Jennifer and Lee

Sexual Assaults Plague Military After Decades of Reform (Bloomberg, July 27, 2012)

Summary:

The 2012 Bloomberg article argues that military sexual assault persisted despite decades of scandals, investigations, and promised reforms.

It opens with the conviction of Air Force Staff Sergeant Luis Walker, a Lackland AFB instructor sentenced to 20 years for offenses involving 10 trainees. At the time, 15 instructors were under investigation for alleged misconduct involving at least 38 trainees.

The article connects Lackland to earlier scandals—including Tailhook, Aberdeen Proving Ground, and the Air Force Academy—to demonstrate a repeating institutional pattern:

• Leaders announce reforms after each scandal.
• A rigid hierarchy gives superiors enormous power over subordinates.
• Victims fear retaliation, career damage, and forced continued contact with perpetrators.
• Commanders face conflicts of interest when deciding whether to prosecute members of their own units.
• Even when offenders are disciplined, survivors often consider the consequences disproportionately light.

Bloomberg cited 3,192 reported military sexual assaults during the previous year, while the Pentagon estimated the real number was nearly 19,000 annually. A 2010 Air Force survey found that 19% of female airmen and 2% of male airmen reported experiencing sexual assault during their military careers. These are historical figures presented in the 2012 article—not current statistics.

The article also examines proposed solutions. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta supported specialized victim units and required serious allegations to be handled by higher-ranking officers. Representative Jackie Speier advocated moving prosecutorial decisions outside the military chain of command. Military officials resisted that proposal, maintaining that commanders needed authority to preserve discipline. Segregated basic training was also discussed, though critics argued that separating recruits would not address the underlying culture.

Jennifer Norris’s Account:

Bloomberg identified Jennifer Norris as a Maine Air National Guard veteran who joined in 1996 at age 24. She described two sexual-assault incidents, including one involving an immediate superior. Her story illustrates how power, career dependence, and fear can silence victims.

Bloomberg quotes Jennifer in four places:

• She said a superior pulled her into his room and “tried to force me on his bed.” Because the door did not close completely, she screamed and a friend heard her.
• She was subsequently “forced to work with my assaulter.” She feared his power over her promotion and assignments and believed reporting him could end her career.
• Discussing accountability, she said perpetrators often received “a slap on the wrist” when cases were prosecuted.
• She explained that she accepted a settlement because she wanted to return to work and “move on.”

The article reported that Jennifer filed a complaint approximately a year after the criminal behavior began. Documents she supplied indicated that one master sergeant accepted a reduction in rank, resigned from his position, and transferred units. A former technical sergeant received a reprimand and resigned from the Guard. The Maine National Guard told Bloomberg it could not independently confirm the documents because it did not retain resolved case records for more than four years.

Jennifer’s testimony is central to the article’s message: military sexual assault was not merely a series of individual crimes. It was sustained by institutional power, fear of retaliation, weak accountability, and a system that frequently required survivors to sacrifice their safety or careers to report what happened.

Source:

• Sexual Assaults Plague Military After Decades of Reform

Message for Protect Our Offenders:

Dear Nancy Parrish, please remove this article from your site. I do not want to be affiliated with an organization who did not believe me when I told them I was being abused by their advocacy board members. Instead you promoted them so they could continue abusing others in the name of “MST Advocacy” to help you stay on top. Sincerely, Jennifer Norris