U.S. soldier goes AWOL -- alleges sexual harassment in Iraq

[n2doc]

U.S. soldier goes AWOL -- alleges sexual harassment
Enemy lines: She deserted the Army just before her 2nd tour in Iraq, not because of the war, she says, but because her superiors preyed on her
Carol Burke, Special to The Chronicle
Friday, September 15, 2006

Swift was with the 66th Military Police in Karbala.




Car keys in hand, Army Spc. Suzanne Swift was about to leave her home in Eugene, Ore., for a second tour of duty in Iraq in January when she turned to her mother and said she couldn't do it. With 2 1/2 years to go on her commitment, she opted out.Swift hadn't wanted to go to Iraq when she signed papers while still in high school, but she was no conscientious objector. She believed in what her president told her about the war on terror, and in Iraq she endured discomfort and danger with her unit. She had already shipped her personal belongings to Iraq for her next tour.

But Swift said she had also been singled out for repeated sexual abuse. In the eyes of some with whom she served, she said, she was never a comrade in arms; she was a target for their sexual advances. And despite her complaints, she said, the Army hadn't protected her.To go back, she believed, would be to suffer this all over again. So for the next five months, Swift spent time with her boyfriend on the Oregon coast, stayed in month-to-month apartments, even hunkered down at home while a lawyer tried to start negotiations with the Army.

When the Army finally responded, it took the highly unusual step with an AWOL soldier of having her arrested. Now Swift and her mother, with the help of supporters, are making her case a test of the military's treatment of victims of sexual harassment. This comes at a time when the U.S. military has been facing heightened scrutiny about sexual harassment and sexual assault. Recent reports have found that the problems are widespread in the armed forces, the service academies and recruiters' offices.

more:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/15/MNGJFL6BUE1.DTL

[NMDemDist2]

1. k&N n/t

[malmapus]

2. Met her at a rally for her outside Ft. Lewis. that was held for her.

Really felt sorry for her, what she had been put through. Just about wanted to apologize on behalf of the male species.

K&R.

[tanyev]

3. How many other countries have women soldiers?

Are we the only country that has problems with women soldiers being harrassed and assaulted by their fellow soldiers?

[femrap]

4. Amy Goodman at Democracy Now! has

discussed her case on air a couple of times. Her mother was interviewed over the phone one day.

I don't see how these young women keep from shooting the assholes.

[Felinity]

5. Sexual harassment in the military should be categorized as treason

How can you have a strong military when this sort of thing goes on. I don't have the statistics handy, but a large proportion of female troops assert that they have been harassed, or worse, even with in our "best and brightest" military academies.

If you perpetrate any kind of abuse against a fellow soldier, it is an act against the country that they represent. I normally don't believe in zero tolerance policies, but I would consider such on this issue.

Just my opinion.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bucky]

8. You raise a good point, but this is hardly the only case of harassment

I've know women soldiers and sailors who've both told me their treatment under deployment was horrific. Oddly, there's little complaints of how they're treated on established bases. Also, the two women USAF vets I know say they rarely got sexist treatment--much less harassment.

The system is absolutely broke. It should be fixed. Zero tolerance is a little extreme, but remember that it means "one strike and you're out", not "one accusation and you're convicted."

[Felinity]

9. Thanks for adding that and

I think we should assume that our military personnel are not so petty as to complain about stupid little incidents. Women with skin that thin are unlikely to join the military, much less make it through basic. I think there is a strong institutional memory that does not look kindly on whiners; and spurious claims would be most unlikely under battle conditions.

What amazes me is that so many men in uniform would jeopardize their own lives and those of their comrades with this kind of behavior--that leads me to believe that they have no instruction on self-discipline in this area, that the military condones it by not addressing it in stronger terms.

[rman]

6. kick

[riderinthestorm]

10. K & R nt