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    Memorykid-9Anna Merlan
    5/19/16 10:19am

    The US military budget is orders of magnitude larger than anyone else’s. You’d think after pouring all that money in, they’d want to protect their investment in these soldiers.

    Then again, how do you keep a giant hierarchical organization whose purpose exists for engaging in violence free of bad apples? I sincerely hope they find a way. These victims deserve justice.

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      FeralFrigidSlutMemorykid-9
      5/19/16 10:26am

      Defense contractors get the lion’s share of military spending.

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      Memorykid-9FeralFrigidSlut
      5/19/16 10:35am

      The same principal applies. I’m sure they spend a ton doing preventative maintenance on their military hardware in order to protect those investments... It really doesn’t seem fiscally responsible to not also protect their investment in the people who will be using all that hardware.

      Though I suppose they decide that dismissing victims is easier than pursuing predators.

      (If anyone seems appalled that I’m framing this as an issue of fiscal responsibility, I apologize. It’s just that it seems like demanding moral responsibility from an organization that exists for the purpose of engaging in war isn’t likely to work.)

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    BeagghaAnna Merlan
    5/19/16 10:18am

    I an a Marine vet (89-95). This was a problem back then, and it is the reason why now, when people ask me if I would ever want my son or daughter to join the military, as my family has done for four generations, I say ‘hell no’ and keep my medals hidden in a box. Because a military that holds its own members in contempt does not deserve participation, and a citizenry that refuses to hold military leaders accountable does not deserve defending.

    And, as usual, the poor for whom the military is the best option for a job will suffer most.

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      EileenOnSundayNightsAfterAllInTheFamilyOnCBSBeaggha
      5/19/16 1:30pm

      I remember hearing stories, from various service people, about people “falling” overboard on ships or carriers, rape in barracks or elsewhere, “fragging”, etc.

      I would NEVER want my kid to go through the military UNLESS they understood the possibilities and were willing to take the risks.

      ‘Cause it doesn’t get talked about enough. These people CAN be your surrogate family, even closer. But it’s not guaranteed like the movies and ads make you think.

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      BeagghaEileenOnSundayNightsAfterAllInTheFamilyOnCBS
      5/19/16 3:11pm

      Sad thing is, they cant assess the risk, because no one wants to admit there is a problem. Finding out you are well and truly in the company of people who could care less about you or the constitution they pledged to uphold after you sign the contract and are serving in an sctive unit is way too late. Not all servicemembers are like that, but enough to matter, especially since you are with them 24X7.

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    JujyMonkey: Clever tagline goes hereAnna Merlan
    5/19/16 10:29am

    Remember when you were considered unpatriotic unless you had a magnetic “Support Our Troops” ribbon on the back of your gas-guzzling SUV? I guess it’s easier to do bullshit lip-service like that instead of actually, y’know, supporting them.

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      EileenOnSundayNightsAfterAllInTheFamilyOnCBSJujyMonkey: Clever tagline goes here
      5/19/16 1:32pm

      People care about the military like they care about kids or teachers.

      They talk big but they don’t actually want to have to do anything for them.

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      JujyMonkey: Clever tagline goes hereEileenOnSundayNightsAfterAllInTheFamilyOnCBS
      5/19/16 1:51pm

      NJ Gov Chris Christie (my former home state) called teachers “Greedy Thugs”.

      Un-fucking-believable

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    halenawwwAnna Merlan
    5/19/16 10:16am

    Can we hold off on the draft for women and heck EVERYONE until we can get this shit under control please? FUCK THIS SHIT.

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      DashleyinCalihalenawww
      5/19/16 10:44am

      They dropped the women draft provision from the defense authorization bill earlier this week.

      http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military...

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      EileenOnSundayNightsAfterAllInTheFamilyOnCBShalenawww
      5/19/16 1:31pm

      It’s happened for decades. Even before women were allowed to enlist, men were being raped by their “brothers in arms”.

      This is deep and dysfunctional but it won’t be put on pause while we wait to sort it out.

      I’m not being cynical, I’m being realistic.

      It should be dealt with and I think, it will be. But it’s going to be awhile.

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    ClamJamAnna Merlan
    5/19/16 11:56am

    I cannot stand the notion that the Military is supposed to play the parts of Mom and Dad to service members for the rest of their lives. No other institution in this country provides as much resources to its members and no other institution is pilloried to such an extent for not helping enough.
    The public and service members seem to have some conception that they are owed a military career, or that they are owed lifetime support for four years of military service. I do subscribe to the “you break it, you buy it” philosophy. However, it ought to be limited to occupational and combat related injuries. Victims of crimes shouldn’t be upset at their employers for the crime, but at the perpetrator.

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      Chicken-BiscuitsClamJam
      5/19/16 12:51pm

      Employers have the responsibility to reasonably protect their employees - including the military. If an employee is attacked by another employee - yeah, the fucking employer needs to deal with it.

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      TeenFashionClamJam
      5/19/16 10:14pm

      The problem that this article talks about is how military leadership failed to uphold their own regulations/instruction that were already in place. And when there is a chance to make things right, they don’t. They just get eaten up in the machine.

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    all my friends are problematic (aka do the truffle-shuffle)Anna Merlan
    5/19/16 10:19am

    Sexual abuse is par for the course with any military institution, doesn’t matter what country they’re from it if they’re peacekeepers or regular soldiers. Because what else is going to come out of institutions built on orders, hierarchy, discipline and guns, leads to abuses and a horrible culture of shaming victims who dare to speak out? Why anyone - man or woman - would even want to enlist in these backwards, idiotic, sexist institutions is beyond me but that’s beside the point and the fact is change will only come if ordered from above. You can’t get a military institution to change if its own free will, it will have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century and taught about basic respect for human rights.

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      Beagghaall my friends are problematic (aka do the truffle-shuffle)
      5/19/16 10:33am

      The problem is the participants, frankly. There is a preconception of what someone who joins the military is ‘like’ and that can become a self-selection bias.

      When I joined, I was not a homophobe. Many (but not all) Marines at the time were not. Many, however, were, and defending the right of glbt people to serve (those were the days right after dont ask dont tell) was not something that was well received.

      If we had a more diverse military, with more women in leadership roles, we could start to fix this. To make that work, more people who do not consider themselves ‘the military type’ need to join. Trying to make the overwhelmingly white, male leadership go against a culture that brought them to the exalted rank of flag officer is not something you can force or drag them into. And some of the flag officers I knew deserved dragging. And prosecution.

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      kaymbBeaggha
      5/19/16 11:16am

      As one of those people who never considered herself the “military type” and spent damn near a decade trying to navigate through the raw sewage that is the Army’s patriarchal hierarchy of clusterfuck, it is not sustainable. It takes a toll. I’m sure you know.

      I eventually just ETS’d because I couldn’t fight anymore. Trying to get my command to understand the value of supporting your soldier’s education and treating their female combat medics as equals was nearly god damn exhausting. It’s unfortunate. I always said I wanted to affect change from within, but alas, I couldn’t hack it.

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    MaddieJaneAnna Merlan
    5/19/16 10:40am

    My best friend in the world was assaulted during her time in the Navy and the “help” they provided her was a complete joke. She essentially had to beg for mental health services, and her desperation resulted in an unsuccessful suicide attempt. She was finally (thank God) medically discharged, but still struggles to get support and health assistance.

    Having lived all over the world, I’ve never been more ashamed to call this country my home, and would never recommend miltary service to anyone I care about. It’s criminal how little our government assists these individuals who made a career out of serving their country.

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      WiscoProudAnna Merlan
      5/19/16 1:44pm

      This may be a stupid question, but why not have single sex platoons. That way day-to-day comingling is at a minimum. Obviously, rapists shouldn't rape, and the reporting system needs to be overhauled, but there will always be a certain percentage of mouth breathers enlisting since its their best option.

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        anniegawker2-electricboogalooWiscoProud
        5/19/16 2:35pm

        Same sex rape is a pretty big problem in the military, so I doubt that would do much.

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        UnseemingowlWiscoProud
        5/19/16 2:50pm

        Because it doesn’t really have anything to do with gender? Percentage wise there’s more women raped, because they make out a smaller number of the military, but the actual number of men assaulted is much higher, because they make out the majority. Besides, I’m sure if you’re a sick fucker who get off on raping people, you can easily find victims outside of your platoon.

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      UncooperativeHeliumAnna Merlan
      5/19/16 2:08pm

      If anyone hasn’t seen the full documentary mentioned in the above clip, here is the link:

      http://www.documentarytube.com/videos/the-inv...

      It should be seen by servicemembers and civillians alike.

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