Congresswoman Jackie Speier
May 17, 2012

Today I rise again to speak about the horrific situation in the military and that is the epidemic of rape and sexual assault that goes on unabated. This is the 20th time that I’m here on the floor to tell the story of yet another victim. 19 times before I’ve been on this floor to tell about victims in military service. I’ve told you about the military culture that treats sexual harassment and assault with a silent acceptance, and the command structure that punishes the victim and does not take care of dealing with the perpetrator.

Today i am going to tell you about the culture that exists in our military service academies that train our cadets to become commissioned officers. I’ve not told you that the same conflicted chain of command structure that exists in the military also exists at our prestigious service academies. The military academy at West Point and the Naval, Coast Guard, Air Force and Merchant Marine follow the same rules of the military. The Uniform Code of Military Justice. Today I’m going to tell you the story of Karley Marquet who was a first-year cadet when she was raped just last year.

She was a spanking brand new West Pointer, gifted in both academics and athletics, Karley was a star high school student. She had her pick to go to any number of colleges. She chose West Point because she wanted to serve her country. West Point chose Karley because she possessed the skills and character that the Army needs for success.

Click the link to view or read Congresswoman Speier’s 20th speech on military rape.

To view Congresswoman Speier’s speeches on military rape, click this usmvaw page link.

For additional information:

Rep. Jackie Speier | Rape and Sexual Assault in the Military

Protect Our Defenders

Letter to STOP Act Co-Sponsors (call to action)

“H.R. 3435, the Sexual Assault Training Oversight and Prevention Act – or STOP Act which would take the reporting, oversight, investigation and victim care of sexual assaults out of the hands of the military’s normal chain of command and place jurisdiction in the newly created, autonomous Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Office comprised of civilian and military experts.”  (Rep. Jackie Speier)

To see the current status of “The STOP Act” click the links below:

STOP Act Summary

The Stop Act: The Sexual Assault Training Oversight and Prevention Act (H.R. 3435)

Carey D. Lohrenz
First Female F-14 Fighter Pilot
Huffington Post
May 14, 2012

Women have been flying military aircraft since 1942. The WASPs, or Women’s Airforce Service Pilots, ferried 12,650 fighter and bomber planes all over the US, Canada and overseas when needed. They also instructed Air Corps pilots and towed practice targets for combat pilots.

However, women were limited to noncombat roles.

Over the course of time, the nature of warfare has changed. Women have become an integral part of the armed forces.

The Persian Gulf War, in 1990-1991, demonstrated how integral women had become to U.S. airpower. Female pilots flew various helicopters, reconnaissance, refueling and supply aircraft deep into Iraqi airspace. They loaded weapons onto fighters and directed Air Force pilots from AWACS planes.

But the final frontier for female aviators was to fly the coveted combat fighter jets and bombers.

To read the full story at the Huffington Post, click here.

John W. Adkisson for The New York Times

Once Hailed as Army Pioneer, Now Battling to Stay on the Job

James Dao
The New York Times
May 11, 2012

When Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa L. King was named the first female commandant of the Army’s elite drill sergeant school in 2009, proponents of gender equality in the military hailed the news as a watershed.

Sergeant Major King headed the Army’s drill sergeant school at Fort Jackson, S.C.

But it did not take long for the grumbling to start. Students who flunked out of the school complained that she set unfair standards. Some of her own instructors said she rigidly enforced old-fashioned rules. Traditionalists across the service asked: how could a woman with no experience in combat manage the Army’s only school for training the trainers who prepare recruits for war?

She says she tried to ignore the criticism, but her superiors did not. Last November, they suspended Sergeant Major King, forbidding contact with students or staff and opening an investigation into what they called the “toxic” environment at the school. As that review dragged on, she says she felt like a criminal: isolated, publicly humiliated and so despondent that friends worried that she might hurt herself.

To read the full story at the New York Times, click here.

Additional Reporting from The New York Times:

At War Blog: Head of Drill Sergeant School Reinstated The New York Times, (May 4, 2012)

First Woman to Lead Army Drill Sergeant School Is Suspended  The New York Times, (December 15, 2011)

First Woman Ascends to Top Drill Sergeant Spot The New York Times, (September 22, 2009)

Peter Surowski
Temecula Patch
May 12, 2012

A woman who was arrested Thursday on suspicion of killing a Fallbrook resident was connected to the other suspects accused of the murder through an alternative, polyamorous relationship.

Dorothy Grace Marie Maraglino, 36, who was arrested on suspicion of killing 22-year-old Brittany Killgore, owned a house that the two other suspects list as their residence, according to the North County Times.

Maraglino also appears in photos with Louis Ray Perez, 45, one of the other suspects. Perez is a Camp Pendleton Marine staff sergeant.

He and fellow suspect Jessica Lynn Lopez, 27, pleaded not guilty to the murder last month.

To read the full story at the Temecula Patch web site, click here.

Additional Reporting:

Third Arrest Made In Killgore Murder Case, 10News.com, May 11, 2012

Dorothy Grace Marie Maraglino Arrested In Connection With Brittany Killgore Murder, Huffington Post, May 11, 2012

Kara Dixon Vuic
Richmond Times-Dispath
May 9, 2012

Recent news that nine military personnel and 11 Secret Service agents allegedly solicited prostitutes in Columbia has sparked a congressional inquiry, institutional investigations and much speculation about how such an act might threaten presidential security. Were these men just a few bad apples? Maybe. But the American military has a long history of sanctioning prostitution, one that suggests much deeper concerns about its cultivation of a sexualized culture that can help to explain such an astonishingly brash act.

Although the Civil War’s Gen. Joseph Hooker is probably the most well-known military commander to officially sanction prostitution, he is certainly not alone. American military history is littered with officials who drew connections between a soldier’s sexual habits and his battlefield performance. As Gen. George Patton put it most famously (and perhaps most crassly), “if they don’t [blank], they don’t fight.”

To read the full article at the Richmand Times-Dispatch, click here.

Article link thanks to H-Net Minerva

Kyle Kajihiro
War is a Crime.org
May 10, 2012

It is a grave mistake to claim that military bases have been good for Hawai’i and therefore would be good for Jeju Island.

The U.S. invaded and occupied the sovereign country of Hawai’i in order to build a military outpost. This included the taking of more than 200,000 acres of land for military bases, training and other activities. The result has been the destruction of the environment with more than 900 military contamination sites identified by the Department of Defense. The military’s toxic cocktail includes PCB, perchloroethylene, jet fuel and diesel, mercury, lead, radioactive Cobalt 60, unexploded ordance, perchlorate, and depleted uranium.

When the U.S. took over, especially during WWII, the military seized thousands of acres of Hawaiian land. Whole communities were evicted, their homes, churches and buildings razed or bombed for target practice, their sacred sites destroyed by bombs or imprisoned behind barbed wire.

Recently, hundreds of landless Native Hawaiian families were evicted from a secluded area of O’ahu where they had been living in cars and makeshift tents. They are the internally displaced native people, evidence of the so-called ‘benefits’ of militarization. Meanwhile the military occupies more than 13,000 acres of Hawaiian land, comprising a third of the land in that part of the island.

To read the complete article at warisacrime.org, click here.

220 survivors of military sexual trauma descended on Capitol Hill, May 8, 2012.

Survivors of Military Sexual Trauma’s
Special Delivery to Capitol Hill

Scott Wooledge
Daily Kos
May 8, 2012

On May 8, Service Women’s Action Network held their “Truth and Justice Summit,” the first-ever mass convening of survivors of military sexual assault on the nation’s capitol. The schedule inclues a panel of survivors sharing their stories with attendees and the press. There will be an awards luncheon, advocacy training and visits to congressional offices. The aim of the congressional outreach, from SWAN policy director Greg Jacob:

We are asking that Congress educate themselves more on issues of sexual assault and harassment in the military and that they become vocal leaders in holding the military accountable for stopping rape in the ranks.

This is an issue that affects men and women service-wide. The reforms and improvements made thus far have been spearheaded by a relatively small group of legislators, most of them being on the Armed Services committee. It is critical that Congress understand that the issue of military sexual violence affects everyone, including veterans and families in their districts that might not have a military presence.

To read the full story at the Daily Kos, click here.

Thanks to Susan Avila-Smith for providing the reporting link.

Sailor Sentenced to Life for Raping Girl

UPI
May 9, 2012

A U.S. sailor left Guam in Navy custody Wednesday after being sentenced to life in prison for repeatedly raping a girl starting when she was 8 years old.

Petty Officer 1st Class Bradford Laurence Lung, 30, had pleaded guilty Monday to 20 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Guam Superior Court, Stars and Stripes reported. He will be eligible for parole in 15 years.

The Guam Pacific Daily News reported the military still intends to prosecute Lung on charges originating outside Guam.

To read the full story at UPI.com, click here.

Additional Reporting:

Sailor Gets Life Sentence for Rape Guilty Plea, Stars and Stripes, May 9, 2012

Guam Sailor Pleads to Molestation Charges, NavyTimes/Pacific Daily News, May 8, 2012

Navy Sailor on Guam Charged in Rape of Young Girl, MercuryNews.com, March 23, 2012

Greg Jacobs
SWAN - Huffington Post
May 8, 2012

Today, more than 250 advocates, supporters, lawmakers, family members and survivors of sexual violence in the military will come to Washington, D.C., in a first-of-its-kind event that will inform, empower and move forward critical efforts to eliminate sexual violence within the military.

“Truth and Justice, the 2012 Summit on Military Sexual Violence” is being presented by the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN). SWAN is a groundbreaking civil rights organization that focuses on the needs of service women and veterans. This innovative event will include remarks from several members of Congress, panel discussions from veteran survivors telling their own stories of resilience and reintegration, and military law and policy professionals discussing challenges and strategies for changing the culture and climate around the issue of sexual violence in the military.

To read the full story at the Huffington Post, click here.

“Organizations and individuals around the world have worked tirelessly to amplify the voices of survivors and stop rape. The International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict unites us into a powerful and coordinated effort for change.

We are the first ever global collaboration between Nobel Peace Laureates, international advocacy organizations, and groups working at the regional and community levels in conflict.

The Campaign will demand urgent and bold political leadership to prevent rape in conflict, to protect civilians and rape survivors, and call for justice for all—including effective prosecution of those responsible. These three pillars of the Campaign—PREVENT, PROTECT, PROSECUTE—signal a comprehensive effort to stop rape in conflict.

Our first four focus countries—Burma, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya—represent places where immediate, coordinated action is needed. Within these four countries we know that our united efforts can make the biggest impact in the shortest amount of time.

We are excited to announce our launch on May 6 with a Week of Action.
Join us and Take the Pledge.“

“Don’t forget that this is your Campaign –
every member and every action counts!”

Conference Report 2011 |Women Forging a New Security: Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict