Active Duty Coast Guardwoman writes about the current response from the Coast Guard.
I am active duty Coast Guard as well. I have been raped at a small boat station and was transferred to Sector. I am not ready to write about the rape. I do want to talk about what is happening now and how the Coast Guard reacted to my rape.
The other stories that you read on here are almost identical to what I have been through. After I was raped I told a friend that I knew from town and she took me to have get a rape kit at a civilian hospital. I was not the one that reported to the Coast Guard instead the civilian law enforcement after speaking to them told my Chief. The civilian police department work closely with the Coast Guard and my Chief is good friends with the entire 8 police officers in town. The first day that I was back on duty the Chief called me to his office and said “I got a call from **** from the police station and he told me that you were allegedly assaulted” I nodded and he went on to talk about the reputation of the Coast Guard and how he does not want the station to be known for “this problem” and asked “how can we deal with this allegation without it affecting our community relations.” I shrugged and he said he would have to talk to public affairs to see how we can deal with the rape allegations without destroying the reputation of the station. His first thought was public relations and how the public would view the rape and not ensuring my safety or my chance for justice. Our small boat station is in a small fishing town. There is nothing else going on in the town. The school kids would come to us for field trips. There are 20-something of us at the station and we are all viewed at as God.
I was transferred to sector where the first day there my reputation was destroyed thanks to a smear campaign by the Chief. Crazy lying whore is what everyone else on here wrote that they been called. My big one is crazy. It became my name. Good afternoon crazy. Who is on watch? Crazy is. Hey crazy can you clean out the supply closet? You get the idea. The women are the worst with the abuse or whatever you want to call it. The men call me crazy but it is the women that are calling me a slut and telling me that I deserved to be raped. I don’t have one friend in the Coast Guard. It is true that the entire Coast Guard turns their back on you when you are raped.
I have been recommended for a med board by an HSC. For civilians the education of an HSC is similar to that of a Medical Assistant and my particular HSC did not have any education outside of high school and less than 6 months of total training if that with the Coast Guard. In the civilian world you will be an Medical Assistant, in the Coast Guard you can recommend people for discharge and make them lose their careers. He diagnosed me with an adjustment disorder, for having problems adjusting to being raped.
I do have mental health issues which I won’t deny. I can not sleep without getting nightmares. I have intense flashbacks, depression, anger, a civilian psychologist (READ: someone with a PHD) diagnosed me with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder but the Coast Guard says that it is an invalid diagnoses and continued with the diagnoses given to me by the HSC. Don’t you love how 13 or so weeks of training makes someone more qualified to give a diagnoses than a doctor that went to Yale?
CGIS did eventually investigated. Do not know the results and nobody was able to tell me. He is still serving, actually got promoted so I do not expect much of a punishment for what he did. They refuse to inspect the rape kit because they said that my story and that of the rapist stories do not add up. Of course not, he raped me, he is afraid of going to prison and denying it. Coast Guard’ response to that? Let not look at forensic evidence!
I called Shawn Wren and she said she never heard of my case and would try to find out. She never called me back and it been at least 2 months. CGIS and Headquarters do not talk.
I have applied to and got accepted to Caltech for the fall. I want to get into bioengineering. I hope that I am out of the Coast Guard by then. I am ready to move on and close this bad chapter of my life. The Coast Guard is clueless on how to deal with rape. God bless all who are fighting to change the system, I personally think it is a lost cause. The Coast Guard is in a downward, self-destructive path and I want nothing to do with them. They call themselves lifesavers and heroes and behind military gates they are raping and further abusing their very own. I want to get out, burn my uniforms and wipe my hands clean from this organization. They can say all that they want about zero-tolerance and we take allegations seriously but this only further prove the point that they are clueless. If those working at headquarters step out of their ivory towers and see how rape survivors are really treated they wouldn’t be saying those comments.
I would like you to contact me. I have a large number of contacts who will help you. Keep your medical records from the Yale doctor if you have not already. Your claim can be done right from the beginning. I was raped in the Coast Guard too. I loved my job. I served with many good people & did not suffer the isolation that most people do, but no one would help with my rape at start of service. I would truly like to help you avoid the pitfalls & have been very active for years helping vets & Know many others. There is a lot else to say. Shame on those women. Yes, the men too, but shame on women who will not help a sister in need. Here is my email, I don’t care if anyone else contacts me, that is fine. There is help, you have to be careful about it, but it is there. marykelley3@gmail.com. I know many others & a good help network. I am so sorry you have suffered in this horrendous way. It makes a very unjust mockery out of what should be a fine service & ruins lives.
This is so consistent to what everyone else is saying. I want to punch someone every time I hear that they take rape allegations seriously. Less than 10% rate of prosecution and discharging 92% of all rape survivors does not sound like they taking anything other than blaming the victim very serious. How about all those cases where someone gets early retirement or confined to base for charges as serious as rape or sexual assault? Is that what they consider taking rape ‘seriously’?
It makes you wonder if those that say those comments are so brainwashed and actually believe what they are saying or if they are told to say that and have guilt every time that they have to?
I was raped aboard CGC Polar Star when I was a fireman apprentice by a Commander. In the process he broke my arm. He made me tell everyone that I fell down the ladder. I did not report the rape because I knew that nobody was going to believe an E-2 over an O-5.
I think it is very brave of you to be speaking out. Back in the day we used to have sexual assault prevention training but have not had one for a few years. Things are going downhill.
Shipmate, Thanks for sharing your story. You are obviously a very intelligent and wonderful woman and the Coast Guard has lost out. Good luck at Caltech. I am sure that you would do well.
small boat stations are a breeding ground for lunatics. At my first unit they’ll chase each other in the town with BB guns. A librarian kicked them out when they brought the guns into the library. The OIC was involved as well. He was 33 years old and more interested in partying with the rest of the crew than being a leader. He was way too young and inexperience to be managing a small boat station.
Luckily we did not have any rapes.
Same with my Chief. If you were his drinking buddy you’ll have it easy. For the rest of us he found fun in torturing us. I personally feel if you are the boss you should not go out drinking on an almost nightly basis with your crew. A wetting down yes-beer pong on a Tuesday no. He had the frat boy mentality.
Ladies, for what it is worth, I brought this website and issue to the attention of the Archbishop of the Military Diocese of the US Armed Forces, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio. He never responded. I’m sorry.
People like him make me ashamed to be a catholic. God will probably punish me for it, but I’m in hell already!
Today being veterans day makes all of this hurt even more!
The USCG and Reserve is one of the worst and most corrupt military organizations when it comes to dealing with sexual harassment and rape. Fortunately, I walked away – with a legitimate reserve commission. Now I’m in a position to advocate and speak out. All my objections were well-documented, in 1998.
Know that, eventually, we will win this judicial battle – via social media – and through 503(c) organizations, and Congressional action. As long as we’re alive – no one can stop us…..we march on ! The power of the pen is tremendous ! And forever.
Commander Phillip Saunders is a bona fide rapist – and we will out him – wherever he happens to be. So be it.
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