December 26, 2004
Justice, Fair Play--Are They Just Words When Applied to Rape by U.S. Personnel and the Military?
By: Jack Dalton
It's been common knowledge in this country for a very, very long time that if you want justice or fair play you had better have real deep pockets. One only need have a cursory look at the body of information in the public arena to support this: corporate executives that lie, cheat and steal and then receive only a slap on the wrist after destroying thousands of peoples life savings and retirements; the spectacle of the O.J. Simpson trial years back; these are but two of the many examples of what money, money, money can and does buy--a lot of "justice."
This applies to the U.S. military also. Take for example the case of Jennifer Dyer: A 1st LT in the N.J. National Guard who was raped at Camp Shelby, MS while undergoing pre-Iraq deployment training. One would think that this would singularly be one of the most, if not the most, horrific thing a woman could be subjected to; In Jennifer's case, the rape was only the start of her horror, and victimization.
After reporting the rape, her ordeal really began. I won't go into all the details in this writing but here is the link to where all the reports concerning her ordeal are located, this is "interesting" reading to say the least. http://oldamericancentury.org/jennifer.htm
For close to 5 months Jennifer has had to hire an attorney at a cost of $25,000 to try and get the Army - not the N.J. Nat'l Guard as she had been transferred into the 278th Regimental Combat Team at Camp Shelby - to do the right thing, which simply stated would have been to, investigate the rape and accused rapist, get medical help and treatment for the victim, in this case Jennifer, and transfer her off that base to another base, that is the understanding, right and compassionate thing to do.
But did any of that take place? No, it did not. What did take place was the Army coming at Jennifer as though she were the criminal, and not the victim. She was forced to hire an attorney, Fred Klepp, in an attempt to get the Army to understand exactly who the victim of this crime is. After over a month of getting no where with the military people at Camp Shelby, the Pentagon and the Department of Defense, it was decided the only chance Jennifer had at justice was to go public - drive her story into the internet media, and national "mainstream" media - embarrass the Army publicly to force them into doing what they should have done in the first place.
Within a week that the first article I wrote appeared on the internet, it was in over 90 national newspapers, with a major broadcast news program working up a segment on Jennifer's plight to be aired sometime in January. That got the Army's attention real fast.
The investigation of the rape and the rapist that was closed just days after Jennifer reported it was re-opened - this was only done after Jennifer's story gained national attention (not to mention the hundreds of people that started to bombard the DoD, Pentagon and those at Camp Shelby with phone calls on Jennifer's behalf).
Now, as a result of a $25,000 legal bill, and having her story and what happened to her splattered all over the nation, the Army finally has it right. The guy that raped her has already faced an Article 32 hearing on Dec 10th (like a grand jury hearing) and it is expected he will be bound over for a General Courts Martial on charges of rape, conduct unbecoming an officer and adultery (seems the rapist is a married man with children on top of it - do I feel sorry for his family, not him but them, as this must be devastating on them). The Army is now processing discharge papers for Jennifer under Honorable conditions.
If the resignation paperwork she had submitted many months before being sent to Camp Shelby had been processed, none of this would have ever taken place. The Army screws up and now many lives have been forever affected in a very pronounced and negative way. But then who would this guy that raped Jennifer have gone after?
It is an absolute fact that rape is running rampant in and by U.S. military personnel. There are hundreds of cases of rape unresolved as of this writing. Check out the links provided at the end of this article for additional information on this.
Rapes, murders and other assorted crimes committed by U.S. military people were in great part responsible for the U.S. being told to get out of the Philippines; South Korea is up in arms, and has been for a long time now, about the tremendous occurrences of rapes and murders by U.S. troops; Okinawa has been trying to get U.S. bases closed there as a direct result of the growing problem of rape and murders committed by U.S. troops. And the list goes on, and on, and on.
If this had happened anywhere but in the military, the victim, in this case Jennifer could have brought a lawsuit in court for the harm done. However, there is a thing called the Feres Doctrine, which has relegated people in uniform to 2nd class citizens, and taken away their Constitutional rights of redress - it disallows people in uniform, and veterans, from suing the government (military) for harm done. Read more about the Feres Doctrine here and then write VERPA (Veterans Equal Rights Protection Advocacy) and ask them what you can do to help change this; http://www.verpa.org
That Jennifer finally received fair treatment and justice from the Army is good and I am very happy for her. At the same time I am absolutely livid at what she had to go through and had to endure to receive "justice." And what about the rapidly growing numbers of women in the military going through exactly the same thing as did Jennifer? Where do they turn for help? Or do they just keep being ignored and swept under the military carpet? When will we as a nation, as a people stand up and join in the fight to help these women receive fair and just treatment - to be an active participant in helping to compel the military to address the systemic problem of rape in and by this nation's people in uniform.
This I know, never again will I stand silent about this, not after 5 months on the learning curve. I, like many others have known for a long time about rape in the military. But like so many others, did or said nothing, to my shame. Since my involvement with this story and getting to know Jennifer and her husband Edward (who is a N.J. police officer) I was forced to look at the reality of military rapes, as I hope you will, and what I have learned as a result mandates personal involvement to try and help to end this - never again will I be silent. As William Rivers Pitt said in the title of one of his books, "The Greatest Sedition is Silence."
Links to additional information but this is by no means all that is available:
Rape Nation
Rapes in Iraq on and by U.S. Personnel
The Status of Force Agreements and Okinawa
David Hackworth on rape in the military
Rapes at U.S. Military Bases against Women and Children
Rapes Reported by U.S. Servicewomen
Jack Dalton is a disabled Vietnam veteran and activist who lives in Portland, Oregon. He is co-editor of the Project for the Old American Century web site and may be contacted thru the POAC or by writing him direct at jack_dalton@comcast.net
Posted by rowan at December 26, 2004 5:54 PM | TrackBack | [eMail this article!] |