The Military's Secret Shame

[Art Mann]

Greg Jeloudov was 35 and new to America when he decided to join the Army. Like most soldiers, he was driven by both patriotism for his adopted homeland and the pragmatic notion that the military could be a first step in a career that would enable him to provide for his new family.

Instead, Jeloudov arrived at Fort Benning, Ga., for basic training in May 2009, in the middle of the economic crisis and rising xenophobia. The soldiers in his unit, responding to his Russian accent and New York City address, called him a “champagne socialist” and a “commie faggot.” He was, he told NEWSWEEK, “in the middle of the viper’s pit.”

Less than two weeks after arriving on base, he was gang-raped in the barracks by men who said they were showing him who was in charge of the United States. When he reported the attack to unit commanders, he says they told him, “It must have been your fault. You must have provoked them.”

What happened to Jeloudov is a part of life in the armed forces that hardly anyone talks about: male-on-male sexual assault. In the staunchly traditional military culture, it’s an ugly secret, kept hidden by layers of personal shame and official denial.

Read the full story here.

 

[T.O.tourist]

So the US Army is made of brutal xenophobic and homophobic men that have homosexual tendencies.

Now that's a 'violent torpedo of truth'. sorry charlie

 

[Aardvark154]

It is indeed a national disgrace. There is currently a class-action lawsuit against the Department of Defense.

 

[Aardvark154]

So the US Army is made of brutal xenophobic and homophobic men that have homosexual tendencies.

Now that's a 'violent torpedo of truth'.

Any military contains those who can be brutal, xenophobic and homophobic it, however, is not all, not even a majority.

And "homosexual tendencies" almost always have nothing at all to do with it any more than a great love for women relates to rape.

 

[T.O.tourist]

Any military contains those who can be brutal, xenophobic and homophobic it, however, is not all, not even a majority.

And "homosexual tendencies" almost always have nothing at all to do with it any more than a great love for women relates to rape.

I agree with you counsellor. Please forgive my poor attempt to make light of such a poignant matter.

I noticed you did not respond to the 'violent torpedo of truth' comment. Therefore you must agree that it is so.

 

[Thunderballs]

He probably deserved it for dressing like a slut.

 

[Aardvark154]

I agree with you counsellor. Please forgive my poor attempt to make light of such a poignant matter.

I noticed you did not respond to the 'violent torpedo of truth' comment. Therefore you must agree that it is so.

Quite frankly I have no idea what it is supposed to mean.

If you are saying that such incidents are an extremely ugly truth then yes.

 

[5hummer]

No surprise. It's a dirty secret of ALL militaries. The rape of women and men.

 

[Hangman]

No surprise. It's a dirty secret of ALL societies in general. The rape of women and men.

There, I fixed that for ya.

 

[5hummer]

There, I fixed that for ya.

Thanks??
(But, my comment was aimed at the Military, not society.)

 

[WoodPeckr]

Any military contains those who can be brutal, xenophobic and homophobic it, however, is not all, not even a majority.

I'm beginning to think the US Military was better run when there was the Draft. Back then the Military received closer scrutiny by BOTH parties than it does now since it is a Volunteer service...

 

[FatOne]

Any military contains those who can be brutal, xenophobic and homophobic it, however, is not all, not even a majority.

And "homosexual tendencies" almost always have nothing at all to do with it any more than a great love for women relates to rape.

However the majority will do everything they can to cover it up. Good of the service, gotta think of the regiment and all that.
Article in Macleans a while ago on rape in the Canadian military that was pretty disgusting. Girls whostand by and do nothing while newer members get raped, beacuse they had to go through it, now it is her turn. There is one book on women and the military which seems to be in every Cdn university library which is rather disturbing. If you want to keep your career, you cover up wife beating, child abuse and rape. Your kids rapes a lower ranked members daughter, you can be sure daddy will play ball and cover it up.

People who join the military are about as fucked in the head as cops, tree hugging hippies and those globalization protestors. The first two do have their uses, but I don't respect them at all. They are either fucktards, or they protect fucktards.

 

[Hangman]

Thanks??
(But, my comment was aimed at the Military, not society.)

So, rape happens in the military, but not in society in general? Interesting.

People who join the military are about as fucked in the head as cops, tree hugging hippies and those globalization protestors. The first two do have their uses, but I don't respect them at all. They are either fucktards, or they protect fucktards.

So, cops, soldiers, protestors and "hippies" are all the same, but the ones with guns "have their uses", presumably protecting all the Fucktards?

Oh, and don't worry - they likely don't have much respect for you either. Kind of a two way street, that one.

Since cops and soldiers serve and protect society in general, do you count among the Fucktards?

 

[sleazure]

A few years ago, female GIs in Iraq were getting raped at night by their comrades when they went out at night to take a leak. They started cutting back on the fluids so they wouldn't have to go out at night and put themselves at risk. This lead to several women dying of dehydration.

 

[Aardvark154]

A few years ago, female GIs in Iraq were getting raped at night by their comrades when they went out at night to take a leak. They started cutting back on the fluids so they wouldn't have to go out at night and put themselves at risk. This lead to several women dying of dehydration.

You make it seem like the chain of Command and the JAG Corps don't give a damn, let me assure you that is very far from the truth.

 

[sleazure]

You make it seem like the chain of Command and the JAG Corps don't give a damn, let me assure you that is very far from the truth.

Yes, I understand that they covered this up for as long as possible.

 

[kevinray]

Yes, I understand that they covered this up for as long as possible.

And your proof would be . . .?

 

[Aardvark154]

Yes, I understand that they covered this up for as long as possible.

That is not true.

 

[alexmst]

A few years ago, female GIs in Iraq were getting raped at night by their comrades when they went out at night to take a leak. They started cutting back on the fluids so they wouldn't have to go out at night and put themselves at risk. This lead to several women dying of dehydration.

By Helen Benedict

I am not claiming that sexual persecution is universal in the military, or that it is inevitable. Several soldiers I interviewed told me that if a commander won't tolerate the mistreatment of the women soldiers under his command by the male soldiers, it will not happen, and military studies back this up. Jennifer Hogg, 25, who was a sergeant in the Army's National Guard, said her company treated her well because she had a commander who wouldn't permit the mistreatment of women. But another National Guard soldier, Demond Mullins, 25, who served with the infantry in Iraq for a year, from 2004 to '05, told me that although there were no problems in his unit, he heard from his commanders that there were rapes in other units in his camp.

If you get the other kind of commander though, As Pickett told me, "It's like sending women to live in a frat house". "You walk into the chow hall and there's a bunch of guys who just stop eating and stare at you. Every time you bend down, somebody will say something. It got to the point where I was afraid to walk past certain people because I didn't want to hear their comments. It really gets you down." Jennifer Spranger, 23, who was deployed at the beginning of the war with the Military Police to build and guard Camp Bucca, a prison camp for Iraqis, had a similar experience. "My team leader offered me up to $250 for a hand job. He would always make sure that we were out alone together at the beginning of the day, and he wouldn't stop pressuring me for sex. If somebody did that to my daughter I'd want to kill the guy".

------------------------


Last year, Col. Janis Karpinski caused a stir by publicly reporting that in 2003, three female soldiers had died of dehydration in Iraq, which can get up to 126 degrees in the summer, because they refused to drink liquids late in the day. They were afraid of being raped by male soldiers if they walked to the latrines after dark. The Army has called her charges unsubstantiated, but Karpinski told me she sticks by them. (Karpinski has been a figure of controversy in the military ever since she was demoted from brigadier general for her role as commander of Abu Ghraib. As the highest-ranking official to lose her job over the torture scandal, she claims she was scapegoated, and has since become an outspoken critic of the military's treatment of women. In turn, the Army has accused her of sour grapes.)