What is Wrong with our Military and Sexual Assault?

During my time in the military I've gone through a lot of mandated training. A lot of this is training done just so the command can "check a box" and say that it was all done. Most of this mandated training is a joke. Nobody wants to be there and nobody really cares. I say most, because I have in fact attended a couple training briefs on various subjects where the instructor was energetic, got the people involved and really got their point across. With that said, these are few and far between. Most of the time the training involves a bunch of PowerPoint slides while someone with a monotone voice reads from each slide.

Lately the problem of sexual assault in the military has been in the headlines. When the problem first started to come to light, the military's solution (like their solution to many things) is to mandate more training. They throw a bunch of money at the problem, put up some posters and require even more training. This does absolutely nothing...nothing at all to fix the problem.

The last sexual assault training we had actually involved watching a movie. I was surprised that the army would actually have this movie as training because it really puts the military in a very negative light. The movie called "The Invisible War" is a documentary about various people who have been sexually assaulted in the military and how it has changed their lives. You can check out the trailer below:

 

Making everyone watch this movie and then discuss it afterward was a step in the right direction. A lot more has to be done and most of it has to do with changing the culture of the military. When people do get sexually assaulted, the attacker needs to be prosecuted to the fullest. You know something is still very wrong when you read in the headlines that the "Air Force Officer In Charge of Sexual Assault Prevention Program, Arrested For Alleged Sexual Assault". (Check out the article here)

Hopefully the military will get it's act together and make positive changes to eliminate this kind of behavior. The solution is much more complex than more mandated "check the box" training and more promotional material above the urinals in the latrine.

Like an E6!

So I ran across this video shared by the US Army WTF Moments facebook page (if you haven't "liked" that page...do it, there is always some funny stuff and things that just make you shake your head getting posted there). If you have any experience in the army, you'll probably LOL at this remake. The reason it's funny is because there is a lot of truth to it unfortunately.

You can find another youtube video here that posts the lyrics....pretty funny stuff.

Essential Writing Gear for Outdoors

I know a little about wet conditions living in the pacific northwest. The drizzle seems to never end and the sunny days are few and far between. So you might say that I have a lot of experience when it comes to living in a wet environment. I forgot to keep this in mind when I decided to join the army and wanted to keep a journal of my daily life. (You can check it out by clicking on the "My Army Experience" link to the right). When I set out to do this, I took the usual supplies...lots of notepads and plenty of pens. Everything worked fine until we started doing FTXs (Field Training Exercises). I decided to buy a notepad from the folks at "Rite in the Rain" and it turned out to be freakin' awesome! You can purchase the notepad and just use a pencil, but I went with the whole package and purchased their pen as well.

For my use, their products worked great. I used them in the field for writing my journal every night, and I also used them to make notes when needed for whatever training we happened to be doing. While other folks had a lot of issues when it rained...I had no problems! I also read the reviews on the amazon site and people have found other great uses for these products as well. One of the more interesting was a guy who in a pinch used the paper from a notepad and made a funnel. This would not have worked with just normal paper. If you're planning on going on an FTX, camping, or just enjoy the outdoors, plan on taking some of these products with you!!

Military Widow Details DOMA Harm; National Media Call Wednesday

New Video Details Harm Done By DOMA to Military Widow

National Media Conference Call Scheduled for Wednesday

(Washington, DC) Today Freedom to Marry and OutServe-SLDN released the latest video in their “Freedom to Serve, Freedom to Marry”series, featuring Karen Morgan, the widow of Chief Warrant Officer Charlie Morgan of the New Hampshire National Guard. The video can be viewed here. Morgan will also be featured in a Respect for Marriage Coalition press call tomorrow of military officials, service members and advocacy group leaders on the financial inequality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA); call details are below.

CW2 Morgan succumbed to breast cancer in February after a five-year battle. Even though the Morgans were legally married in New Hampshire, the so-called Defense of Marriage Act doesn't allow the military to recognize Karen Morgan as her wife. Now, in the wake of her family’s loss, Morgan faces financial uncertainty amid her grief, because she is not eligible for survivorship benefits she needs to care for their 5-year-old daughter, Casey Elena.

"It's hard for me, as a parent, to explain the situation to my daughter, because she has no language for discrimination. She knows and is aware that I am not able to have a military identification card, I can't get onto base," Morgan says in the video. She ends by reiterating her promise to her wife: "I will see this fight against DOMA through to the end."

“Though more and more states do the right thing by ending marriage discrimination, the federal government continues to treat widows like Karen Morgan as second-class citizens because of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act,” said Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry. “As gay and lesbian soldiers risk their lives for our country every day, this disrespectful treatment of military families is a stain on our nation’s honor. Karen should be able to work through her grief like any other military spouse – instead of facing the added stress of worrying how to pay the bills. It’s time for Congress to stand up for fairness and dignity for our military families by overturning the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and passing the Respect for Marriage Act.”

"Chief Warrant Officer Charlie Morgan was a courageous fighter for our country, for her family, and for the equality of all who wear the uniform of our nation. Today, her wife Karen carries on that fight, a fight no military spouse should ever have to wage. The time has come to end the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and ensure equal recognition, benefits, and support for all loving and committed military couples and their families," said Army veteran and OutServe-SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson.

As the nation awaits the Supreme Court’s ruling on DOMA’s denial of federal benefits to married couples who are gay, Morgan remains a plaintiff in OutServe-SLDN’s federal lawsuit,McLaughlin v. Panetta, challenging it in federal court.

Respect for Marriage Coalition Press Call:

WHAT:

Military officials, service members and advocacy group leaders participate in press conference call on the financial inequality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

WHO:

Patrick Murphy, Former Congressman, Army Captain, Iraq War Veteran and CAP Senior Fellow
Allyson Robinson, Executive Director, Outserve-SLDN
Karen Morgan, Widow of the late Chief Warrant Officer Charlie Morgan
Ashley Broadway, Director of Family Affairs, American Military Partner Association

WHEN:

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. ET

DIAL IN INFORMATION:
Dial In: (855) 212-9067
Conference ID #: 75417987

###

ABOUT FREEDOM TO MARRY: Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage nationwide. We are pursuing our Roadmap to Victory by working to win the freedom to marry in more states, grow the national majority for marriage, and end federal marriage discrimination. We partner with individuals and organizations across the country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and the protections, responsibilities, and commitment that marriage brings.

ABOUT OUTSERVE-SLDN: OutServe-SLDN is the association of actively serving LGBT military personnel with more than fifty chapters and 6000 members around the world. It works to support a professional network of LGBT military personnel and create an environment of respect in the military with regard to sexual orientation and gender identity. It is a non-partisan, non-profit, legal services and policy organization dedicated to bringing about full LGBT equality to America's military and ending all forms of discrimination and harassment of military personnel on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. OS-SLDN provides free and direct legal assistance to service members and veterans affected by the repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law and the prior regulatory ban on open service, as well as those currently serving who may experience harassment or discrimination. For more information, visit www.outserve-sldn.org.

25 Same-Sex Couples Will Travel to DC June 21 to Be Married

C-Bus of Love Headed to Washington DC in June

OutServe-SLDN DOMA plaintiffs set to lead road trip for equality that will bring same-sex couples to the nation’s capital to be married in front of the U.S. Supreme Court

(Columbus, OH) Army Veteran and OutServe-SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson announced today that the organization has become an official sponsor of a bus trip that will bring same-sex couples from across the country to Washington, DC, in June to be married in a jurisdiction where their marriages are legal and recognized. Twenty-five couples - from the states of Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia - will ride the “C-Bus of Love,” traveling from Columbus, OH to our Nation’s capital, where they be making their lifelong commitments in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. The trip is organized by two plaintiffs in OutServe-SLDN’s landmark court challenge to the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, Army Major Stephen Snyder-Hill and his husband, Joshua Snyder-Hill.

“Stephen and I had the great privilege of being married in Washington, DC two years ago after the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Repeal Act was passed by the Congress, and we wanted to be able to give this unique gift to other committed and loving couples from states where the freedom to marry is not yet recognized. We are especially thrilled that we will be able to do it in front of the Supreme Court during the same month in which the Court may very well strike down DOMA once and for all,” said Joshua Snyder-Hill.

The trip, which will begin on Friday, June 21 in Columbus, is fully funded through private donations and will bring the couples to Washington, DC to be married before returning them to Columbus to celebrate that city’s pride weekend. The couples participating represent a combined 189 years of commitment to one another, including one couple that has been together more than 31 years. They range in age from 18 to 61 years old.

“This is a remarkable act of love and commitment on the part of these couples that illustrates just how ridiculous this cobbled-together, two-tiered system of marriage that has developed in our country really is. No committed and loving couple should have to go to these lengths in order to be married to one another, and OutServe-SLDN is proud to stand with them - and indeed ride alongside them - on this journey to full equality,” said OutServe-SLDN’s Robinson.

For more information on the trip, including bios of the participating couples, click here. The wedding of the couples will be streamed live on June 21, 2013 at this page:http://www.cbusoflove.com/

ABOUT OUTSERVE-SLDN: OutServe-SLDN is the association of actively serving LGBT military personnel with more than fifty chapters and 6000 members around the world It works to support a professional network of LGBT military personnel and create an environment of respect in the military with regard to sexual orientation and gender identity. It is a non-partisan, non-profit, legal services and policy organization dedicated to bringing about full LGBT equality to America's military and ending all forms of discrimination and harassment of military personnel on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. OS-SLDN provides free and direct legal assistance to service members and veterans affected by the repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law and the prior regulatory ban on open service, as well as those currently serving who may experience harassment or discrimination. For more information, visit www.outserve-sldn.org.

New video features lesbian couple harmed by DOMA

Military Campaign Features Married Lesbian Couple Harmed by DOMA

(New York City) Today Freedom to Marry and OutServe-SLDN released the latest in its“Freedom to Serve, Freedom to Marry” video series featuring Major Shannon McLaughlin and her wife, Casey McLaughlin, spotlighting the harms of federal marriage discrimination to their family. Although they are legally married in the State of Massachusetts, the McLaughlins are not treated the same as other military couples because of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denies legally married same-sex couples more than 1,100 federal protections automatically granted to opposite-sex couples.

“Even as we end marriage discrimination in state after state, married gay and lesbian service members risking their lives for our country are still being denied protections for their families because of federal marriage discrimination,” said Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry. “The sacrifices that soldiers like Major Shannon McLaughlin and their families make are not matched by equal respect, and equal treatment, from the government. It’s time to overturn the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and pass the Respect for Marriage Act to end federal marriage discrimination.”

The full video may be viewed here. Major Shannon McLaughlin and her wife Casey were first introduced by Freedom to Serve, Freedom to Marry in a previous video in the series several months ago, which can be viewed here.

“As we prepare to honor mothers across the country this weekend, let us not forget that many are not being treated equally in the eyes of the law. It’s time to end DOMA and forever relinquish this kind of discrimination to the dustbin of history. We cannot have a strong and effective military and maintain two classes of service members, and as long as DOMA is on the books, that’s exactly what we have,” said Army veteran and OutServe-SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson.

After leaving her job to take care of their twins, Grace and Grant, Casey was excluded from the health care plan that the rest of the family uses.

“DOMA presented itself as a huge problem once I went on maternity leave and, once the children were born, decided to stay at home,” she explains. She is not welcome to military functions or on base as a military spouse. “I am as much a military wife as anybody else … I want to be recognized and I want our kids to understand that they are the same as well,” Casey says in the video

Major Shannon McLaughlin agrees that for her, “a post-DOMA world” would be one where her wife is “respected, and she’s not singled out as not being as good as every other military wife or husband that’s there.”

ABOUT FREEDOM TO MARRY: Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage nationwide. We are pursuing our Roadmap to Victory by working to win the freedom to marry in more states, grow the national majority for marriage, and end federal marriage discrimination. We partner with individuals and organizations across the country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and the protections, responsibilities, and commitment that marriage brings.

ABOUT OUTSERVE-SLDN: OutServe-SLDN is the association of actively serving LGBT military personnel with more than fifty chapters and 6000 members around the world It works to support a professional network of LGBT military personnel and create an environment of respect in the military with regard to sexual orientation and gender identity. It is a non-partisan, non-profit, legal services and policy organization dedicated to bringing about full LGBT equality to America's military and ending all forms of discrimination and harassment of military personnel on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. OS-SLDN provides free and direct legal assistance to service members and veterans affected by the repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law and the prior regulatory ban on open service, as well as those currently serving who may experience harassment or discrimination. For more information, visit www.outserve-sldn.org.

My preferred alternative to the standard issued army boot...The Nike Special Field Boot

I usually use this blog for guest bloggers, but I figured this is a special post that pertains to the army and yet not quite fit for my daily journal. If you're in the army or have ever been in the army, you probably know that the standard boot issued by the army is not too comfortable. My drill sergeants didn't care too much about hearing complaints about the boots and people's sore feet. We were told we just need to wear them in...and drink water. We weren't even allowed to purchase inserts of any kind at the shoppette during our limited visits. It seemed no matter how much we tried to "wear them in" it didn't matter.

I had a little reprieve when I went to AIT, we were allowed to purchase anything we wanted. So my first stop was the PX where I found a pair of Dr. Scholl's Gel Inserts and immediately inserted them into my boots. The difference was immediate and very awesome! It was like switching from a black and white analog TV to a flat panel HD set...well maybe not that great. Perhaps more like going from sleeping on a concrete floor to at least laying down on a cot. My feet thanked me and I was able to make it through AIT much easier.

After graduating AIT, I wanted to reward myself and actually purchase Nike's Army boots (The Nike SFB - Special Field Boot). I searched around all the stores and was unable to find them anywhere. I ended up buying the Converse boot after trying them on at a local army supply store near Ft. Lewis while on leave. I chose the Converse boot because I was able to try it on and it felt great. It was a very heavy boot, but it was indeed very comfortable. The boots were also huge, but I didn't really care. I was going from my old standard boots with the gel insert, to an actual comfortable pair of boots. I upgraded from sleeping on my cot to an actual bed and daily life for my feet were good.

I used the Converse boots for a year, and still actually use them on occasion depending on the situation. After talking with folks that purchased the Nike SFB, My NCOIC said her pair of Nike SFB were the best boots she's ever had...and she's been in the army quite a while. I decided to give them a try. My biggest worry was ordering via the internet and having them not fit correctly. I ended up just ordering my normal shoe size and waited. The day they finally arrived in the mail I was as excited as a little boy on Christmas morning. I opened the box and was instantly shocked by how light they were. After lacing them up I put them on and my feet were in heaven. It was like I was just wearing a normal pair of shoes. They were light, comfortable and easy to clean as well.

If you're looking for an awesome pair of boots to upgrade to...then I say give them a try. You can shop around online, but I know US Patriot has free shipping.

A photo of the Nike SFB from the Nike Store: