Which War Are We
Fighting?
Picture yourself
in boot camp doing continuous drills and maneuvers. You are getting screamed at
and demoralized by your superior officers whom feel like they are “hardening”
you for war, but really the only hardening going on is at night, which you
later hear that the private in the bunk next to you was raped. “He hit me
across the face… and my face hurt so bad. He screamed at me and grabbed my arm
and raped me.” This was Kori Cioca’s account of rape by a commanding officer while
serving in the U.S. Coast Guard.
In
2011, there were 3,192 sexual assault reports but only 191 members of the
military were convicted at courts martial. There is no incentive
to report rape and is not treated as a priority in the military. This crime is
so devastating that many victims get the blame, or blame themselves. You
would think defending your country and one day telling stories to your children
about military experiences should be a heartwarming and inspiring moment.
Instead you will most likely sugar coat it and drive those tragic events deep
down.
"He
said that if I told anybody, that he was going to have his friend Marv, from
Indiana, kill me and throw me in a ditch, 'cause that's how they took care of
things in Indiana” Explained Ariana Klay who graduated with honors from the US
Naval Academy and served in Iraq. “Do what a marine officer should do, and
that’s ignore it and move on,” is what she was told after reporting the rape.
Finally, the Marine Corps said she must have welcomed the assaults because she
wore makeup and skirts – part of her regulation uniform.
Rape in the military is an invisible
war and the sexual abuse against women and men needs to end. Over 20% of female
veterans have been sexually assaulted while serving in the U.S. army. When a
female soldier in a combat zone is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier
than killed by enemy fire, I’d say the war is already lost.
