons disrespectful of you and your situation never have to experience it themselves, for no man nor woman should expect that horror; least expect it from their friends and countrymen.
I am truly sorry

Simple enough: you don't assault your buddies, you don't assault soldiers on the same side. A soldier is a soldier is a soldier regardless of his or her anatomy.

I know this stuff goes on in the military. It DID NOT go in in my unit (approx. 40% female, usually deployed forward of the FLOT and sometimes the FEBA) during Operation Desert Storm. We valued each other too much as fellow soldiers and as comrades to attack one another. We NEEDED each other to survive. It's pathetic that not all male soldiers realize that.

Some of you talking about "forward positions" need to take a big ol' reality check. My unit had women serving FORWARD of the scouts and FORWARD of the infantry not only in exercises, but in Operation Desert Storm, and the policy holds for units like mine even in Iraq. That's where you have to be to do your job. So don't tell me how hard MEN have it forward, because there are WOMEN forward, too, and they have it just as hard as the men. It sucks to be forward no matter which sex you are. It sucks to be in a war, no matter which sex you are. And it sucks to be in Iraq, no matter which sex you are.

War breeds the worst behavior in everyone. Forward combat is the most adrenalin-driven release of raw emotion that there possibly is. "Living to kill" we used to say. Military discipline seeks to contain and focus these outward displays of emotion in a way that will ensure the achieval of the military objective. But discipline goes only so far. The frequency with which one exhibits these behaviors taken with the inherent level of mental control combine to produce an outward behavior that will continue to degrade as long as the stimulation (combat conditions) continue. The longer that a war continues the more freqently violent behaviors occur (Abu Ghraib, rape, murdering innocents) These are known and proven facts backed by statistics and testimony. With these facts in hand, the military command must either limit the amount of time that soliders are in theater or anticipate these violent behavior changes and make adjustments for them. Women are extremely useful in the military, but should be adequately informed of the risks associated with wartime behavior and should be kept isolated from the men in forward locations. This does not excuse the men from their actions, but it does explain them. Combat scenarios are not the same as normal life "back-in-the-states". It is not fair to judge these atrocities from a perspective of "civilized society" since war itself is inherently uncivilized. If you were ever so unfortunate to have your comfortable civilized life stripped away and forced to merely survive, how many of yout behavioral barriers that define "normal" would fall? Would you steal to eat? Would you kill to protect? What else? Wartime, natural disasters, extreme poverty all show us that our civilized behaviors are delicately balanced and take very little to be tipped toward an unpleasant but predictable extreme. Our animal instincts are not so deeply masked as we would like to pretend and to try and legislate or adjudicate them on civilized principles is simply senseless. I sympathize for the unfortunate woman who was assaulted, but to expect civilized behavior in an uncivilized scenario is not realistic. It would be preferable if it were so and would make things plain and simple, but human behavior can only be modified so much... less in some. Hence the existence of so-called "criminal" behaviors on and off the battlefield.

I would like to point out as many have said, this is war. Women need to not expect it to be a Hilton out there in the desert? Take away all the little things that get the solders by day to day? you have to be kidding me. They have nothing out there, and no book toting femist should try to make the men all "gentlemen". Granted, rape is totally wrong, but women need to realize there will be comments made, and pornography around when they enter the service. All you other tree huggers that believe "love and peace" is the answer can go and have a nice discussion with the Taliban.

Am I the only one questioning these numbers? When you look at what a soldier must endure to report any type of crime how are you thinking, logical people actually believing that the number is only 500.

Secondly, How do we rationalize the impact this is doing to our own moral fiber. We went to war for cheaper oil. We market that we