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Sexual assault in the united states military essay
Pros and cons of military sexual assault
Sexual assault in the united states military essay
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Yes Drill Sergeant “It seems as if power were something to be wielded, always at someone’s expense, usually our own” (Brady, 1992). Brady is the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a parent that has absolute power over their child, much like the power that drill sergeants have over trainees. This type of power that drill sergeants wield can be very intoxicating and addicting, much like alcohol or drugs, and can change a person. This change that power may cause is not always for the better, as this paper will examine in some detail, with regard to Army drill sergeants. Drill sergeants have a tremendous amount of power over trainees and any abuse in authority breaks a sacred trust for those that are just entering the Army. Sergeants …show more content…
Drill sergeants have complete control over every aspect of a trainees’ daily lives while they are in Basic Combat Training (BCT) and derive their power from this control. Trainees receive instruction to move at every command that their instructor issues to prepare them for the Army at large so that they understand how to follow orders. Some drill sergeants take this to a whole new level when they use that authority to commit sexual assault. There are several articles available, one of which is a case that occurs at Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1997 in which three abusers receive sentences ranging from six months to 25 years and a total of 12 staff members are under investigation (Clines, 1997). These cases highlight the abuses that these individuals inflict upon those who’s care they have direct control and trust of. In another article, the victim notes that after reporting her attack other drill sergeants had then harassed her because of the report, and in effect circling the wagons in support of the perpetrator (Calvert, 2014). These abuses of power effect dilemmas in the form of ethical problems and are two-fold because of the involvement of sexual assault and sexual …show more content…
The Army has a system that uses three ethical lenses when trying to solve what it perceives as an ethical dilemma. These three lenses are the virtues lens, the rules lens, and the outcomes lens. The first lens, the virtues lens “comes from the view that desirable virtues such as courage, justice, and benevolence define ethical outcomes” (ADRP 6-22, p. 29). Virtues are traits or principles that are part of a person’s character that they develop from their upbringing and life experiences. The Army Values, for example, are virtues that the Army holds in high regard and one should never be in violation of these values. What is not a part of these values being those principles a person brings with them. These principles entail intangible things such as dignity and trust, which perpetrators violate every time they sexually harass or sexually assault another person. When one views these problems through the virtues lens, they can see that they are violating not just rules but guiding principles. They break not only a sacred trust between the drill sergeant and the trainee, but rules set in place to keep this from occurring in the first
In 1996, Captain Derrick Robinson, Sergeant Delmar Simpson, and Sergeant Nathanael Beech were arraigned for their suspected involvement in one of the biggest sex scandals the United States Military had seen. According to CNN, between these three men, charges of rape and adultery were pending in a huge case of sexual misconduct against female soldiers at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland (CNN, 2996). Following this incident, the United States Military took it upon themselves to open a telephone hotline to encourage the reporting of similar harsh crimes. Furthermore, the spike in reporting influenced extensive research to examine the prevalence of rape against women soldiers in the U.S. Military (Titunik, 2000). This paper will explore the dynamics of rape against women soldiers in the military and the research done on its prevalence.
The Army currently has an ethical code ebodied in the Army Values, which provides guidance to the individual and the organization. These values are universal across the Army regardless of an individual’s personal background or religious morals. Professional Military Education schools teach the Army Ethic and evaluation reports for leaders affirm this ethic. The Army punishes individuals, especially leaders, who violate this code. The Army administratively punishes Soldiers who do not adhere to this code, and the severity of punishment increases with rank. One recent and highly visible example of this is former General Petraeus’s adultery and the subsequent professional sanctions he experienced. The Army gr...
In A Tactical Ethic, Moral Conduct in the Insurgent Battlespace, author Dick Couch addresses what he believes to be an underlying problem, most typical of small units, of wanton ethical and moral behavior partly stemming from the negative “ethical climate and moral culture” of today’s America (Couch, D., 2010, p. 15). In chapter one, he reveals what A Tactical Ethic will hope to accomplish; that is identify the current ethics of today’s military warriors, highlight what is lacking, and make suggestions about what can be done to make better the ethical behavior of those on the battlefield and in garrison. He touches on some historic anecdotes to highlight the need for high ethics amongst today’s military warriors as well as briefly mentions
This famous playwright Shakespeare once said, “By your entrances and exits shall ye be known.” General Amos became the Marine Corps’ 35th Commandant in 2010, taking the helm as fiscal storm clouds darkened the horizon. His leadership, always attentive to the welfare of the Corps and his Marines, focused keenly on the future: budget cuts, force structure reductions, the balance of operational and family readiness in the shadow of intense operational tempo, and the pending drawdown from the wartime footing of a service more than a decade at war. General Amos faced an additional challenge: one not previously addressed on the scale required to be useful as a historical reference. The challenge is that of sexual assault: a challenge that threatens to tear at the very soul of the Marine Corps. “Sexual assault is an ugly mark on our proud reputation; it goes against everything we claim to be as United States Marines… It is a crime… and we will eradicate it from the Corps.” The key to success lies in effective messaging and the “buy in” of the young Marines.
The corruption around sexual assault in the U.S. military is overwhelmingly devastating. Many women would report cases of rape just to be told that they were lying, or that there was not enough evidence or that their rape kit had been lost.7 In some cases, the attackers would be the victim’s commander; these officials did 25% of sexual assaults.6 The military has huge power in this nation and have been using their power to cover up their own criminal acts. It is difficult for the victims to come forward for these horrible assaults. Women that do come forward either lose their ranking or nothing’s done because the person they go to is friends with the assailant. It is believed that over 85-90% of rapes in the U.S. military go unreported. Over the years, floods of people have come forward, yet the number of unreported cases remains the same.6 The documentary Invisible War did a tremendous job on bringing this problem into the eyes of the public and to our government, which recently passed legisl...
The US Military has been one of the most powerful and respected fighting forces in the world; it is also a hotbed for sexual assault. Each year, thousands of men and women take an oath to serve and protect their country and each thousands of military service members are sexually assaulted. “Earlier this week, Pentagon officials released a new report which estimated more than 70 sexual assaults occur in the military each day.”(Shane III) Fear of retaliation, both personal and professional, and humiliation stop many service members from reporting their sexual assaults. Those few that make the bold choice to report incidents of sexual assault often finds themselves disappointed by the outcome; assaults that do get reported have an incredibly low rate of conviction of the offender. The US Military has proven over time that they are incapable of effectively dealing with the sexual assault problem that it faces.
For many years, the problem of sexual abuse within the military was kept quiet and dismissed. Now people are trying to fight back to the point where they tell their stories of what has happened to them, and how the
Life in the military is not easy for anyone. Dedication is essential to be a successful soldier. However, the children forced into the military are frightful and lost. They are trained to be strong. It’s hard to imagine being strong in an environment full of deaths, rape, blood, and weapons. The treatment every child receives is no mercy. If you can’t hold a gun, you are either sentenced to kill or death. Some children are for...
LM01, Ethical Leadership. (2012). Maxwell Gunter AFB. Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education (AETC)
The armed forces of the United States of America are male dominated environments. Due to a wide diversity of personnel, many males clash with one another as alpha personalities and strong egos surface. Behavior in the military is learned through observation of rewards and punishment; this process is known as vicarious reinforcement. Females within this same culture are at a disadvantage as they are greatly outnumbered and at times this leads to sexual assaults committed against them.
In the Army, sexual assault and sexual harassment are a substantial problem, have been for many years, and are continuing to grow of unwanted sexual harassment or sexual assault (verbal, nonverbal, and physical contact). In 2013 sexual assault increased by over fifty percent. More recent reports indicate over 6,700 cases of sexual assault took place during the 2017 fiscal year. Even though the number of reports has increased exponentially over the recent years, this is a good thing as it allows proper action to be taken against the perpetrator and helps build the culture of trust between the various rankings in the community. The start of this was in 2008 when “Sexual Harassment, Assault Response, and Prevention (SHARP) was introduced. Victims are getting more comfortable with the system, which in return is making reported incidents increase just
In this country, going to the military is a career young people pick coming out of high school. But it’s not a mandatory career. It’s a career some people want to do to fight for their country. People volunteers to be in the military not force to be in there. So I think the United States should not have a similar policy as the other countries. Everybody have their own rights and the freedom of speech to say and do whatever they want. Some people might think the careers they want to do make more money than the military. Last, you have a choice to commit to the military in the United States.
Notwithstanding, sexual assault not increasing because of the draft, sexual assault is a rising trend. Since 2006, sexual assaults have increased sixty-four percent in the U.S Army and those numbers only reflect the cases which are reported (Burk, 2006, p.241). And the worst part is, that even under such circumstances, women have poor access to the justice system. This is yet another example of the lack of equality. Martha Burks (2016) also states that the biggest reason why there is little justice for these cases is because most females who are sexually assaulted must follow a chain of command and report to their commanding officers. Their commanding officer has the discretion to seek criminal justice and whether, the offenses stay on record.
Although many people think that these actions are more frequent in other types of jobs, the United States Armed Forces are not exempt from it. The war against this erratic conduct has cost many military personnel their careers, mental health, and in more drastic cases, their death. For these reasons the U.S Army established programs to train soldiers, protect victims, and punish perpetrators. The Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program (SHARP) is a fusion of the Army’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program (SAPR) and Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH). The purpose of this fusion was to address an increasing number of sexual assault cases related to sexual harassment. (U.S. Army,
The way women are treated and whether or not they should be required to register for drafts, have been just a few of the popular topics of discussion. One of the more controversial issues that have been in the spotlight as of late is the covering up of rapes that happen within the Military. Within the Military there is a chain of command that is to be maintained in order for the entire unit to remain constant routine and order. However this also gives rise to protecting Military personnel who have committed a rape or sexual assault against a female or female bodied officer. This has been a systemic issue within the Military to the point where female officers report being intimidated and bullied by fellow comrades for speaking up and reporting the assault. Even when the reports are actually filed and not blocked, the chain of command protects along with other Military personnel prevent the perpetrator from facing consequences. The intimidation can get so terrible that many female Military personnel have decided to go throughout their service terms keeping the assault to