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NEW: For the past several months, I've been piecing together a complete picture of allegations against an Army Reserve command, which say commanders failed to address sexual assault and harassment complaints from soldiers.
I hope you’ll give it a read: https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-reserve-416th-sexual-assault
I hope you’ll give it a read: https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-reserve-416th-sexual-assault
The allegations were first reported by the Associated Press in January — which resulted in @SenDuckworth and @SenatorDurbin demanding answers from @SecArmy.
The Army opened a 15-6 investigation into the 416th TEC in February. https://apnews.com/737a0e63504cb998b728ccd76ef41126
The Army opened a 15-6 investigation into the 416th TEC in February. https://apnews.com/737a0e63504cb998b728ccd76ef41126
Dozens of internal documents and emails, and conversations with those involved, tell a detailed, disturbing story of sexual harassment, retaliation, and command failure.
In one instance, a commander received a 3rd-party report that one soldier had raped another.
Instead of immediately telling CID, he conducted his own investigation, finding that things would improve when the alleged offender finished his service obligation months later.
Instead of immediately telling CID, he conducted his own investigation, finding that things would improve when the alleged offender finished his service obligation months later.
So the young woman, 17 years old at the time, had to stand in formation next to the man that allegedly raped her for months.
“Every time he stood next to her, her face went pale,” one soldier in the unit told me.
“Every time he stood next to her, her face went pale,” one soldier in the unit told me.
In another case, a different company commander was told about a sexual assault by his XO and did nothing about it.
In a sworn statement, the XO said that his commander "called me into the office and explained that I was to ‘back him up, no matter what or I would be removed.’”
In a sworn statement, the XO said that his commander "called me into the office and explained that I was to ‘back him up, no matter what or I would be removed.’”
The investigation is still ongoing, and the two-star commander of the 416th was recently suspended.
Meanwhile, the Army is facing another sexual harassment case with Pfc. Vanessa Guillen, who was reportedly being sexually harassed by a superior. https://taskandpurpose.com/news/suspects-in-custody-vanessa-guillen
Meanwhile, the Army is facing another sexual harassment case with Pfc. Vanessa Guillen, who was reportedly being sexually harassed by a superior. https://taskandpurpose.com/news/suspects-in-custody-vanessa-guillen
@moreemmamoore put it perfectly when she told me that military sexual assault/harassment victims “have a difficult time advocating for themselves because the situation is such a betrayal, and such a violation.”
All that to say, there is a lot of work left to be done to help our uniformed men and women facing assault and harassment.
I'll leave you with this quote from a soldier in the story, on reporting assault and harassment:
“I see why people don’t ever report. It’s exhausting.”
I'll leave you with this quote from a soldier in the story, on reporting assault and harassment:
“I see why people don’t ever report. It’s exhausting.”
