farmgirl
02-06-2004, 10:26 PM
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/7895611.htm
Posted on Fri, Feb. 06, 2004
Rumsfeld orders investigation into reports of ****** assaults
BY MICHAEL KILIAN
Chicago Tribune
WASHINGTON - (KRT) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has ordered a top-level Pentagon investigation into reports of ****** assaults by U.S. servicemen against female troops serving in Iraq and other duty stations in the region.
"I am concerned about recent reports regarding allegations of ****** assaults on service members deployed in Iraq and Kuwait," Rumsfeld said in a memo to Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel David Chu that was released to reporters Friday. "****** assault will not be tolerated in the Department of Defense."
He directed Chu to undertake a full investigation, with an emphasis on how local military authorities in the theater responded to the women's complaints.
Chu is to submit findings and recommendations in 90 days, Rumsfeld said.
"Commanders at every level have a duty to take appropriate steps to prevent ****** assaults, protect victims and hold those who commit offenses accountable," Rumsfeld said. "We are responsible for ensuring that the victims of ****** assault are properly treated, their medical and psychological needs are properly met, our policies and programs are effective and we are prompt in dealing with all issues involved."
According to the military's Central Command, whose forces have been conducting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there have been 80 allegations of ****** misconduct among its Army units this past year, seven in the Air Force units, one in the Marine Corps contingent and none reported by its naval forces.
Rumsfeld's memo grows out of a report in the Denver Post last month that 37 American servicewomen returning from the Middle East had complained to a civilian women's advocacy organization that they had been raped or otherwise ******ly assaulted while on deployment.
According to the civilian group, the Connecticut-based Miles Foundation, the women charged they received inadequate medical treatment from the U.S. military after the assaults and were otherwise shabbily treated.
Only 11 of the 37 women were willing to report the incidents to military superiors.
Nearly 60,000 of the 138,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, its environs and Afghanistan are female. Though they are barred from the infantry and special operations forces, they now fly attack helicopters, jet fighters and bombers; serve on and command ships; and are deployed in combat areas.
At least 12 women have lost their lives in Iraq.
****** harassment problems have dogged the U.S. military since the infamous "Tailhook" convention of naval aviators in 1991 in which a number of Navy and civilian women were groped and otherwise assaulted.
Attacks on female recruits at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland and ****** misconduct at the Naval Academy, West Point and the Air Force Academy further inflamed the issue.
In an article he wrote for Friday's edition of USA Today, Chu said, "Regrettably, ****** violence is a problem that challenges American society at large. We in Defense are not immune to the ills of the larger society. We do, however, aim to set a higher standard - and we believe we are succeeding."
Nevertheless, Chu said, "We are eager to hear from those who believe there are remaining weaknesses we must address."
In an adjoining editorial, the newspaper wrote that the ****** assault allegations cases "raise disturbing questions about the military's ability to protect women putting their lives on the line for the nation from attacks within their own ranks."
Last year, the Defense Department Inspector General's office undertook a probe of widespread ****** abuse at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs that was subsequently expanded to examine harassment problems at all the service academies.
A report was expected last fall, but its release was postponed and now is anticipated in March. Once the investigation is complete, the Senate Armed Service Committee plans to hold hearings on the issue.
A spokeswoman for committee member Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., who has taken a leading role in attempting to address the military's harassment problem, said she expects the hearings to deal with the overseas cases as well.
Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., co-chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, said in a statement Friday, "For years, my colleagues and I have heard terrible stories from female soldiers of ****** assault and rape - allegations that have largely gone ignored.
"Any meaningful solutions to this problem must address the underlying causes that have allowed this problem to persist," Slaughter said, including provisions of the military code of justice that allow commanding officers, instead of independent prosecutors, to decide when to pursue criminal charges against soldiers.
Damn... I hate to see this! :|
Posted on Fri, Feb. 06, 2004
Rumsfeld orders investigation into reports of ****** assaults
BY MICHAEL KILIAN
Chicago Tribune
WASHINGTON - (KRT) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has ordered a top-level Pentagon investigation into reports of ****** assaults by U.S. servicemen against female troops serving in Iraq and other duty stations in the region.
"I am concerned about recent reports regarding allegations of ****** assaults on service members deployed in Iraq and Kuwait," Rumsfeld said in a memo to Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel David Chu that was released to reporters Friday. "****** assault will not be tolerated in the Department of Defense."
He directed Chu to undertake a full investigation, with an emphasis on how local military authorities in the theater responded to the women's complaints.
Chu is to submit findings and recommendations in 90 days, Rumsfeld said.
"Commanders at every level have a duty to take appropriate steps to prevent ****** assaults, protect victims and hold those who commit offenses accountable," Rumsfeld said. "We are responsible for ensuring that the victims of ****** assault are properly treated, their medical and psychological needs are properly met, our policies and programs are effective and we are prompt in dealing with all issues involved."
According to the military's Central Command, whose forces have been conducting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there have been 80 allegations of ****** misconduct among its Army units this past year, seven in the Air Force units, one in the Marine Corps contingent and none reported by its naval forces.
Rumsfeld's memo grows out of a report in the Denver Post last month that 37 American servicewomen returning from the Middle East had complained to a civilian women's advocacy organization that they had been raped or otherwise ******ly assaulted while on deployment.
According to the civilian group, the Connecticut-based Miles Foundation, the women charged they received inadequate medical treatment from the U.S. military after the assaults and were otherwise shabbily treated.
Only 11 of the 37 women were willing to report the incidents to military superiors.
Nearly 60,000 of the 138,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, its environs and Afghanistan are female. Though they are barred from the infantry and special operations forces, they now fly attack helicopters, jet fighters and bombers; serve on and command ships; and are deployed in combat areas.
At least 12 women have lost their lives in Iraq.
****** harassment problems have dogged the U.S. military since the infamous "Tailhook" convention of naval aviators in 1991 in which a number of Navy and civilian women were groped and otherwise assaulted.
Attacks on female recruits at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland and ****** misconduct at the Naval Academy, West Point and the Air Force Academy further inflamed the issue.
In an article he wrote for Friday's edition of USA Today, Chu said, "Regrettably, ****** violence is a problem that challenges American society at large. We in Defense are not immune to the ills of the larger society. We do, however, aim to set a higher standard - and we believe we are succeeding."
Nevertheless, Chu said, "We are eager to hear from those who believe there are remaining weaknesses we must address."
In an adjoining editorial, the newspaper wrote that the ****** assault allegations cases "raise disturbing questions about the military's ability to protect women putting their lives on the line for the nation from attacks within their own ranks."
Last year, the Defense Department Inspector General's office undertook a probe of widespread ****** abuse at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs that was subsequently expanded to examine harassment problems at all the service academies.
A report was expected last fall, but its release was postponed and now is anticipated in March. Once the investigation is complete, the Senate Armed Service Committee plans to hold hearings on the issue.
A spokeswoman for committee member Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., who has taken a leading role in attempting to address the military's harassment problem, said she expects the hearings to deal with the overseas cases as well.
Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., co-chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, said in a statement Friday, "For years, my colleagues and I have heard terrible stories from female soldiers of ****** assault and rape - allegations that have largely gone ignored.
"Any meaningful solutions to this problem must address the underlying causes that have allowed this problem to persist," Slaughter said, including provisions of the military code of justice that allow commanding officers, instead of independent prosecutors, to decide when to pursue criminal charges against soldiers.
Damn... I hate to see this! :|