By I encourage everyone to read the entire at the link below and draw their own conclusions about the merits of this lawsuit:
A female sailor who worked in a support role for a Virginia Beach-based SEAL team is one of 28 plaintiffs who allege in a federal lawsuit that they were raped or sexually assaulted with virtual impunity while on military duty.
The plaintiffs – 25 women and three men from all of the services – accuse two former defense secretaries, Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates, of allowing the perpetuation of a military culture in which sexual abusers go unpunished and are even promoted, while their victims are discouraged from seeking justice and subjected to harassment and retaliation when they do.
Petty Officer 1st Class Amy Lockhart
alleges she was raped by a member of a Beach-based SEAL team while she was blacked out after a night of drinking with sailors during a pre-deployment training trip to California in February 2010. She also says her senior enlisted leader failed to take her accusations seriously, dismissing them with degrading, sexually charged language, including calling her a “slut.”
When Lockhart pressed ahead with the rape allegation, it was investigated by the Navy and the charge was dismissed after a preliminary hearing on grounds of insufficient evidence. [The Virginian-Pilot]
Considering all the mandatory sexual assault training and programs the military has instituted I doubt there is an organization in the US government that has done more to combat sexual assault. Some have made the argument using examples like the Camp Casey First Sergeant Rape Case that servicemembers accused of sexual assault are presumed guilty instead of innocent because of the military’s focus on sexual assault awareness.
She hasn’t seen...
3:42 am on November 15th, 2011 1
Omf…
6:57 am on November 15th, 2011 2
Maybe we need to re-look how and where women serve and in what capacity. The experiment is a failure. Good men and women are having careers and lives destroyed over this nonsense. If anything, this article and suit proves just that.
8:28 am on November 15th, 2011 3
How much as it changed?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailhook_scandal
8:55 am on November 15th, 2011 4
“Petty Officer 1st Class Amy Lockhart alleges she was raped by a member of a Beach-based SEAL team while she was blacked out after a night of drinking”
So some pervert Petty Officer knowingly engages in a night of “extreme drinking” and then thinks he can use a “blackout” as an excuse for his actions due to his complete lack of foresight and responsibility?
Burn him!
Oh… wait… isn’t “Amy” a girl’s name?
Awwww… that poor sunflower… forced to drink alcohol and then taken advantage of while incapacitated and not at all responsible for her actions in any way.
11:40 am on November 15th, 2011 5
Well, we have one sorta in depth look at the claims of one person in this suit. Who knows what is involved with the other 27. But looking at the PO1 Lockhart’s story in the worst possible light (which also seems to be the most sensible) just shows the rules I followed in the Army and took to FT Livingroom are surfire routes to success:
1. Keep female Soldiers at arms length. Have witnessess around if at all possible.
2. Don’t drink to excess around female Soldiers of any rank.
3. Always remember yes can mean no. Even when yes really is a yes, it can retroactively become a no. If the yes was actually a no or became a no in the future, you’re in for serious drama! In light of this, a no thank you response is always in order.
All this makes it pretty much impossible for females to really become true members of a unit. But that is a story for a different time.
2:30 pm on November 15th, 2011 6
A lesson to alleged “victims” can also be learned, especially in light of the recent Penn State scandal.
If there has been an assault, your chain of command should not be your first thought in reporting it. You should be reporting it to military or civilian police, immediately, not days later, so evidence can be collected and a proper investigation can be done.
2:59 pm on November 15th, 2011 7
What we have here is a couple Joe Pa Jr.’s
4:45 pm on November 15th, 2011 8
So, among KATUSAs, there is a saying keep the GI babes at an arm’s length no matter what. Never fall for their lethal smiles.
That’s what I’d heard… so I guess many U.S. male NCOs get in trouble with GI hoes.
4:46 pm on November 15th, 2011 9
I meant he got in the sack with “her”…
4:53 pm on November 15th, 2011 10
A Korean girl’s yes means yes 99.9% of the time.
But… GIs are off-limits to the Korean treasures…
just kiddin’
6:41 pm on November 15th, 2011 11
5 & 8. The advice to keep them at arms length and to never be alone with them and have witnesses makes them what? Quite literally – force divider, that’s what. Not to mention the detrimental effects of losing unit cohesion and the overall feminization of the army. All for nefarious and cynical political reasons; and so poor girls can lay GI Jane.
I have to agree with Retired GI. The should be allowed to serve, but it should be something along the lines of the WAC’s and WAV’s.
7:09 pm on November 15th, 2011 12
Today we had a guy explaining why FSC’s are attachments from a brigade support battalion assigned to combined arms battalion. He was saying that you can’t have females organically in your combined arms (Infantry/Cav) units but you need the service/support personnel who are female, but females can’t be in combat (infantry/armor) units but can be attachments. Ofcourse one of the females in the back was like “did he say female”… and I’m thinking “No, dammit, finally someone explains part of the truth about why this convuluted FSC crap goes on and you get offended at the truth… OMF.”
7:14 pm on November 15th, 2011 13
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heavy_Brigade_Combat_Team_Organization.svg
See… look at the BSB and look at the combat arms elements… it’s like the BSB’s support units with foward designations are actually designed to be organic to the combat arms elements.
7:19 pm on November 15th, 2011 14
13. Very true. The BSB’s are meant to be just that. It confuses me as why it is necessary to pack them with females.
7:29 pm on November 15th, 2011 15
I mean, it’s crazy that political BS about women in combat roles means you don’t have cooks and some of your higher level maintenance people organic to your task force/bn.
9:06 pm on November 15th, 2011 16
9:56 pm on November 15th, 2011 17
Leon,
“and so poor girls can lay GI Jane.”
I think you intended “PLAY GI Jane”… but I approve of your alternative message as well.
10:16 pm on November 15th, 2011 18
LOL. Got a basd “p” key that doesn’t always work but I too approve the Freudian keyboard slip.
10:24 pm on November 15th, 2011 19
Even my name is missing it’s P!