As she began her career, StJohn discovered firsthand that there were some things about the military that she didn’t like. Foremost was the way in which women enlistees were treated. Secondary, was the institutional response to the behavior, “That’s the way it is.” Degrading conduct was not limited to verbal insults. It included coerced sexual relations with senior male staff—or else. While at technical school, StJohn outlined the circumstances as, “It was a given that you could be forced into sex with a senior officer or your career would be compromised, and possibly ruined.”

StJohn summed up the psychology behind the action with the clear statement, “It’s a conquering of each person—a way of putting a woman in her place to achieve a mode of submission.” Her female colleagues “knew the instructors who could hurt their careers, and acquiesced as a matter of survival.”

It happened to StJohn more than once.

Defining the situation for me, StJohn related how “her idealism had been crushed.” She pinpointed the nitty-gritty of what fighting back could do. It was made clear to her that any actions on her part would endanger the status of her hard-earned security clearance, potentially leave her with a dishonorable discharge, or have her tagged with a “personality disorder.” Most distressing for StJohn was the inference that her father’s career could be “tarnished.” StJohn noted, “I understood from childhood how the military works. The swipe of a pen can affect if you can get a job or buy a house.”

Cassaundra StJohn

StJohn departed active service at 22 because she realized that “things were not going to change” and that she was no longer able to be “a good soldier and keep my mouth shut.” She mentioned the comment written on her security clearance report which labeled her with the contentious description: “Non-Conformist.” As StJohn emphasized, “It wasn’t a compliment.” She chose to finish out the rest of her obligation by serving in the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserves. StJohn clarified the difference between active and reserve duty in the 1980s saying, “It means that you don’t have to face the harassment everyday, and the military has no control over your life.”

Her father—unaware of the extent of her disillusionment or the malfeasance she had been subjected to—gave her the advice, “Keep your nose down and don’t rock the boat.”

After StJohn left active service, she had no luck finding a job with just a high school diploma. She tried college, but felt a disconnect with the students. At 26, she was ready to get back on the educational track, with the goal of achieving an MBA by the age of 30. By this time, she had two children and was working two jobs while attending classes. As she noted dryly, “Scrubbing toilets at a Texaco gas station can be very motivating.” She used funds from the GI Bill and fees from donating blood to pay the tab. By her third decade, she had caught up with her peers and began a career in advertising, marketing, and entrepreneurship.

StJohn’s “aha” moment didn’t come until March 2011, when she attended an event for women veteran entrepreneurs. None of the teachers had any experience with military life. Realizing that they were many resources for men who had served—but not for women—StJohn had an epiphany. She asked herself, “Why aren’t I doing this? Why am I waiting for the VA? I can speak a language that women vets understand.” In retrospect she observed, “It just hit me all at once.”

That was the beginning of F7 Group, which StJohn describes “as an organization that is looking through the windshield—rather than the rear view mirror.” The approach is grounded in seven basic tools of support: friends and family, freedom, foundation, function, focus, flexibility, and fundamentals.

StJohn is very clear that emotional issues around military service must be resolved before women can move forward. “We acknowledge the impact of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Military Sexual Trauma (MST), and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). With women driving trucks, being in special operations or combat zones, there is a high risk for potential hostile engagement. As StJohn underscored, the current military policy maintains there are no women in “direct hand-to-hand combat.” This has created a bureaucratic mess for those women suffering from the ramifications of TBI. F7 is actively supporting a change in legislation.

For the women it works with, F7 is vigorously trying to fill in the gaps around healthcare, employment, education and housing. Supporting and partnering with other groups that concentrate on these specific concerns, F7 functions as an information clearinghouse. StJohn sees plenty of room at the table for everyone’s work, advocating pulling up extra chairs rather than feeling competitive about existing seats.

StJohn has moved beyond her original concept of providing business boot camps for building entrepreneurial skills to the concept of personal retreats. She envisions “building a train from the uniform to the place that women vets want to be.” She expanded the profile of potential attendees from vets only, to others in the military family—such as wives and mothers. Welcoming those who served in Vietnam, along with younger women who were deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, the F7 premise is to eliminate the labels. StJohn outlined her approach as, “You take off your rank, your service, your era, and your role, and connect with the fact that the military is the common thread that binds us.”

The first retreat was held in October. The goal for 2012 is to convene quarterly, with three meetings in national locations and one in Texas. StJohn qualifies the gatherings as “looking at the heart side.” She speaks about “putting the past where it belongs,” while answering questions and redefining the self with other women who “have walked the walk.”

The need is there. StJohn quoted stats that illustrate female veterans are four times as likely to be homeless as other women. The total number of homeless women veterans in California, Texas, and Florida exceeds the amount of homeless female vets in the entire country. On the reason for elevated rates of homelessness among female vets, StJohn responded, “They’re proud, they don’t want handouts, and many are suffering with emotional problems and PTSD.” She also referenced figures showing that 70 percent of women vets experience some level of PTSD, and 38 percent of women vets “report” incidents of MST.

“Women vets get back here, and there’s no support,” StJohn said. She spoke about two women in the F7 program who had gone for services at the Dallas VA Medical Center. They described their encounters there as “nightmare experiences.” StJohn has scheduled the next F7 “Lone Star” retreat for April 2012, in Texas. Her goal is to serve 200 applicants.

“I know these women,” StJohn said. “I don’t want them to have to take twenty years to get to the other side. I want to help other women in the military family to go to the next step—with less pain and in less time than I did.”

Photos courtesy of F7 Group

On Thursday, May 20^th, a morning hearing was held. Healing the Wounds: Evaluating Military Sexual Trauma Issues, was presided over by John Hall (D-NY), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, and Michael Michaud (D-ME), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health.  A series of speakers drawn from veterans’ organizations, networks devoted to women’s health and sexual abuse, and representatives from the Department of Defense and the Veterans Health Administration were present.  They each had five minutes to offer testimony.

Just three weeks prior on April 29^th, Congresswoman Niki Tsongas (D-MA) and Senator John Kerry (D-MA) announced the introduction of the Defense Sexual Trauma Response, Oversight and Good Governance Act (The Defense STRONG Act), a bipartisan piece of legislation.  Hoping to attack Military Sexual Trauma (MST) from the front end of the problem, The Defense STRONG Act will work to strengthen the pre-existing systems to “prevent sexual assaults, and provide support and guidance for victims that do report an incident.”  This would enable those harmed to access a military lawyer in order to fully understand their legal options.  Equally important, it will standardize training guidelines around MST prevention and response across all branches of the services.  When I spoke with Rep. Tsongas by telephone she explained that the act would be part of the Defense Authorization Bill (H.R. 5136), and would put a “system in place patterned after the Equal Opportunity measures.”  She said, “If a victim speaks with a victim’s advocate, it will remain confidential.  It can’t be subpoenaed.”   Tsongas added, “I’m looking forward to making sure this language stays in the bill.”

Witnesses drilled down and pinpointed problems being faced by MST survivors as circumstances presently stand.  A wide range of symptoms, on the physical and emotional continuum, was referenced.  They included: mood disorders, depression, substance abuse, adjustment disorders, hypertension, eating disorders, sexually transferred infections (STI), unplanned pregnancy, self-destructive behaviors, and suicide.  It was noted that 75 percent of homeless female veterans have been sexually assaulted.

A sexual attack is a trigger for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Susan McCutcheon, The Director of Family Services, Women’s Mental Health and Military Sexual Trauma, Veterans Health Administration (VHA) stated, “MST is an experience, not a diagnosis.  PTSD is the diagnosis.”

The FBI ranks rape as the second most violent crime after murder.  Repeatedly, those testifying underscored that rape is an act of violence, not sexual desire.  It was acknowledged that males in the military are casualties of MST as well as women.

For those assaulted, career goals are disrupted as they face “isolation, retribution, ostracism, and accusations.”  Their situation becomes untenable, as they must continue to live and work in close proximity with their attackers.  As Helen Benedict, author of The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq, testified, “some 90 percent of victims never report assaults within the military because the culture is so hostile to them.”  She explained how the victim is treated like a perpetrator, and in addition to not being believed, “they are intimidated out of pursing justice.”

Phyllis Greenberger, President and CEO of the Society for Women’s Health Research, told the committee that “women are the fastest growing sector of VA patients,” with “15 percent of women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan experiencing sexual assault or harassment.”  23 percent of the women using the VA services have reported MST, yet half of all cases go underreported. Jennifer Hunt, Project Coordinator, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, observed that the “majority of assailants are older and of a higher rank than their victims.” It is recognized that those who get immediate full care do the best.  Yet when women feel re-traumatized in their efforts to get help and in navigating the system, it makes moving forward problematic.

There was no lack of suggestions on how the situation could be improved. At the top of the list was the need to eliminate mixed-gender care settings. Creating separate facilities was put forth as the optimum goal.   Using a civilian rape crisis model, which is not geared to a predetermined agenda, was another proposal.  Women report a dearth of properly trained personnel, with those in counseling positions resorting to what has been termed “pills and pep talks” (despite the fact that women are not responding well to commonly prescribed medications).

Benedict put forth promoting more women and distributing them across the forces to eliminate isolation, and rejecting recruits with a history of sexual violence. Greenberger dryly offered, “No victim should have to chase after their own care.”

Scott Berkowitz, President and Founder of RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) sited a lack of “institutional support, leadership commitment and resources” to fix the problem and a commitment by base commanders and Pentagon Brass to “zero tolerance and routine prosecutions.”  He did, however, comment on the progress that has been moved forward under the auspices of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO), which was established in 2005 by the Department of Defense “to function as a single point of accountability and oversight for sexual assault policy.”

Kay Whitley, the Director of SAPRO, addressed prevention through training, treatment, support of victims, and system accountability.  She related that during the past three years, reports of sexual assaults had increased by 10 percent annually.  Whitley broke the best-case protocol down into “care, reporting, response, and tracking.”

Getting appropriate and timely medical care is only part of the problem.  Steering PTSD claims through the system is formidable, and often exacerbates the original trauma.  Joy J. Ilem, Deputy National Legislative Director for Disabled American Veterans, was very clear about the obstacles. She informed those in attendance, “to receive disability compensation from an MST-related condition…the standard of evidence is stricter than for combat injuries, or even for military occupational injuries. She characterized veterans’ compensation claims for disabilities resulting from MST as “an uphill battle for VA Disability Compensation,” explaining that “if an assault is not reported by the victim during his or her military service, establishing service connection later on for disabling conditions related to MST can be daunting.”

The different aspects of reporting an attack and trying to receive benefits are complex at best. Bradley G. Mayes, Director, Compensation and Pension Service, Veterans Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, offered that there was “room for improvement, but we have taken steps.”  However, many concerns have to be taken into account, particularly as confidentiality is a paramount concern.

I contacted Thom Wilborn, a spokesman for Disabled American Veterans, to speak further about the two options for filing an MST report, via a Victim Reporting Preference Statement DD FORM 2910. He clarified the two different types of reports that service members can file after an attack.

• Unrestricted Reporting – Reporting a Crime which is Investigated
• Restricted Reporting – Confidentially Reporting a Crime which is not Investigated

A restricted report allows the victim to receive health care services, but the paperwork does not enter the realm of an official charge – thereby protecting the privacy of the victim.  It does not involve the chain of command.  In an unrestricted report, all records become public.  The information goes out to the commanding officer and division commander for a formal investigation.

A problem arises when a service member, who wants to apply for PTSD benefits and has filed a restricted report, can not get their records from one department agency to another.  Wilborn told me, “There needs to be a way to report MST and be able to advance it to whatever point the service member wants.”  He made clear that the report should be able to remain confidential, while simultaneously recorded in a way to be available for disability claims. The DAV’s primary concern is that the Department of Veteran’s Affairs be able to access restricted Department of Defense Documents.

Following the testimony, I contacted two of the invited presenters.  Jennifer Hunt, Project Coordinator, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, believed that “good steps have been made, but more must be done.”  She specifically pointed to “inter-operability” encompassing improved communication between the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration.  She remarked on how many people were in attendance for the hearing, and lamented that that there was no time for follow up questions due to the President of Mexico’s visit.

When I spoke with Anuradha K. Bhagwati, Executive Director of Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) and former Marine Captain, she was quite concise in her evaluation of how things stand and what needs to be done.  She said, “The Veteran’s Benefit Administration (VBA) simply does not understand how traumatic it is for an MST survivor to file a claim for compensation. The Veteran’s Administration (VA) is coming from a theoretical place.  Their system is great on paper. The VA has made overtures, but their claims officers are poorly trained.  The system is broken.  Even if victims submit evidence of trauma, it’s not enough. The VA has not been able to get up to speed.  Their services work for some people, but they are in the minority. We need people to come forward in order to prosecute offenders, but right now DOD cannot guarantee the safety of survivors. Most commanders do not handle complaints responsibly. The fact of the matter is that survivors are not sufficiently protected.

There seems like a giant abyss.  It doesn’t seem like VA is talking to MST survivors or MST advocates. MST is best understood by MST orgs (VETWOW, stopmilitaryrape.org, militarysexualtrauma.org). SWAN is advocating for third party oversight. We believe a long-term solution is to apply Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to the military.  Service members need to have the option to sue the military, if the military doesn’t protect them. Without that, commanders have no incentive to protect survivors. The Defense STRONG Act deals with the current system as we have it. It will fix some really broken pieces of the SAPRO reporting system, but it only deals with part of the problem.”

At the conclusion of Bhagwati’s testimony, she paid homage to the women from previous generations who had “suffered at the hands of fellow servicemen decades ago” – with their ordeals still yet to be recognized.  She read into the record the request of a Vietnam-era veteran who had survived MST.

The sentence was a clear but simple appeal.  “Please help me feel validated before I die.”

This article originally appeared on the website Women Make News.

Four women’s narrative strands are followed in the documentary.  One of these is related by the family of Tina Priest, who is dead.  As her mother and twin sister are shown cleaning Tina’s headstone and tending her grave, they talk of how she died in Iraq.  They were notified by the Army that the cause was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.  Her mother makes clear, “I don’t know how she died, but I want to know how.”  In a letter written from Tina to her mother she confides, “He raped me, but if he gets set free, he will beat me to death or murder me.”  Two weeks after Tina’s death, a military court ruled that she had never been raped and was not killed. An independent ballistics specialist hired by Tina’s family believes the “Army is hiding the truth.”  The narration states that in 2006 there were 3,000 complaints of rape and attempted rapes, with less than 2 percent of the aggressors going to court.  As Gallego said to me by phone, “War is not an excuse.”  She used the phrase “impunity” to characterize the laxity of the military’s response.  She suggested the problem has increased with more soldiers on the ground, and added, “but it’s really an old issue.”

This was borne out by my interview with a woman who identifies herself publically as PB Rose, an alias she uses to write for the site Veterans Today.  She related her situation of having been “savagely raped” in 1989.  She was a 21-year-old Cadet in an ROTC program at Fort Bragg.  On an extremely hot day, she accepted the offer of a ride in an air-conditioned car from a Master Sergeant in his mid-forties.  He had always presented himself to her as a “father figure.”  He beat her when she resisted, and then raped her.  She didn’t file a report until 2008 when as part of her healing process and psychological acknowledgement of the ordeal, she filled out the paperwork.  Rose believes she was not the NCO’s last victim and told me, “He could have killed me and dumped me, and they would have written me off as AWOL.”  None of this jived with the motto she had learned in the service: “Mission first, people always.” Rose’s advice to women who have been assaulted is, “As soon as it happens, have a rape kit done – even if you have to pay.  Transfer out of the unit to a different state, and then file your paperwork.”  Suffering from PTSD, Rose went to VA facilities, but found that the services were “inequitable,” and “second-class to what the men received.”   She didn’t feel safe in the environment, and eventually opted to pay out-of-pocket for private counseling.  She explained, “The minute I walked into that [VA] building, I was on guard.”

Kira Mountjoy-Pepka, Director of Pack Parachute Charity, informed me that this was not unusual.  “The MST community is alienated and pushed aside in the military, and then in the Vets community.  Deliberate outreach is absolutely essential.”  Her organization offers a space that is neutral and specifically non-military.   In discussing MST, Mountjoy-Pepka hammered home the point that what happens is a two-part trauma.  After the initial act, persecution follows, and a continuum of symptoms including shame.  She constantly hears from victims that “the aftermath is even worse.” Although Mountjoy-Pepka believes that the “VA is doing the best it can,” she understands why most people cannot re-enter the military setting to access services.  Pack Parachute Charity offers direct financial support to former members of the military with MST who reside in Washington State.  Claims for financial compensation can be overwhelming and impossible to navigate.  When those who have suffered have their claims denied, Mountjoy-Pepak indicates, “They feel rejected all over again.” (It is important to note that Pack Parachute Charity has been actively helping men who have been victims of MST, for whom the facilitation structure isn’t set up.)

The voices against these horrific acts are gaining traction.  One of the constants in the conversation is twenty-four year veteran of the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserve, Ret. Colonel Ann Wright.  She said at a Code Pink rally recorded in Rape in the Ranks, “You need an independent team to do investigations.  You have to keep pushing them [the military]…You have to be in their face all the time, and if you’re not – nothing will happen.  Wright was part of an action that took place on October 13^th in New York City, in front of the Armed Services Recruiting Station in Times Square.  She was joined by playwright/activist Eve Ensler and Staff Sergeant Sandra Lee of the U.S. Army Reserves, who spoke about how she was raped twice in Iraq in 2005.

October 12th-16th was Military Rape Awareness Week, and several organizations were on board for the implementation of activities.  Data was put out to the media including: 1 in 3 women in the military have been       raped or assaulted; 37 percent of victims are raped multiple times; 14 percent are gang raped.  Michael T. McPhearson, Executive Director of Veterans for Peace, conveyed by phone, “It’s a societal problem that magnifies itself in the military.  In order to change the military, we have to change the larger society.  Men have to step out and make other men accountable.”

On November 7^th, veterans with Military Sexual Trauma marched in the Auburn Veterans Day Parade in Washington State for the first time.  On November 11^th, in downtown Seattle, Veterans with MST will be honored at the Garden of Rembrance at Benaroya Hall.  Participating groups will include VetWow, Pack Parachute Charity, Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans for Peace, and Disabled American Veterans.

As more awareness is raised about Military Sexual Trauma, the national consciousness should encompass advocating for veterans – and those currently serving –who have MST.  It is time for them to get the assistance and justice they deserve.

Additional Resources:

Coalition Against Sexual Assault in the Military Services (CASAMS)

Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN)

Grace After Fire

“Factors Associated With Women’s Risk of Rape in the Military Environment”(Anne G. Sadler, Brenda M. Booth, Brian L. Cook and Bradley N. Doebbeling – American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2003)

Department of Veterans Affairs – Center for Women Veterans

Department of Veterans Affairs – Women’s Trauma Recovery Program

Enmeshed in the stories of women who have served in the military, are the accounts of sexual harassment and abuse that are starting to see the light of day. The issue of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) has consistently been swept under the rug.

At a House Committee hearing on Female Veteran’s Affairs held on May 20th, it got an airing. The oldest veteran present, Josephine Anton, served as a member of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) during World War II. When Rep. Timothy J. Walz (DFL-Minn.) asked the assembled panel if there had been any progress on the problem of sexual assault in the armed services, the general consensus was negative.

Jen Hogg, former Army Sergeant and Associate Director of the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN), was present in Washington to listen as Anuradha Bhagwati, former Marine Corps Captain and the Executive Director of SWAN gave testimony. Bhagwati discussed female vet’s health care benefits, and the current policies regarding treatment of MST victims. In a pre-hearing press release Bhagwati stated, “Female veterans leaving the military with physical and psychological wounds from service are being treated like second class citizens by the Department of Veterans Affairs.” Her on-site testimony was even more damning, as she related elements of her own experience:

“As a regular patient at the Manhattan VA Hospital for the last three years, I am intimately experienced with the trials of receiving quality health care and benefits from the VA for both physical injuries and psychological wounds, including Military Sexual Trauma (MST). The last place many survivors of MST want to go for treatment or counseling is a VA hospital. My first trip to the Manhattan VA Hospital was a nightmare. I felt like I was running a gauntlet as I stepped into the lobby and was confronted by a sea of hostile faces, all of them male. Most veterans and VA employees assume women veterans are secretaries, wives, or cleaning staff. Many employees refuse us the common courtesy and professional service that they extend to male veterans. The first psychiatrist I saw rolled his eyes at me when I told him I needed to talk to a female doctor. The MST counselor was too overbooked to take me on as a patient. A physician was so shocked that I had been a Marine that he told me I looked like a ‘shopkeeper.’ I’ve been lectured and counseled by dozens of nurses, many of them women, who feel that they are at liberty to talk to female veterans in an unprofessional manner. When I shared my frustrations with the women veterans’ coordinator, she told me I “should be happy to have free health care.” To add insult to injury, despite the detailed evidence I submitted supporting service-connected trauma from MST – including witness statements from an Equal Opportunity investigation that the Marines by policy destroyed two years after the fact – the VA rejected my claim. At that point I had to make a difficult choice between appealing my claim and having my trauma dragged on for several more years, or giving up. Being a veteran is already a full-time job.”

I spoke by telephone with Hogg, one of the ten founders of SWAN, about her evolution from soldier to activist. She explained that the established veteran groups which she had been hooking up with were not giving sufficient attention to the concerns that were endemic to female vets. Hogg conveyed to me, “I was repeatedly told that MST was a woman’s issue.”

The delineated goal of SWAN is to “fill the giant national void in leadership, advocacy, and policy design for women veterans and sevice members, as well as women considering military service.”

They have laid out an ambitious agenda, targeting six core points.

• Comprehensive VA Health Care of Women Vets – This includes an elevated awareness in
all VA facilities, and access to female practioners.
• Military Sexual Trauma – Counseling, pro-bono legal services and advocacy.
• Support for LGBT women in the military – Gay women are discharged by the Department
of Defense at twice the number as for male counterparts.
• Homeless women vets – The homeless population stats currently show that one of three
homeless people nationwide are veterans. Women and their children comprise a growing
part of this demographic.
• Education and Counseling – With recruiters under pressure to fill quotas, they are reaching
out to young women. SWAN members are involved in presenting a voice at high school and
colleges relating information about their personal service.

The Pentagon confirmed that one in three women serving her country has been the victim of a sexual assault. There were 3,000 sexual assaults “reported” in 2008 (as opposed to those that went unreported for fear of ostracism or repercussion). It is clear that the problems of our service women need to be heard and addressed.

Voices about the inequities are starting to enter into the mainstream conversation. Col. (Ret.) Ann Wright has lectured tirelessly about the injustices endured by women in the military. Most recently Helen Benedict wrote The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq.

Hopefully, in between the barbecues and the parades, our citizens will reflect on both the physical and emotional challenges that our service women have – and continue – to face.