TOWNSHEND — Let me be perfectly clear about this: I do not speak for the U.S. military. My views are my own, based on personal observations and experiences, and are not endorsed by the military.
I will never make excuses for the behavior of a military member who commits a sexual assault. As protectors of the nation, we are held to a higher standard of conduct than the general population, and any infractions of a criminal nature should be punished with far-greater severity in light of the egregious breach of trust with the American people.
This is unequivocal. But there is more to the story than than the grotesque actions of individuals.
Recently, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel published a single-page memo outlining a way forward on the issue. Every item on his agenda, all of our efforts, are to deal with the 26,000 or so (in 2012 alone) sexual assaults reported after the fact; not a word was spent on prevention.
Neither he, nor Congress, nor anyone else is talking about reforms in prevention. So I will, starting with outlining the cause.
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Sexual assault in the military is a consequence of an antiquated mode of personnel management applied to indoctrinated persons put under unnatural stress.
The military teaches us that it is acceptable to use violence to meet objectives. It extols the virtues of intimidation. Exploitation of weakness is a tactical advantage. A show of force is necessary.
This is the thinking. This is the training. This is the culture. This is the attitude. This is the behavior.
Therefore, we have a training problem, we have a management problem, and we have a culture problem.
Sexual assaults might or might not actually be on the rise, but sexual assault reporting is. Reporting is up because those who believe in their personal dignity are engaging a system that manages by fear and holds no respect for the individual.
To paraphrase a famous quote: Everything is about sex, except sex. Sexual assaults are not about sex, they are about power, control, and domination. These are the very concepts enshrined in our National Security Strategy and on down through every military professional development course. We teach every troop these values.
A commander is given judicial authority in the role of an individual who is so dominating, so unquestionably powerful, in the lives of our troops that not following his every order, not eagerly supplicating his every whim, and not being a yes-man for his every suggestion would be unthinkable.
So what kind of work environment did this create?
One in which too many people work in fear of correcting the old ways of thinking - the thinking that led to our rape culture.
One in which power, domination, and control are venerable goals.
When totalitarianism is respected, the individual is not.
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A few weeks ago, I sat in a meeting and listened to a commander read a sexual assault briefing in which he stumbled off script.
I listened to this man - one who might one day be asked to adjudicate an offender - excuse the inebriated their liberties with the unwilling, grade some sexual assaults as “not that bad,” and imply that blame is shared by victims, some of whom had it coming.
I hung my head in disgrace.
I hold that man accountable for his words, but I also hold the military accountable for teaching him the values he accidentally shared with us.
Our military, my military, has failed to take responsibility for its own culture, instead choosing to make a show of reforming investigations (which, granted, results in a sorely needed improvement in prosecuting military sexual assaults).
A system that supports domination as a way of life and fear as a management style cannot be expected to also support the rights of individuals not to be physically violated - never mind the rule of law.