military, patriotism and coverup

This post is nessasary (to me) because of recent events at camp lejune North Carolina, envolving a victim of military sexual trauma and how the Marine Corps handled the case.
officially,the military services all or most,say there is no problem,or the problem is minimal,but the records show differently,when such a problem arises,it is usually relegated to the back burners,hushed up or swept under the proverbial rug.The victim and the attacker are seldom seperated and the victim must face the accused on a daily basis.The cost of this heineous situation is enormous,mentally,emotionally and monetarily.
A lot,if not all of the victims develope some sort of mental illness,post traumatic stress is in my opinion,one of the most prevalent,military sexual trauma even has it's own acronynem,"MST"yet it is one of the least publicised crimes within the public sector,if the victim has the audacity to report an attack he/she soon find themselves the object of ridicule and harassment by both thier officers and fellow soldiers,if the victim is male,then he is instantly labled a homosexual and ushered out of service expeditiously on what is called a 208 discharge (unfit for military service)another problem is,if a person wishes to go to the media for help,then that person is considered unpatriotic,a trouble maker or a criminal,if the victim tries to apply for benefits from the veterans administration then that person is called a liar and a miscreant.If the crime is unreported,then the perpertrator is allowed to go on with thier attacks on other unsuspecting victims,very seldom dose a case such as the one in the news media now ever reach our civilian ears,why?because it is considered a threat to the stability of the military service,and we as parents,continue to let our sons and daughters go into the services without preparing them for that event,if you are a young lady,you risk about a 90% chance of being sexualy assaulted in the service,if you are a young man you risk about a 70 to 80% chance of being assaulted,these are my estimates and are in no ways professional,nor accurate,the percentages are probably higher in each case.There has been some effort by the military to help the female victims of MST but very little has been done to aid the male victims,very little is even writen about male victims of MST,i suppose that is because of our inherrent male attitude toward this crime,but it dose happen,and it happens far more frequently than we know of,this is partly due to the fact that males are far more likely NOT to report an attack,especially if the attacker is another male and especially if the attacker is of a superior rank.Male victims are more likely to keep quiet and apply for immediate transfer to another unit to try to escape the attacker,male victims are more likely to develope some sort of mental and/or emotional problems,even to the point of committing suicide,after all we are supposed to be strong and protective and brave,are we not?In my opinnion,the incidencies of male/male MST is a serious problem in the military service and should be addressed in a more humane manner than is currently in effect.Not all victims are homosexual and not all homosexuals perpetrate the MST crimes in service.

Story ID:	3417
Written by:	Bobby O'neill Mitchum (bio, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Musings, Essays and Such
Location:	Phenix City Alabama U.S.A.
Year:	2008
Person:	Self