The Christian Science Monitor broke news today that a not-yet-released Air Force survey found that 1 in 5 women say they have been sexually assaulted since joining the force. The survey, conducted by Gallup, interviewed 18,834 men and women in the Air Force between July and August 2010. Nineteen percent of women reported having been [...]
From the field and slave cabin to the Confederate White House, black women took an active role in assisting the Union military in winning the Civil War. Contemporaries recognized their service, and on the occasion of the upcoming 150th anniversary of the start of the war (April 12) and the close of Black History Month [...]
Lifetime has started showing reruns of Army Wives Season 4, and despite myself I’m sucked in again. I shouldn’t be surprised; I never watch smart TV. While my friends are discussing Lost and Mad Men, I am flipping back and forth between Lifetime and the Hallmark Channel. It’s a consequence of doing abuse prevention and [...]
By March 15 2011, a recommendation will be handed over to Congress and the White House to lift the current ban on military women participating in combat. On January 13, NPR highlighted the progress of this recommendation but also pointed out the reality of the situation: that women are already very much involved in the [...]
We now have decisive action from Congress in its long-awaited repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. But what many don’t realize is that repealing this 1993 law moves us ahead in our thinking while actually moving us backward in our military practice. Before World War I, the U.S. had no legal restriction against homosexuals in the [...]
With all the current talk of deficit reduction, little attention has been paid to taxpayer-funded private security contractors overseas, even when they act egregiously. A torrent of tax dollars goes to so-called private peacekeeping corporations around the globe–corporations linked to all sorts of corruption, including sex and drug trafficking. And when news of corruption and [...]
Want to help the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell? The vote on it might take place this very night as part of a larger defense bill, so things are moving fast. According to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, the vote is too close to call and the following senators are particularly needed: Susan Collins [...]
Today, Veteran’s Day, we Americans will pause for moments of silence, listen to bells tolling and guns firing and remember the deaths of thousands of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan (let alone wars of the more distant past). It’s a day of meditation and sadness–but it must also be a day for feminism and [...]
I appreciate the attention Ms. magazine has devoted to the issue of sexual assault in the military, including the most recent article in the Spring 2010 issue. Sexual assault within the ranks is without a doubt antithetical to values that define military culture: honor, trust and camaraderie. Any sexual assault undermines the moral foundation of [...]
Fort Bragg soldier Spc. Aaron Pernell, 22, an indirect fire infantryman who has served two tours in Iraq, was charged with sexual assault in February. Pernell appeared in court Tuesday on 13 charges including rape and attempted rape. What’s unique about these charges are that they were made at all: thousands of other military rapists [...]
