Results 1 to 13 of 13

Thread: Military Sexual Assault

  1. #1

    Military Sexual Assault

    http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolit...-old-committee

    On Military Sexual Assault Issue, A New Era for An Old Committee


    Other bipartisan efforts on Capitol Hill may be collapsing around them, but a cadre of Democratic and Republican women serving on the Senate and House Armed Services committees are leveraging their historic clout to respond together to the sexual assault crisis engulfing the U.S. military.

    In a Thursday gathering notable not just for its composition but for what it signaled about the direction of two of the oldest and most powerful panels in Congress, 16 legislators from both parties — just two of them men — sat in the White House with top presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett to talk about the path forward on the issue.

    Four other top women in the Obama administration also attended. They were Tina Tchen, Michelle Obama's chief of staff; Kathryn Ruemmler, counsel to the president; Liz Sherwood-Randall, White House coordinator for Defense Policy, National Security Staff; and Lynn Rosenthal, White House adviser on violence against women.

    One Republican participant, speaking on background, characterized the meeting, held in the Roosevelt Room just across from the Oval Office, as a "huge sign that President Obama has taken a zero-tolerance approach to the crisis."

    Those in attendance included Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Claire McCaskill of Missouri, and Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Rep. Jackie Walorski of Indiana.

    "The response," one participant said of the sexual assault crisis, "is going to be led by a brigade of women from across political boundaries.

    "It was amazing to be at that table," she said. "We're passionate about this, and women are going to get it done."

    Other participants characterized the meeting as an open discussion that focused on addressing two issues — creating a "safety zone" for the reporting of sexual assault so those affected won't fear retribution, and addressing the military's system of prosecuting allegations of rape and other sexual assaults.

    Much of the current heat around the issue was generated by a Pentagon survey released this week that estimated that 26,000 people in the military were sexually assaulted last year.

    The issue, of course, is as old as the military itself, but the record number of women serving on Congress' armed services committees — seven on the Senate panel, a dozen on the House committee — has given heft and urgency to the response.

    Gillibrand, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, plans to introduce legislation next week that would shift control of prosecutorial decisions from military commanders to military prosecutors. Top military brass have already begun pushing back on the proposal.

    Her bill would also prevent commanders from changing — either reversing or dismissing — verdicts in sexual assault cases.

    There has already been a slew of legislation sponsored by female members of Congress, including:

    — a House bill, co-sponsored by Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier of California and Republican Rep. Joe Heck of Nevada, that would amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice to prohibit sexual acts and sexual contact between military instructors including drill instructors and recruiting commanders and their trainees;

    — a Senate bill, co-sponsored by Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, a member of the Judiciary Committee, and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, that among its aims would require commanding offers who receive a report of a sexual assault to act on it within 24 hours and would prohibit convicted sexual offenders from enlisting or being commissioned in the armed forces;

    — a Senate bill, co-sponsored by Ayotte and Democratic Sens. Patty Murray of Washington and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, that would create a special counsel for victims of sexual assault committed by a member of the armed forces;

    — a House bill, co-sponsored by Walorski and Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez of California, that would require an investigation of allegations of "retaliatory personnel actions" taken against military personnel who have made a report of sexual assault.
    It's pretty sad. Even more sad that this casts a shadow over the whole when it may be systemic but by no means does that mean everyone is doing this. I feel bad for the victims. Not just the sexual assault victims, but those honourable men and women that have to live under this dark cloud as well.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    10,562
    Blog Entries
    6
    It's pretty sad. Even more sad that this casts a shadow over the whole when it may be systemic but by no means does that mean everyone is doing this. I feel bad for the victims. Not just the sexual assault victims, but those honourable men and women that have to live under this dark cloud as well.
    fake ass sentiments LOL. wtf you post this for? you couldn't care less bout that sh1t. lol
    Hung Sing Boyz, we gottit on lock down
    when he's around quick to ground and pound a clown
    Bruh we thought you knew better
    when it comes to head huntin, ain't no one can do it better

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    IL
    Posts
    998
    These lawmakers are wasting time, money and just trying to BS the general public. There are laws already on the books but those entrusted to follow them have ignored and disobeyed them! At least 3 admirals, 5 generals and a lot of lower ranked senior NCO's have been reprimanded but nothing has been done to stop the abuse.
    General misbehaved, a major instance.
    http://nation.time.com/2012/09/26/general-misconduct/

    The Air Force Academy had a slew of sexual misconduct problems within 1 years and recently (2 weeks ago) the person responsible for enforcing AIr Force misconduct, was himself reprimanded for assault!

    Story here:
    http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/air-f...3#.UZAzdLWkrfc

  4. #4
    I also read that in one of the pamphlets sent out about the sexual "misconduct", some of the advice is that at times it may be better to just go with it. If I come across the pamphlet again I will post it up.


    I agree, the problem isn't with the rules, the rules are quite clear, it's with the culture. This isn't the first time we have heard of people in the military "misbehaving" and pretty much getting away with it. Whatever the reasons, it's wrong. Anyone who believes that it's for the greater good to protect the image by not dealing with this is absolutely delusional or just a plain old asshole. Hopefully some of those with the power to do something decide to make more aggressive moves to weed out this kind of distracting unnecessary bullshit. A good start would be to enforce the rules and come down harder on the perps.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Augusta, GA
    Posts
    5,096
    Not justifying anything, but our numbers are still lower than the general population.

    But yes, it's a problem that needs to be fixed. ASAP.
    The weakest of all weak things is a virtue that has not been tested in the fire.
    ~ Mark Twain

    Everyone has a plan until they’ve been hit.
    ~ Joe Lewis

    A warrior may choose pacifism; others are condemned to it.
    ~ Author unknown

    "You don't feel lonely.Because you have a lively monkey"

    "Ninja can HURT the Spartan, but the Spartan can KILL the Ninja"

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Drake View Post
    Not justifying anything, but our numbers are still lower than the general population.

    But yes, it's a problem that needs to be fixed. ASAP.
    I think the main issue is with the reaction and consequences of reporting these assaults. But... word... Any sexual assault is bad.

  7. #7
    Military Sexual Assault: Rising, But the DoD is Still Slowing Plans to Hire Sexual Assault Response Coordinators


    http://www.policymic.com/articles/42...e-coordinators


    Ya think this is just being reported more? Kind of like the Autism thing. You look at a graph and there is this massive spike. Nobody remembers to mention that the definition for classifying autistic children changed in an inclusive way. So yeah, obviously the numbers spiked.

    maybe because this is a hot topic and some light is being shed on this stuff, more women are deciding it's worth speaking up? It's already pretty well established that in the past these complaints were quite often handled poorly.

    BUT... even though you can say that more cases are being reported, you can't say that there are more cases. And we'll never really know for sure either way. While I honestly do think that the handling of this issue as a whole has been complete misogynistic bullshit, it's pretty much a move forward issue.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Augusta, GA
    Posts
    5,096
    The general at Ft. Jackson certainly isn't helping our image...
    The weakest of all weak things is a virtue that has not been tested in the fire.
    ~ Mark Twain

    Everyone has a plan until they’ve been hit.
    ~ Joe Lewis

    A warrior may choose pacifism; others are condemned to it.
    ~ Author unknown

    "You don't feel lonely.Because you have a lively monkey"

    "Ninja can HURT the Spartan, but the Spartan can KILL the Ninja"

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Ontario
    Posts
    22,250
    Soldiers acting like asses?
    NO !!! Not possible !!
    LMAO !

    High levels of T = trouble making men.
    Be it the military, be it sports, be it prison.

    The rules are there, enforce them and make it zero tolerance.
    Done.
    Psalms 144:1
    Praise be my Lord my Rock,
    He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !

  10. #10
    I wouldn't diminish the seriousness of the crime by saying the perp was acting like an ass. People who do this are far beyond the term "ass".

    Let's be real here. The job attracts certain types. For obvious reasons.

    I agree.... clean house... no doubt. I also think it should be done internally. Just not through the normal chain of command process they have now.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Ontario
    Posts
    22,250
    Quote Originally Posted by Syn7 View Post
    I wouldn't diminish the seriousness of the crime by saying the perp was acting like an ass. People who do this are far beyond the term "ass".

    Let's be real here. The job attracts certain types. For obvious reasons.

    I agree.... clean house... no doubt. I also think it should be done internally. Just not through the normal chain of command process they have now.
    I am on the fence about a civilian authority to oversee military criminal matters.
    In this regard, however, that may be the way to go.
    Psalms 144:1
    Praise be my Lord my Rock,
    He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by sanjuro_ronin View Post
    I am on the fence about a civilian authority to oversee military criminal matters.
    In this regard, however, that may be the way to go.
    Normally I would agree. With police, no question I want civilian oversight. But the military is different and I know you can see the inherent problems using outsiders in this situation. Maybe from a prosecutorial angle, but not from complaint on up. Know what I mean?

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Grand Rapids, MI
    Posts
    981

    Castrate 'em!

    Some monkey or mantis should steal their peaches
    "The true meaning of a given movement in a form is not its application, but rather the unlimited potential of the mind to provide muscular and skeletal support for that movement." Gregory Fong

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •