Military Injustice

Over the past year sexual assault and various other sex crimes in the military have been spotlighted, led by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY. She is of the belief that by continuing to have all aspects of military justice in military hands certain crimes are being ignored, that the military leadership is opting to keep it quiet and failing to prosecute, often to the great detriment of sexual abuse victims.

It made sense that the military would want to keep matters in-house, as it were. It has always been that way, for one, and there has long been an undercurrent of "us versus them", the military against the civilian people who demand things of the armed forces yet have never served and have no understanding of why things are done the way they are and why things should not necessarily be done the way the civilians might want them to be done. As a result, there is resentment when either faction tries to stick their nose in matters that don't necessarily concern them.

In this case, though, Senator Gillibrand has a point. Statistics bear out that between 25 and 50 percent of all female servicemembers face some sort of sexual assault at some point in their military careers, yet little is done with regard to prosecution or mitigation. There is sexual harassment training, of course, and there are reporting channels, but there is no confidence that the chain of command will do anything about it. Worse, the most effective method of reporting requires the victim to sacrifice their anonymity to their commander, which opens them up to the possibility of reprisal. One does not "snitch" on their fellow servicemen lightly, and since the military is still essentially a "man's world" many victims are reluctant to work through the chain of command.

So, with that in mind, what are we to make of the most recent high-profile case of sexual abuse? Brigadier General Jeffrey Sinclair was put on trial for numerous crimes, including forcible sodomy, that could have put him in Fort Leavenworth for the remainder of his life. He openly admitted his acts in court. The evidence against him was overwhelming. Yet he was allowed to plead down to mistreatment of his accuser and, laughably, adultery, without a doubt the single most anachronistic crime listed in the Uniform Code of Military Justice and so common that the military would be reduced by at least half should everybody guilty of it be charged.

Even with the plea he still faced up to 20 years in prison and dishonorable discharge, a fitting punishment for a commander who took advantage of his subordinates. And what did he get? A Letter of Reprimand and a fine. An LOR? That's IT? Servicemembers get LORs for showing up late to work too often, not for "forcible sodomy" or violating female subordinates! Oh, in the end he will be retired, probably reduced in rank to Lieutenant Colonel, and then he will go about his life with a not-insignificant pension and a job with some think-tank or defense contractor. Had he been an enlisted man he'd be in Kansas right now with a big P on his back breaking rocks. As always, officers take care of their own.

This is such a miscarriage of justice one scarcely knows where to begin. A good start, however, would be to back the efforts of Senator Gillibrand, because God knows if the military is going to let things like this go with little more than a wink and nudge justice is NOT being done, and if they can't be trusted to police their own someone else has to.

Until then, though, crimes will continue to be committed, and grave injustices will continue to be done.