Daily Times

Last week I received the press kit for the film The Invisible War, a documentary film addressing rape within US military ranks. After viewing the film, I conducted a telephonic interview with a retired army officer who is an advocate for veterans. I grabbed my car keys and headed to a second interview, this one with Major Lisa Belcastro (R) US Army. We will come back to this interview, but first let me flank our conversation with a few thoughts of my own.

When conducting the first interview I was told that rape within our ranks feels more like incest. The word ‘fratricide’ floated across my mind during the conversation. The Latin word ‘frater’ (brother) is combined with the word ‘cida’ (killer) to denote what is generally a friendly fire incident. What is the comparable Latin to denote a rape that more closely evokes the emotional package of incest? Rape perpetrated within a chain of command? The Latin word ‘rapere’ comes to mind. It means to seize, carry off by force or abduct. But it is not the most common word to denote sexual violation. The word ‘stuprum’ is more accurate. It literally means ‘disgrace’. Fratristuprum. Rape within our ranks is family violence. It is family disgrace. So rape remains in the category of an invisible war within our ranks. Better to bear up under the disgrace of the rape than to bring disgrace on the uniform. Neither do we wish to bring dishonour against our military branch of service. (1)

The Invisible War relies on government statistics to paint a picture of the enormity of the problem. The empirical quality of the film is good. In 2009, 16,150 military members reported their sexual assault. It is now guesstimated that more than 500,000 military members have suffered sexual assault while in service.

Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta had a cameo role in the film, whilst speaking to Congressional leaders. When addressing the accusations hurled against the military he began one response with, “I totally share your concerns…” While acknowledging that his statement is truthful, it is also noted that the scripted use of grammar is a psychological tranquilliser meant to defuse a volatile dialogue. As for me, the words, “I totally share your concerns…” cranks up my imagination to see the lip-service of the snake soothing the cornered mouse. Unequal power distribution. That is what happens in a rape. There was a Department of Defence follow-through directive. But is it adequate?

The first officer interviewed noted that commanders are weary from a decade of war. They continue to shoulder the burdens of good order and discipline and troop welfare. When a rape accusation is rocketed through the command, it adds to the difficulties of maintaining troop cohesiveness and readiness. Understandable. But only eight percent of sexual assault cases are prosecuted in the US military with a two percent conviction rate. Unacceptable.

The second interview was with Major Lisa Belcastro (R) US Army. She was the first female company commander for the elite 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team when stationed in Bamberg, Germany. She served as a plans and operations officer in Baghdad, and pulled duty as an Engineer Adjutant in Tikrit. Major Belcastro holds a Masters Degree in Public Policy and Administration. As a career military officer and veteran, she is qualified to address risk reduction for sexual assault within our rank structure. As we visited, I found a commonality of themes between us.

The military remains a male-dominated community, due to the nature of war and its hardships. Many young women joining the military come from single parent families. They lack social interaction skills with male counterparts. They assume they must act like the men, drink with the men, and hurl invectives to be accepted.

As a member of the Navy nurse corps, my experience was within the envelope of a female-dominated coterie of officers tasked with medical support for the US Marines. Early maturation under a strong paternal influence made me capable of wearing the alpha dress uniform (jacket, skirt and heels) in feminine manner. But I also retained the richness of my upbringing whilst wearing a flak jacket and sucking in helicopter fumes during a live fire exercise. Nurses served the evening booze at our Biergarten at Twenty-nine Palms, California. We put on goggles when a sand storm nearly toppled our tent. And then the nurses served sandy beer for the same price. I did not drink with the men. Fleet nurses returned home safe and sound.

“Women have yet to establish themselves as a distinct sisterhood within the military…And nobody wants to own an aggressive solution.” These are the words of Major Belcastro. There is confirmation that the military has a process in place to handle sexual assault cases. “All of the boxes are there to check. The process is in place. What is lacking is the human component; that which touches the human spirit…there is the need for greater female solidarity and identification as military women.”

Major Belcastro began a sexual assault risk-reduction programme during her last tour in Iraq. Today, the assembled team is composed of a leadership grid of highly experienced and research-oriented officers. TF SASA (Task Force Sisterhood against Sexual Assault) is working to enlarge the footprint of their ‘In Her Boots’ programme into every branch of military service. The programme is meant to provide commands more time to focus on primary missions while filling the gaps within existing rape-awareness training platforms. Seminars stress senior-junior female mentorship and work to improve the social skills set of military women. We have lost too many professional assets. The TF SASA recognises that sexual assault affects retention. Solutions: this is what is happening within our ranks. Invisibly, of course.

Team members of TF SASA:

COL Janice Dombi (Retired)

COL Tammy Mckenna (Active)

COL Nancy Griego (Active)

MAJ Lisa Belcastro (Retired)

SGM Clarence Wilson (Retired)

SGM Nathan Williams (Active)

SGM Carleen Williams (Active)

SFC Dawn Spradley (Retired)

(1)http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=stuprum

The writer is a freelance journalist and author of the novel Arsenal. She can be reached at tammyswof@msn.com