Death on the Home Front: Women in the Crosshairs

On October 27, 2013March 7, 2017 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Military Policy, PTSD, TBI, Mental Illness, SuicideLeave a comment

Death on the Home Front: Women in the Crosshairs

Wake up, America. The boys are coming home, and they’re not the boys who went away.

On New Year’s Day, the New York Times welcomed the advent of 2009 by reporting that, since returning from Iraq, nine members of the Fort Carson, Colorado, Fourth Brigade Combat team had been charged with homicide. Five of the murders they were responsible for took place in 2008 when, in addition, “charges of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault” at the base rose sharply. Some of the murder victims were chosen at random; four were fellow soldiers — all men. Three were wives or girlfriends.

This shouldn’t be a surprise. Men sent to Iraq or Afghanistan for two, three, or four tours of duty return to wives who find them “changed” and children they barely know. Tens of thousands return to inadequate, underfunded veterans’ services with appalling physical injuries, crippling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suck-it-up sergeants who hold to the belief that no good soldier seeks help. That, by the way, is a mighty convenient belief for the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, which have been notoriously slow to offer much of that help.

When Strains on Military Families Turn Deadly

On October 27, 2013October 27, 2013 By AdministratorIn Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Military PolicyLeave a comment

When Strains on Military Families Turn Deadly

A few months after Sgt. William Edwards and his wife, Sgt. Erin Edwards, returned to a Texas Army base from separate missions in Iraq, he assaulted her mercilessly. He struck her, choked her, dragged her over a fence and slammed her into the sidewalk.

As far as Erin Edwards was concerned, that would be the last time he beat her.

Unlike many military wives, she knew how to work the system to protect herself. She was an insider, even more so than her husband, since she served as an aide to a brigadier general at Fort Hood.

With the general’s help, she quickly arranged for a future transfer to a base in New York. She pressed charges against her husband and secured an order of protection. She sent her two children to stay with her mother. And she received assurance from her husband’s commanders that he would be barred from leaving the base unless accompanied by an officer.

Yet on the morning of July 22, 2004, William Edwards easily slipped off base, skipping his anger-management class, and drove to his wife’s house in the Texas town of Killeen. He waited for her to step outside and then, after a struggle, shot her point-blank in the head before turning the gun on himself.

Power and Control Wheel

On October 26, 2013October 26, 2013 By AdministratorIn Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Sexual AssaultLeave a comment

Power & Control Wheel #DVAM #DV

Learn more about how abusers use power and control to dominate their victims, especially within close networks like families and work centers.

Deadly Affairs Premiered ‘Love is a Battlefield’ on ID: Love Triangle Leads to Murder of Pregnant Army Spc. Megan Touma (October 12, 2013)

On October 12, 2013August 25, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, Stateside Death, True CrimeLeave a comment

Fred and Amber Dalton’s marriage becomes a battle when Fred lies about his affair with a feisty young woman. Later, when Specialist Megan Touma breaks the military’s rules with fellow serviceman Edgar Patino…with deadly consequences. -Love is a Battlefield, Deadly Affairs (S2,E11)

American soldier Megan Touma has left her husband for her lover Edgar. Turns out Edgar has a spouse of his own. When Megan gets pregnant Edgar must make a decision between two women. Someone will be left brokenhearted and someone will be left dead. -Love is a Battlefield, Scorned: Love Kills (S5,E2)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

When the Violence Comes Home

On October 12, 2013October 23, 2013 By AdministratorIn Domestic Violence, Military Policy, Sexual AssaultLeave a comment

When the Violence Comes Home

A new study in the Journal of Family Violence starts off with a strong, hard truth: “Female Veterans experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at alarming rates.” Women in military service, the authors say, are not only at risk of sexual assault while they are serving; they are also at a much greater risk of domestic violence at home than non-vets. The authors, led by Katherine M. Iverson at the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, say that the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) needs to be much better equipped to detect and treat this persistent and troubling phenomenon than they are now.

Broken Military Justice

On October 9, 2013October 9, 2013 By AdministratorIn Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Military Policy, Sexual AssaultLeave a comment

Broken Military Justice

Support for Senator Gillibrand’s approach is building. Far from stripping commanders of accountability, as some critics have suggested, removing prosecution decisions in sexual assault and other serious crimes from the chain of command would not undermine discipline or end commanders’ responsibility to set the proper climate.

Is the chain of command interfering with justice in military sexual assault cases?

On October 9, 2013October 9, 2013 By AdministratorIn Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Military Policy, Sexual AssaultLeave a comment

Is the chain of command interfering with justice in military sexual assault cases?

In the military, the chain of command is the foundation of discipline and order, but in recent months, legislators and many members of the military have become concerned that it’s become an obstacle to prosecuting claims of sexual harassment and sexual assault. Opponents of the current system think it intimidates victims from bringing claims to senior officers, while proponents see the military’s system as more than adequate in ensuring a fair process.

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has been building support for her proposed legislation which would remove commanding officers from being the final arbiter of sexual harassment and assault cases, but opponents argue that the current system insures trials that are fair and balanced.

How important is preserving the chain of command? And should sexual assault cases be held to different criteria in military courts?

Listen here: http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2013/09/23/33845/is-the-chain-of-command-interfering-with-justice-i/

Pentagon advisory panel: Strip commanders’ ability to prosecute sexual assaults

On October 4, 2013October 5, 2013 By AdministratorIn Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Military Policy, Sexual AssaultLeave a comment

Pentagon advisory panel: Strip commanders’ ability to prosecute sexual assaults

The push to strip commanders of their authority to prosecute sexual assault cases got a boost from an official Pentagon advisory group that is calling on military leaders to support the proposed law.

The Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, known as DACOWITS, voted on Friday to support the controversial bill that is gaining steam, albeit slowly, on Capitol Hill.

Why do we need the Military Justice Improvement Act?

On October 4, 2013October 23, 2013 By AdministratorIn Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Military Policy, Sexual AssaultLeave a comment

Because more than 86% of service members assaulted do NOT report it. Help us pass the MJIA. Contact your
Senators and Representatives and ask them to reform the military justice system and provide victims with a new place to report their crimes. Please sign this petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/u-s-congress-demand-justice-for-military-sexual-trauma-victims-support-s-967?utm_source=supporter_message&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=petition_message_notice

Deadly Affairs Premiered ‘Special Delivery’ on ID: Army Spouse Manipulated Teenagers to Shoot and Kill Kevin Spann (September 28, 2013)

On September 28, 2013August 15, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, Stateside Death, True CrimeLeave a comment

Kevin and Gina Spann know that life in the military is anything but easy. But when Kevin goes away, Gina plays. Adam Kostewicz and Grace Pianka are trying to live the American dream. But when that dream turns into a nightmare, someone ends up dead. -Special Delivery, Deadly Affairs (S2,E9)

Some women can’t resist boy toys. But fur flies when these Deadly Women reveal they’re “Killer Cougars.” -Deadly Women (S10,E1)

MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL

Category: Domestic Violence

Death on the Home Front: Women in the Crosshairs

When Strains on Military Families Turn Deadly

Power and Control Wheel

Deadly Affairs Premiered ‘Love is a Battlefield’ on ID: Love Triangle Leads to Murder of Pregnant Army Spc. Megan Touma (October 12, 2013)

When the Violence Comes Home

Broken Military Justice

Is the chain of command interfering with justice in military sexual assault cases?

Pentagon advisory panel: Strip commanders’ ability to prosecute sexual assaults

Why do we need the Military Justice Improvement Act?

Deadly Affairs Premiered ‘Special Delivery’ on ID: Army Spouse Manipulated Teenagers to Shoot and Kill Kevin Spann (September 28, 2013)

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