Another airman from the Minot Air Force Base has died. The base says a member of the 5th Bomb Wing was found unresponsive at about 3:20 this afternoon in a dorm room and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Last week, Tech. Sergeant Christopher Summers of the 91st Missile Wing was also found dead in his home. His death is also under investigation.
Read more: http://www.kmot.com/story/23471223/another-airman-found-dead
Learn more about how abusers use power and control to dominate their victims, especially within close networks like families and work centers.
Sex-assault incidents will be documented on every NCOER, OER
The Army will use soldiers’ professional evaluations to hold them accountable for preventing sexual assault in the service.
Raters must assess all soldiers on their efforts to foster a climate intolerant of sexual assault and harassment in all Noncommissioned Officer Evaluation Reports and Officer Evaluation Reports for rating periods that begin after Sept. 27, according to a memo issued in late September. Soldier counselings, typically done monthly or quarterly, must include the soldier’s “goals and objectives” for combating sexual assault and harassment in their unit, states the directive from Army Secretary John McHugh.
“Leaders must be committed to – and will be held accountable for – fostering a climate of dignity and respect. As a formal part of their evaluation, it will create an even greater incentive to do it well,” said Maj. Chris Kasker, a spokesman for McHugh, in a statement.
Time to learn more about drug facilitated sexual assaults since they seem to be so prevalent in the US military. Not only did I personally go through this kind of chemical restraint as a new recruit in the Air National Guard but in my work as a victim advocate, I have seen the same modus operandi used over and over by enemies within the ranks. These very skilled perpetrators are using alcohol and illegal drugs to create an opportunity or carry out a premeditated plan to take control of their victim. As a result of going through the experience of being drugged, I can tell you that because I never thought I would be a victim of a crime like this, I had a hard time accepting that it happened. I was stunned that someone was able to overpower me either physically or through the use of illicit drugs. I never imagined that others would use a drug or alcohol as a weapon to facilitate the crime. It is an insidious form of violence and it’s time to call it what it actually is: Drug Facilitated Sexual Assaults.
Drug facilitated assault: when drugs or alcohol are used to compromise an individual’s ability to consent to sexual activity. In addition, drugs and alcohol are often used in order to minimize the resistance and memory of the victim of a sexual assault.
According to RAINN, “Alcohol remains the most commonly used chemical in crimes of sexual assault, but there are also substances being used by perpetrators including: Rohypnol, GHB, GBL, etc.” Perpetrators will often groom the victim so that they can set up the environment to use the alcohol or drugs to incapacitate their victims. Grooming involves the process of attempting to set up or stage individuals for sexual abuse by using a variety of methods to promote trust. Offenders who are strangers to the survivor as well as offenders who are family or known to the survivor will use grooming behaviors. Grooming will often build trust between offenders and other people (the survivor, caretakers of the survivor, etc.) to break down defenses, and give offenders easier access to others (Help in Healing, A Training Guide for Advocates).
Diminished capacity exists when an individual does not have the capacity to consent. Reasons for this inability to consent include, but are not limited to: sleeping, drugged, passed out, unconscious, mentally incapacitated, etc. It is important to understand diminished capacity because oftentimes victims of sexual assault in these situations blame themselves because they drank, did drugs, etc. It is essential to emphasize that it is not his or her fault, that the aggressor is the one who took advantage of his or her diminished capacity. Some of the drugs used to facilitate the drug induced sexual assault include Rohypnol, GHB, GBL, Benzodiazepines, Ketamine, and Ecstasy. (RAINN.org)
Example of Predator in Action: Air National Guard Recruiter Rapes New Recruit
As we learn more about the modus operandi of predators, we learn that not only do they groom their victims and use alcohol and drugs to incapacitate them, but they also have behaviors that are specific to sex offenders (Salter, 1995):
As a result of losing that control, I no longer trust the bar environments, drinking with others, or drinking and losing control in any fashion. But for those of you who do want to go out and have fun, here are some safety tips for safe drinking from RAINN.
Lastly, if you are in the military and you want safe and confidential service from a non-governmental organization created by one of our own (free of worrying about whether or not your Chain of Command is going to find out), please contact us at www.stopmilitaryrape.org. We will support you and help you navigate the military sexual assault services available to you.
Lawmakers vow to continue fighting to protect survivors of sexual assault
Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) are demanding that the U.S. Director of National Intelligence once again eliminate a requirement that forces survivors of sexual assault in the military to declare whether they sought counseling for sexual trauma when applying for a security clearance.
Tester and Pingree successfully overturned the policy in April after hearing from veterans and service members from Montana and Maine, but the government reversed course in the final version of the security clearance questionnaire released this summer.
Before the change, job applicants seeking a security clearance had to list whether they had received mental health counseling as a result of a sexual assault, and if so, allow an investigator full access to their health records.
Veterans and veterans’ advocacy groups told Tester and Pingree the policy discouraged qualified service members from applying for important national security positions and discouraged them from getting the counseling they need. The Defense Department estimates that there may have been as many as 26,000 instances of “unwanted sexual contact” in 2012, with the vast majority of cases reported by women.
“We strongly urge you to reconsider this matter and reinstitute the explicit exemption for survivors of sexual assault,” Tester and Pingree told Intelligence Director James Clapper. “As you recognized in April, we need to do everything we can to support survivors of sexual assault – not keep them from getting the care they need or jeopardizing their ability to provide for themselves and their families.”
“Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) is grateful to Senator Tester and Congresswoman Pingree for their dedication to ensuring military sexual assault survivors’ careers are not stunted or adversely affected because they sought counseling to cope with the assault,” said Anu Bhagwati, SWAN executive director and former Marine Corps captain. “SWAN has already heard from service members that are confused by the recently removed exemption for military sexual assault survivors and are now hesitant to seek help. We urge Director Clapper to reinstate the explicit exemption for sexual assault survivors.”
Tester and Pingree have been in contact with Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and other officials about the issue over the last two years. The officials responded by altering the security clearance questionnaire to better handle sensitive information, but Tester and Pingree sought a complete policy change.
There are multiple forms of counseling that do not impede an applicant from securing a security clearance, including family counseling and counseling for combat stress.
September 17, 2013: Letter to DNI Clapper (10/24/13 03:29 PM PST)
Military Sexual Assaults Cost More Than $872 Million
The Veterans Affairs department spent almost $872 million in 2010 to deal with the health impacts of sexual assaults on former military personnel. This figure is based on the $10,880 dollars the Veterans Administration spends to treat each sexual assault victim after he or she leaves the service. The $872 million does not include costs for victims still in the military. In 2011, the last year that information on sexual assaults is available, 3,192 cases were reported to Pentagon brass. Former defense secretary Leon Panetta estimated nearly 20,000 occur each year within the military. According to a 2011 military health survey, one in five soldiers said they had been touched inappropriately since joining. It’s not clear how much the Pentagon spends dealing with these attacks. But because of the nature of how the military deals with sexual assault allegations, it’s likely that it costs the Pentagon tens of millions of dollars.
The Military’s Latest Rape-Case Mess
A sexual assault case reveals an unbalanced military justice system
Which is worse: a sexual assault by three fellow midshipmen near the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., or spending 20 hours over five days in a military courtroom fending off questions about one’s sexual history and the circumstances of the alleged attack?
The latter is what happened at the Washington Navy Yard beginning Aug. 27, when a female midshipman was cross-examined in a lengthy pretrial hearing designed to bring those allegedly involved to justice. The case helps explain why only 3,374 of an estimated 26,000 military members who experienced unwanted sexual contact last year filed complaints. “It is essentially the woman who is on trial, and the trial can be worse than the rape,” says retired Colonel Elspeth Ritchie, who served as the Army’s top psychiatrist and has testified in similar cases. “I have often thought that I would never report it if it happened to me.”
Read more: http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2151156,00.html
Rape Culture and US Military, Pt 2…And the Scandals Keep Coming
Male Survivors of Military Sexual Assault
In the Pentagon’s recently released survey, it was estimated that 26,000 cases of sexual assault and rape occurred in the military in 2012. Of these, more than half were estimated to have been committed against men; 14,000 attacks on men, 12,000 on women. This means there was an estimated 38 men and 33 women assaulted in the military every day. The survey also said that male survivors report at “much lower rates” than women. On the 16th, Navy veteran and military rape survivor Brian Lewis was interviewed by NBC News. He had spoken alongside Senator Gillibrand that day as she announced her new legislation (which I’ll get more into next week). Lewis offered insight on the culture that silences male survivors even more effectively than it does female ones.
“As a culture, we’ve somewhat moved past the idea that a female wanted this trauma to occur, but we haven’t moved past that for male survivors.”
“In a lot of areas of the military, men are still viewed as having wanted it or of being homosexual. That’s not correct at all. It’s a crime of power and control.”
“…there’s the notion…that you misconstrued their horseplay.”
A spokesperson for the Pentagon announced a plan to better support male survivors, but since it’s doubtful it will go far enough and does next to nothing to solve the actual problem, it looks like little more than a PR move.
“[The Pentagon] has reached out to organizations supporting male survivors for assistance and information to help inform our way ahead.”
Brian Lewis questioned how helpful this would be.
“I applaud the stand on behalf of male survivors. However, I would be interested in hearing what organizations they are partnering with considering there are none especially geared for male survivors of military sexual trauma.”
Read more: http://amplifyyourvoice.org/u/afy_samantha/2013/5/25/rape-culture-and-the-us-military-pt.-2
Rape Culture and the US Military, Pt. 3: Legislation
Part one and part two of this series has outlined the structural nature of rape culture in the US military that is made of and results in severe lack of trust, abuse of power, and a staunch unwillingness to make necessary changes. Those outside the command structure of the military however are more than ready to force them in line. Since February, six pieces of legislation have been introduced in Congress and the Senate that, together, tackle these problems in a comprehensive way.
The Ruth Moore Act, Military Sexual Assault Prevention Act, Service Members Mental Health Review Act, The STOP Act, Combating Military Sexual Assault Act, Military Justice Improvement Act
Mickey Widmer and her boyfriend Darnell Mears move into a Minnesota trailer park looking for a fresh start, but after meeting Rick Taber, a reclusive neighbor, he grows too close for comfort. Good neighbors go bad; and bad neighbors spill blood. -Trailer Park Terror, A Stranger in My Home (S1,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.
Related Links:
Trailer Park Terror | A Stranger in My Home | Investigation Discovery (S1,E2)
Trailer Park Terror | A Stranger in My Home | Investigation Discovery (website)
Trailer Park Terror | A Stranger in My Home | Investigation Discovery (Amazon)
Michaela Widmer Found Murdered in Minnesota Cemetery; Suspect Ricardo Taber Guilty of Stolen Valor, Died by Suicide (July 25, 2009)
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 