Showing posts with label military sexual assaults. Show all posts
Showing posts with label military sexual assaults. Show all posts

Sunday, December 10, 2017

BS on Military Sexual Assaults When Congress Made Payouts for Their Own

Members of Congress need to be removed if they approved of coverup!
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 10, 2017

The Department of Defense reported there were 3,000 women sexually assaulted in 2006. By 2008, Senator Bob Casey said that harassment and assault of military women, especially in combat ones, is a "scourge" that needs to be eliminated. No one said when they actually planned on treating this as a crime.

Given the fact recent reports of payouts happening when members of Congress have regarded assaulting women as something ok with them, no need to wonder why nothing has been done to protect women from other service members.


(CNN)Two things have become painfully clear on Capitol Hill this week: Lawmakers and staffers say sexual harassment is "rampant" -- but even members of Congress have no idea just how widespread the problem is.
On Thursday, the Office of Compliance released additional information indicating that it has paid victims more than $17 million since its creation in the 1990s. That includes all settlements, not just related to sexual harassment, but also discrimination and other cases. 
By 2008, the GAO reported that 52% of service members who had been assaulted, had not reported it. They did the research from just 14 installations.

Women at War: When the enemy is one of your own was a followup to the video I did back in 2006.  
There are more, but you get the idea.

Now, take a look at what was just reported about Fort Bragg.

Fort Bragg leaders say recent Pentagon data ranking the installation among the highest for reports of sexual assaults reflect in part their efforts to combat the crimes for which they have zero tolerance. 
Still, advocates for veterans and sexual assault victims believe the military needs to do more to address the problem, including how cases are handled at installations and the reluctance of some victims to report assaults. 
Fort Bragg, as the nation’s largest military installation, has been at the forefront of the Department of Defense’s efforts to prevent sexual assault for years, officials said. Now, comprehensive sexual assault data from all installations, released for the first time, is bringing the issue into focus. 
Even as many local troops have been deployed around the world to help fight the nation’s enemies, the data shows the on-going fight against sexual assault in the military that is taking place on the home front. 
And for the first time, it reveals installation-specific data. In past years, the Pentagon had instead released aggregated numbers for each branch of service. 
The latest data shows four years worth of reports across more than 200 installations, both large and small, from 2013 to 2016.At Fort Bragg and Pope Field, the Pentagon says 156 sexual assault reports were made in last year. The number of reports for the installation has risen each of the past four years.
The title of the news report is 

"Fort Bragg leaders respond to sexual assault data"

What should the headline be when members of Congress are forced to explain why this was all ok to them while they were telling the public a totally different story? 


UPDATE

Current and former cadets speak out on sexual assault at Air Force Academy


UPDATE

Fifty-six female Democratic lawmakers ask House to investigate Trump sexual misconduct claims


Monday, November 27, 2017

Operation Tohidu® Focuses on Female Veterans With PTSD

Healing Invisible Wounds: Nonprofit Melwood offers free program to help female veterans cope with service-related trauma

WTOP News

Federal programs are failing to meet the needs of the more than two million women veterans in the U. S., many of whom are suffering from the invisible wounds of service-related trauma and stress.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), a study on traumatic stress in female veterans released this past March reported that one out of five who served in Iraq and Afghanistan has been diagnosed with post traumatic dress disorder (PTSD). 
Additionally, one out of four female veterans who use the VA health care system report they’ve experienced military sexual trauma. Yet, as a 10 percent minority of the overall veteran population, female-specific health issues are consistently underserved. A 2016 study of the challenges women face when they leave the military documents the gaps in federal programs and services for female veterans.

Operation Tohidu® for Women is a weeklong experiential rehabilitation program focusing on healing the invisible wounds of female military service members. The program offers confidence building, outdoor activities, and group discussion to help women warriors overcome obstacles to their recovery.  

Operation Tohidu® helps female veterans and active-duty military cope with sexual trauma, (PTSD), and traumatic brain injury. All participants’ expenses to attend the retreat, including travel, meals and housing, are completely covered by donations to Melwood Veterans Services.
read more here

Saturday, November 18, 2017

Four Years, 20,300 Military Sexual Assaults?

More Than 20K Alleged Sex Assaults at Military Bases Over 4 Years: DoD

Military.com
Richard Sisk
November 17, 2017

More than 20,300 allegations of sexual assaults at military installations worldwide have been reported over the last four years, the Defense Department said Friday.

In a report listing the bases for each service, DoD's Sexual Assault and Prevention Office (SAPRO) said that Army installations received a total of 8,284 allegations of sexual assault from fiscal 2013 through fiscal 2016; the Navy, 4,788; the Marine Corps ,3,400; and the Air Force, 3,876.
The Army post with the most reports of sexual assaults in fiscal 2016 was Fort Hood, Texas, with 199; the most in the Navy in fiscal 2016 was Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, with 270; and the most in the Marine Corps that year was 169 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
In the Air Force, the installation with the most allegations of sexual assault in fiscal 2016 was the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, with 44 reports.
In fiscal 2016, there were 24 reports of sexual assault at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and 24 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, SAPRO said.
The total of 20,348 reports of sexual assaults for the four years included both "restricted" and "unrestricted" allegations, SAPRO said.
I'm sure Congress will take this seriously again. Just like they have done over the last ten years!

Sunday, October 8, 2017

PTSD Female Veteran Helps Others With Open Studio and Heart

Serving her own
Albuquerque Journal
By Elaine D. Briseño / Journal Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, October 8th, 2017

"Not only did she endure all the horrors that come with combat, but lived in constant fear of being sexually assaulted again."

Sitting on the floor of her KD Neeley studio, Katie Neeley, 33, looks through a sketchbook she kept while she was serving in the military. Neeley uses the gallery space to host fundraisers for local nonprofit groups, especially those that support veterans. (Marla Brose/Albuquerque Journal)


ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Katie Neeley has always considered herself an artist but said when she reached adulthood she lost her voice and inspiration.

“I got to a point in my studies where I could draw or paint anything,” she said. “But I felt like I had nothing offer. I had no life experience.”

Neeley, 33, decided joining the military would give her that life experience while giving her some direction. That decision would send her on a dark path that ended with a suicide attempt and hospitalization. Now the former Marine is using her experience, and money, to help other veterans dealing with the emotional ramifications of their military service.

The Albuquerque native opened the KD Neeley studio in the heart of Downtown and uses the gallery to not only display the work of local artists but as a place to host fundraisers. The gallery is located on Fourth Street just north of Central.
read more here

Friday, September 8, 2017

Sexual Predator Warning Ignored

Bad Santa: Navy's top admiral kept spokesman after boozy party, sexual predator warning
USA Today
Tom Vanden Brook
September 7, 2017

WASHINGTON — A Navy commander accused of sexual misconduct while dressed as Santa Claus at a boozy party inside the Pentagon was allowed to stay on as spokesman for the Navy’s top admiral despite written warnings that the commander was a sexual predator, USA TODAY has learned.

Cdr. Chris Servello, 41, was accused by fellow officers and a civilian of making unwanted sexual passes and slapping a woman on the buttocks while dressed as Santa at the 2016 office Christmas party for Navy public affairs officials, documents obtained by USA TODAY show.

Servello was not reassigned as spokesman for Adm. John Richardson, the Chief of Naval Operations, until mid-August, just weeks after USA TODAY sought documents regarding the incidents and the investigation. Capt. Peter Hudson, who completed his initial inquiry on Dec. 21, made plain that Servello should be shipped out.
Servello, in a statement to USA TODAY, said that naval investigators did not recommend that criminal charges be issued against him. He added that his career will likely be killed by the incidents.

"I have cooperated fully with all investigations conducted by the Navy,” Servello said. “Ultimately, the allegations were unproven and charges were not filed. I should have never put myself into a situation where my judgment or my military bearing could be called into question. I deeply regret this and have been held to account for my decision making. Indeed, the overall effect of the administrative counseling makes it highly unlikely that my career will recover."
read more here

Sunday, July 9, 2017

Women Don't Fake It

Women Don't Fake It As Much
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 9, 2017

Maybe it is because it is so hard for them to do it, women hardly ever fake it. After all, they paid such a higher price for service than males do. Is it that these events are not being reported? Is no one trying to track them down? Or, is it more about the fact that women performing next to men is never worthy of the press covering?

Oh, wait. Did you think this was about faking a great sexual experience? Well, shame on you for being mislead like that. This is about Stolen Valor and females faking their military service. Since it has been happening, but under the radar, I thought it was a good time to bring it up.

There are a lot of reports on males faking it. In May there was John Hemphill  "He claimed to have served our country for 22 years until a FOX6 investigation exposed him as a liar."

There are a lot of things folks just assume. If a male veteran says they have PTSD, it is assumed they have it because of combat. If a female veteran says they have PTSD, well it is assumed it is because of some kind of sexual trauma. Why is that? Is it because people forget that women are in the field just like their "brothers" are?

Well, their "brothers" get assaulted too but females are just talked about more. It seems as if everything involving women in the military is less talked about than males in the military.

This morning I was thinking about a Stolen Valor article I read and then I tried to remember reading about many women being accused of faking service. So, not being able to just let it go and enjoy my vacation from work, I did a search. 

2015 Christina Chrissy Axtman Lies About Killing Female Bomber And Bronze Star
We were sent an article from the Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Press paper from November 10th 2013. In this article they interviewed what they believed to be an Iraqi War Veteran, and Wounded Warrior, Christina “Chrissy” Axtman.

As I began to read the story, red flags started flying. The person that emailed me said that Christina was telling everyone her story, and how she had earned the Bronze Star for Valor while deployed with the 173rd Airborne to Iraq in 2007. Notice the paper calls it a Division not a Brigade, although they operate as a Division they are not. I am not sure if this was her statement or just a mistake by the editor.

Not only that, but according to the 173rd’s Deployment history, in 2006 the Brigade was notified for a second tour of duty in Iraq from 2007 to 2008, but its deployment plan was changed to Afghanistan in February 2007 when the Pentagon announced that it would relieve the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division along with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. In the spring of 2007, the 173rd again deployed to Afghanistan, as Task Force Bayonet, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF 07–09). So the 173rd was not even in Iraq for the time frame she claims she was with them.


2014



Stolen Valor


Yet, it wasn't 16 years of service but it was 16 days!
We've seen videos of Stolen Valor before — people impersonating someone who they are not while in a military uniform. Parrish Alleman of CBS-affiliate WIAT 42 in Birmingham, Alabama, launched a five-month investigation after receiving tips that a military member she had interviewed was a fake. It turns out after a lot of investigative reporting that Julee Johns had only served 16 days — not the 16 years she initially claimed.

2015
Female Busted In Tuscaloosa Alabama Posing As A Soldier Home From Deployment


Pretty much you must have guessed there are very few women pretending to be something they are not. After all, women can't claim to be Navy SEALs or Green Berets easily. While women have been recipients of every military award, including the Medal of Honor, they are not usually thought of as heroic.

Medal of Honor? Yep, knew I'd get you on that one. There was a Doctor during the Civil War and she was also a POW. Dr. Mary Edwards Walker not only received the Medal of Honor, she refused to give it back with Congress tried to take it from her.

So when do we stop taking honor from other women and stop assuming stuff that just isn't true or connecting stuff to their sexuality instead of their courage?

Friday, March 17, 2017

Navy SEAL Charged With Kidnapping and Rape of Fellow Sailor

Navy SEAL charged with kidnapping and raping fellow sailor in hotel room
The Virginian-Pilot
By Brock Vergakis
8 hrs ago
Charge sheets accuse Varanko of threatening the woman and placing her in fear that "she would be subjected to grievous bodily injury."

The aggravated assault and battery charges say Varanko placed his hands around the woman's neck, squeezed until she was unable to breathe, pushed the woman against a wall, pinned her against the floor, placed his knee against her back and put her in a submission hold.

Varanko also is accused of sexually harassing the woman in Kentucky, Indiana and Virginia between March and May 2015.
NORFOLK
A Virginia Beach-based Navy SEAL has been charged with kidnapping and raping a fellow sailor in a hotel room near Fort Knox, Ky., according to the Navy.

A general court-martial is set to begin Tuesday for Chief Petty Officer Stephen Varanko III at Naval Station Norfolk.

Varanko's court-martial comes at a time when the military finds itself in the spotlight once again for how it attempts to address and prevent sexual assaults within its ranks, following increases in such reports at the Naval and Military academies this past year. Attention also is focused on a growing scandal involving the online requesting and sharing of nude photos of female personnel among Marines and others.

Varanko's case was one of about 1,500 adult sexual assaults reported to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in 2015, an increase of about 6 percent from the previous year, according to the agency's most recent annual report.

Varanko is assigned to Special Reconnaissance Team Two at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach. He is charged with four counts of rape, four counts of sexual assault and one count each of aggravated assault and battery. Varanko also is charged with making a false official statement, provoking speech and for violating a general regulation.
read more here

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Newspaper Helps Army Veteran with Their Heart

Newspaper with a Heart came to the aid of a veteran
The Ledger
By Eric Pera
March 11, 2017
The Heart program exists through the generosity of Ledger readers who recognize the need for a fund of last resort for families — neighbors — in crisis, usually because of severe illness, injury or loss of job. The program also assists seniors living on limited incomes.
Janet Williams, at her apartment in Winter Haven, is an Army Veteran with medical issues and loss of job. Pierre DuCharme
WINTER HAVEN — South Korea seemed a million miles away from Janet Williams' world in New York.

It was 1996. She was 25. She'd just received her first deployment as a new Army recruit. Korea was considered a "hardship tour," a place with substandard living conditions compared to the United States. It came with extra pay, but such tours are lengthy.

Her's lasted a year. Turns out Korea wasn't so bad. It was her fellow soldiers she had to fear.

Williams says she was sexually assaulted six months after arriving in Korea. Aside from the humiliation, she received a head injury severe enough to cause migraines. Stress, combined with her injuries, led to PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, and multiple sclerosis.

As a result, Williams qualified for medical retirement and disability pay. She said she left the Army after serving approximately 3½ years.
read more here

Monday, February 27, 2017

Air Force Gives Assaulter Slap for 8 Victims?

Air Force officer's sexual assault sentence called lenient
Associated Press
February 26, 2017 SAN ANTONIO
Military prosecutors originally lodged seven charges and 17 specifications of misconduct against him. Conviction on all those charges could have resulted in more than 87 years in prison.
An Air Force noncommissioned officer convicted of misconduct with eight women, including three who accused him of sexually assaulting them, was sentenced to three months confinement and another month of hard labor, a punishment a victims' rights advocate called "shockingly light."

Tech. Sgt. Anthony Lizana, 35, also was reduced in rank to airman first class and was given a dishonorable discharge Saturday night at his trial at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.
read more here

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Air Force Colonel Faces Trial for Rape, Adultery and Dirty Selfie

Schriever Air Force Base colonel headed to trial on allegations of rape, adultery, dirty selfie
The Gazette
By: Tom Roeder
May 10, 2016

An evidence hearing in the case in March included a long walk through the married colonel's alleged love life, which prosecutors say included adulterous acts with a half-dozen mistresses. He's also charged with taking an obscene selfie "while in uniform and seated in his office" at Schriever, one of the military's most secure and secretive bases.
Col. Marcus Caughey will head to court-martial in August on a pile of charges, including multiple instances of adultery and a sexual assault.
(U.S. Air Force photo/Christopher DeWitt)
A Schriever Air Force Base colonel will head to court-martial in August on a pile of charges, including multiple instances of adultery and a sexual assault.

Prosecutors allege Col. Eugene Marcus Caughey's misconduct dates back to 2013. The rape allegation stems from a 2014 incident at Schriever, where prosecutors allege Caughey assaulted a woman "while holding her against the wall and floor."

The trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 8, Peterson Air force Base spokesman Steve Brady said.

Caughey, who was reassigned to Air Force Space Command headquarters pending his court-martial, faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.
read more here

Linked from Stars and Stripes

Monday, April 18, 2016

Congress Not Told Truth on Military Sexual Assault Cases by Pentagon Brass

Pentagon Misled Lawmakers on Military Sexual Assault Cases
Associated Press
by Richard Lardner
Apr 18, 2016

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon misled Congress with inaccurate and vague information about sexual assault cases that portrayed civilian law enforcement officials as less willing than military commanders to punish sex offenders, an Associated Press investigation found.
Adm. James "Sandy" Winnefeld
Local district attorneys and police forces failed to act against U.S. service members who were subsequently prosecuted in military courts for sex crimes, according to internal government records that summarized the outcomes of dozens of cases. But in a number of cases, the steps taken by civilian authorities were described incorrectly or omitted. Other case descriptions were too imprecise to be verified.

There also is nothing in the records that supports the primary reason the Pentagon told Congress about the cases in the first place: To show top military brass as hard-nosed crime fighters who insisted on taking the cases to trial.

The records were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by the advocacy group Protect Our Defenders, which provided the documents exclusively to AP. Protect Our Defenders is scheduled to release a report Monday that criticizes the Pentagon's use of the cases to undermine support for Senate legislation that would mandate a major change in the way the military handles sexual assault allegations.
read more here

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Female Veterans Face Multiple Challenges in Civilian World

Civilian life offers multiple challenges for women veterans in Duval; survey results released
Jacksonville.com
By Beth Reese Cravey
Fri, Mar 18, 2016

Like their male counterparts, women veterans are subject to post-traumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma, health issues, a high divorce rate and homelessness. But they also have other challenges that men may not face, such as child care, single-parenting issues, sexual abuse and gender discrimination in employment, according to the local group.

Bob.Mack@jacksonville.com
“We have a lot of work to be done,” said veteran Deloris “Dee” Quaranta,
founder and executive director of the women veterans group.
For women veterans in Duval County, finding adequate employment, financial stresses and mental health challenges are the leading barriers to building successful civilian lives after military service, according to the results of a recent survey.

The survey was the first phase of RestorHER, a two-year research project by Jacksonville-based nonprofit Northeast Florida Women Veterans and the University of Florida Psychology Department and funded by the Women’s Giving Alliance of the Community Foundation for Northeast Florida.

In the next phase, a system of care and services will be developed that responds to the survey results.

“We have a lot of work to be done,” said veteran Deloris “Dee” Quaranta, founder and executive director of the women veterans group.

About 72 percent of the women surveyed said they had at least one service-related health problem. The most common physical problem was hypertension, at 26 percent. But most of their issues were related to mental health — 47 percent, depression or anxiety disorders; 39 percent, sleep disorders; 30 percent, post-traumatic stress disorder; and 18 percent, military sexual trauma.
read more here

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Less Than Honorably Treated Oregon Veteran Wins VA Claim

Local veteran wins VA battle in Portland
Tillamook Headlight Herald
By Brad Mosher
Updated 18 hrs ago
Vietnam-era veteran Bill Minnix talks to Sen. Ron Wyden during the Oregon senator's recent town hall in Tillamook. Minnix credits Wyden's office for helping his case with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Headlight Herald photo / Brad Mosher

Bill Minnix got some good news Tuesday.

He was told that a Department of Veterans Affairs hearing in Portland recently had decided his service from February to July in 1973 in the U.S. Air Force is considered honorable for VA purposes.

The hearing was focused on the character of Minnix’ discharge from the military in 1973, when he was given a less than honorable discharge.

The decision doesn’t change the discharge, but it opens the door to Minnix receiving full veterans benefits.

It also is considered to be a ground-breaking decision which could impact other veterans who were victims of sexual assault while in the service.

“I am quite excited. I talked to Tiffany Kelley, the attorney for the National Veterans Legal Services Program, and she said this is huge because they have had these veterans just waiting. She said that this was a huge precedent,” Minnix said.

“Monetary-wise, that is not the thing. What I am getting out of this and I feel really good about is all the people this (decision) is going to help from here on out.

“They are many other ‘other than honorable’ discharges. Some are called undesirable. Some are called personality disorder discharges,” he added.
read more here

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Attempted Rapist Gets 20 Years After Attacking Army Captain

Ex-Navy reservist gets 20 years for attempted rape of Army captain in Kuwait 
The Virginian-Pilot 
By Scott Daugherty 
23 hrs ago
In court Monday, the victim recalled how she told the masked man that he didn’t need to do this, that he could just leave. She said the man, later identified as Garcia, responded by trying to drag her to a bathroom stall on the other side of the trailer. She said she fought back, only to be cut several times with a box cutter.
While showering almost six years ago in Kuwait, an Army captain turned around as someone pulled back the curtain.

She recalls thinking it was a friend pulling a prank on her, but then she saw a muscular man wearing a homemade ninja mask.

Amin Jason Carl Garcia – a former Navy reservist – was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison for trying to sexually assault the woman. The sentence is on top of an earlier life-plus-30-years term he received in connection with a 2008 rape in Norfolk.

“It was a crime of barbaric, inhumane nature,” U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson said in court, adding that a review of Garcia’s life story reveals no explanation for his criminal record. “Somewhere along the way, something happened to you.”
read more here

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Hampton VA Nurse Convicted of Raping Veteran

Hampton VA nurse convicted of sexually assaulting patient previously raped 
The Virginian-Pilot 
By Scott Daugherty 
17 hrs ago
According to a news release drafted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Lopez was a nurse in the hospital’s emergency department on Sept. 20, 2014, when a woman sought treatment for a leg injury. The woman had post-traumatic stress disorder related to a prior rape and two traumatic brain injuries, the release said.
NEWPORT NEWS
Juan M. Lopez, 52, of Virginia Beach is set for sentencing May 19.
He faces the possibility of life in prison. Courtesy Photo
A former nurse at the Hampton VA Medical Center was convicted Friday on charges of aggravated sexual assault and making a false statement to a federal agent. 

Juan M. Lopez, 52, of Virginia Beach is set for sentencing May 19 in U.S. District Court in Newport News. He faces the possibility of life in prison. A federal jury returned the guilty verdicts Friday on the fourth day of trial. Stephen Plott, Lopez’s attorney, maintained his client’s innocence and said he was disappointed in the jury’s verdict. read more here

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Fort Hood Female Soldier Creates App to Fight for Sexual Assault Victims

Fort Hood Soldier Creates App to Help Sexual Assault Victims
KCEN News
By Tiffany Pelt
Updated: Sep 28, 2015
“The app will allow you access to one touch call for the III Corps Hotline, touch to call for Army OneSource, the local ER, Military and other local police stations,” she said. “Where ever they are at, if they need help all you have to do is push the icon.”
FORT HOOD – It is a new weapon in the war against sexual assault within the military, and the creator is right here at Fort Hood.

“All they have to do is open it,” said Sgt. First Class Sarah Whatley. “Anything they could potentially need would be at the touch of a finger.”

For two years, Whatley has served as a brigade SARC, a Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, for the 1st Air Cav Brigade at Fort Hood. She handles all sexual assault complaints for her brigade and helps link the victim to their needed resources.

“I think some of the hardest things for me personally is witnessing how much the event has changed them as a person,” she said. “You can really tell how bad it hurts and how much they break down.”

Dealing with these victims and seeing the pain her fellow soldiers were enduring sparked something within Whatley. Her mission: make the process easier for the victims and bring more awareness to the issue of sexual assault.
read more here

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Camp Pendleton Marine Convicted on Sexual Assault of Female Marine

Man Sexually Assaulted Fellow Marine at Camp Pendleton
Pedro Javier Orellana, 24, said he had received training about sexual assault prevention while stationed at Camp Pendleton
NBC 7 News San Diego
By R. Stickney
August 21, 2015

A Maryland man was convicted Friday of sexually assaulting a fellow U.S. Marine while the woman slept. Pedro Javier Orellana, 24, was serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and based at Camp Pendleton north of San Diego at the time of the attack.

It took jurors just one day of deliberation to convict Orellana.

He admitted to investigators he didn’t really know the woman and had only seen her in passing a few times. However, on Nov. 2, 2014, Orellana took advantage of the active-duty Marine who was “too drunk to know what was going on” as he explained to Navy investigators.
read more here

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

More Talk Out of Congress On Military Sexual Assaults?

House passes bill urging VA to change military sexual assault regulations
The Hill
By Cristina Marcos
July 27, 2015

The House passed legislation on Monday that calls on the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to define military sexual assault as a service-connected cause of mental health disorders.

Passed by voice vote, the bill directs the VA to report to Congress every year on the number of claims for disability compensation based on a mental health condition allegedly caused by military sexual trauma.

The report would have to include the average number of days to process the claims and a description of the training provided to Veterans Benefits Administration employees who are processing the claims.

“We owe it to our veterans who are subject to personal assaults during their military service to ensure that the VA expeditiously and accurately processes mental health claims for conditions related to [military sexual assault], such as depression, anxiety or PTSD,” said House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.).
read more here


Seriously? And when do they plan on doing that instead of just talking about it?

2007
Healthy Living Report: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

But it's not just the bombs and gunfire that threaten their lives. Nearly 3,000 women reported last year that they were sexually assaulted while serving in the military, according to the Department of Defense's 2006 annual report on military sexual assault.

And now, the Cincinnati VA is getting national attention for a new program to help them recover.

2008

Female veterans report more sexual, mental trauma, CNN
Story Highlights
Dept. of Veterans Affairs diagnosed 60,000 veterans with PTSD
Women have comprised 11 percent of military force in Iraq and Afghanistan
VA: 22 percent of women, 1 percent of men suffered sexual trauma in military
Expert says women afraid to report sexual harassment for fear of retribution
In 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs found that women are reporting signs of mental health issues when they return home at a higher rate than their male counterparts.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said in a Monday letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates that harassment and assault of military women, especially in combat zones, is a “scourge” that needs to be eliminated.

Casey is particularly interested in how the military handles complaints from women in the National Guard and reserve, whose cases may be harder to investigate than those of women on full-time active duty and in the federal civilian workforce.

Of the women veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who have walked into a VA facility, 15 percent have screened positive for military sexual trauma, The Associated Press has learned. That means they indicated that while on active duty they were sexually assaulted, raped, or were sexually harassed, receiving repeated unsolicited verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature.

Yep more smoke and mirrors out of Congress,

2010
Women vets' secret war: Sexual trauma
66,342 female veterans report assaults from 2002 to 2008 -- by their band of brothers.

By KIM ODE, Star Tribune Last update: December 17, 2010 - 11:32 PM

Judy VanVoorhis knew that some men thought she had no business serving in the National Guard. How? She smiled fleetingly. "They told me." The military world often lacks the nuance of civilian life.

She had enlisted in 1985 and moved steadily through the ranks, becoming an instructor at an officer training school. In 1999, while at a conference, a group of instructors went out for supper.

"One guy seemed like he was trying to get everyone drunk, without drinking too much himself," she recalled. "I left, but he cornered me and tried to kiss me and I said I wasn't interested."

It has just gotten worse but they still haven't figured out we have been paying attention and noticed the truth behind the smoke and mirrors. Another election year and more talk about doing absolutely nothing at all! They want their jobs back even though they never did anything to earn your votes.

Veterans May Get More Help From Veterans Affairs

House backs bill to help vets who've suffered sexual assault
Associated Press
Posted: Monday, July 27, 2015

WASHINGTON (AP) — Veterans who suffered sexual assault or other sexual abuse while in uniform would get help more easily from the Department of Veterans Affairs under a bill approved Monday by the House.

The bill would allow a statement by a survivor of military sexual trauma to be considered sufficient proof that an assault occurred. The House approved the bill xxx--xx Monday night.

The bill is named after Ruth Moore, a former Navy sailor who was raped twice by a superior officer nearly three decades ago. Moore, of Milbridge, Maine, was awarded more than $400,000 in retroactive disability benefits last year after a decades-long battle with the VA.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, called it an important step to get the VA to make its benefits process easier and fairer for veterans like Moore who were sexually assaulted during their military service.

Since starting work on the issue five years ago, Pingree said she heard from "countless veterans who've struggled for years to get disability benefits for (post-traumatic stress disorder) and other conditions that stem from their assaults."
The Defense Department estimates that about 19,000 sexual assaults occurred in the military in 2010, but only 13.5 percent of those assaults were reported.
read more here

Saturday, June 13, 2015

New Jersey Army National Guardsman Stands Trial for Sexual Assault

Witness describes events before sexual assault at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
The Trentonian
By Isaac Avilucea
POSTED: 06/12/15

Ioannis V. Karazoupis, right, leaves Federal Court in Trenton

with his attorney Jerome Ballarotto Wednesday Oct. 1. 2014.

(Trentonian photo/Jackie Schear)

TRENTON
The difference between defense attorney Jerome Ballarotto inside a federal courtroom and outside of one is the difference between a wordsmith and a word sniper.

Outside the courtroom, the former Secret Service agent penned a novel about a Secret Service agent.

While Ballarotto’s flair for fiction solidified him as a wordsmith, it’s probably not what made him worthy of the trust and confidence of New Jersey Army National guardsman Ioannis “John” Karazoupis, 28.

Ballarotto’s actions as a word sniper during the second day of his client’s sexual assault trial is most likely what did.

Karazoupis is accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old guardswoman May 4, 2014 while the two were at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst for training. He maintains the encounter was consensual while federal prosecutors contend the woman was blackout drunk and unable to consent.
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