May 11, 2004 SUBJECT: US Government and Pentagon Sanctioning of Abuses; Rapes and Abuses; Physical, Psychological, Mental, Emotional, Sexual Abuses and revictimization. To Whom It May Concern: I
do not glibly write this letter knowing the firestorm it may cause. I
write this letter for all people who have been abused globally by the
US: I am a former US military Commander of seven years and as a captain, I counseled military men and women and family members who suffered from sexual, emotional, psychological, physical and mental abuses. In numerous units, commands and increased positions of responsibilities, I was expected to work closely with professional civilian and some competent military professionals in determining the long-term care treatment and counseling avenues of my personnel. My recommendations as a commander dealing with traumatized and troubled personnel were always recognized, honored and implemented. I have observed, and continued to recognize then and now, the same patterns and symptoms of survivors and have drawn from my military training about the ongoing abuses without accountability continuing in our uniformed services. Currently, as Executive Director of STAAAMP, Inc., I have spoken with well over 4,300 US military personnel, federal civil servants and civilians and thousands of foreign citizens abused by US military personnel. Let
me begin by sharing some basic historical facts concerning US military
abuses. They are wide spread and involve all populations to include
civilians (US and foreign), civilian federal employees, military,
reservist, spouses and children. - With over 4,300 clients in the US and thousands overseas….abuse victims span 5 decades going back to WWII. All these clients have spoken with me in which they have sought Congressional, military and legal assistance to bring to justice their assailants. No help has come from US leadership. Of all 4,300 cases, only 3 have been prosecuted. Even with overwhelming evidence these assailants were given minor punishments for serious crimes; such as 2 months in jail for child rape, 2 yrs 8 months for rape of a military woman, adultery and fraternization rather then charged as a serial rapists of 4 military women. - In 1991-1992 – The Navy’s Tailhook Scandal in Las Vegas in which the Navy elite aviators including the Navy’s senior most Admirals and DOD officials were involved in the sexual assault of 83 women, most were civilians. Not one of these sexual assaults resulted in criminal charges but instead the militaries equivalent of a traffic ticket known as a Captain’s Mast which under US Code 552a is invisible to FBI and local law enforcement background checks. This scandal produced a “zero tolerance policy” which appeared to put in place a zero tolerance of sexual misconduct by all military personnel towards others within the US military. However,
since this time; -
No less then
17 major military sexual scandals have occurred in which no serious
criminal conduct has been prosecuted or resulted in full accountability
of military leadership and assailants. -
Pentagon’s
Permission to Rape and Keep Rapist in the Military Policy. Between the
mid 1980’s and the mid 1990’s Lt. Colonel Charles P. McDowell with
the permission of the Pentagon and US Government put together a
checklist of 57 questions & weighted score sheet. McDowell a
military criminal investigator (expert in murder) taught these
techniques to other military and civilian criminal investigators. The
purpose of the checklist-- to throw out rape victims legitimate
testimony and keep rapists and sexual assailants in the US military.
(see attached info) Despite
providing this to US Congresspersons and Senators NO ONE in D.C. wants
to fully disclose the facts of McDowell’s work. -
March 2003, a
member of the DOD legal counsel called and confirmed the use of
McDowell’s work, however notes, both McDowell and his work (rape
checklist permission to rape) had been discontinued.
-
However, in
2000 and 2001, respectively, McDowell still worked for the Pentagon
McDowell as Program Director oversaw development of policies for the DOD
Inspector General. -
Reported
Statistics from the Veterans Administration over 200,000 US military
women have been sexually harassed 79%, hazed and 30% raped by their own
US military male counterparts; 60,000 East Asian Pacific civilians from
Okinawa, Philippines, Korea, Japan, Thailand have been sexually
harassed, raped, brutalized and murdered with virtually no
accountability by US military men. In fact it has been standard
operating procedure of the US military when one of their own personnel
abuse, rape or murder a foreigner to place them (assailant) on an
airplane and send them not to prison but to the next assignment without
accountability. Of the military men being raped by their own; the VA
reports 98% of all rapes within the military male-on-male are committed
by heterosexual to heterosexual. Actual numbers are not obtainable
because both the US military and Veterans Administration will not
document these cases accurately, however, a male rapists of other males
will rape 250 men before they are caught.
-
In 1997, five
military spouses and partners were murdered at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky
before officials did anything to stop the abuse within domestic violence
and in 2003, again, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina 5 military spouses and
partners are murdered.
-
Immunity
Laws: When the US military refuses to hold their own military members
accountable for violations of law, and the victim or their family has
exhausted the US military chain of command up to and including the US
President, only then can they gain access to the US Courts. There are 5
immunity laws on the US books and with the assistance of the US Justice
Department the military perpetrator and or the leadership who refused to
intervene to protect the abused, gets immunity. These laws are the Feres
Doctrine, the Bivens Doctrine, Intra-military Immunity, Title VII, and
US Code 552a. -
There are
numerous cases of rape, torture and abuse that are contrary to US
military law, federal law and international laws. And, yet there are 5
precedence cases on US law books in which the US military sexual
predators and/or the leadership failed to provide protection. With the
direct assistance of US Department of Justice attorneys, US Courts and
these 5 immunity laws the assailants were given immunity and freedom. Of
the 5 military women whose cases are cited 3 of the 5 are now dead as a
direct result of the crimes and abuses committed against them; two were
driven through retaliation to their deaths (psychologically murdered),
the 3rd stalked and murdered after repeated and ignored pleas
for help from her command. [Note A] -
Letter dated
March 2004, from US Army Europe, General B.B. Bell’s letter notes
“sexual assault is the second most-reported felony in the Army in
Europe.” This is occurring because of the overt hostile environment
that is allowed to exist. (see Iowa Study) -
Conduct Unbecoming; List of General officers who have had forced
spouses and employees into relationships, sexual misconduct, or
established a hostile environment in which the (Generals) were awarded
retirement rather then criminal charges. STAAAMP, Inc. knows of over 40
US military General’s, Admirals and Colonel’s who have been provided
immunity by US Courts or their own system (retirement) after serious
criminal conduct. (list is available upon request). -
US Women’s Congress Caucus of the United States Letter to Sec.
of Defense Rumsfeld. March 31, 2004 in which the letter notes that 18
Task Force studies (currently the 19th Task Force) have been
completed in the last 16 years on sexual misconduct in the US military
and without exception, no recommendations have been adopted even in lieu
of the Zero Tolerance Policy. -
In Feb 2004 the Department of Defense stated that between 1950
and 2000 rapes have been cut in half…… -
1997 Justice Department Veterans in Prison Report, -
The
allowances for military criminal conduct to go selectively prosecuted,
crimes allowed to occur, sanctioned and protected has serious and grave
consequences to civilians US and foreign. The following is a short list
of former US military or children of military. -
Rapes and abuses of at least 120 US military women by our own US
military men in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan most of the victims have
been charged with crimes, threatened, forced to leave service or have
been retaliated against by the higher chain of command.
There has been little or no prosecutions of the rapist who still
for the most part remain in the field with already abused Iraqi, Kuwait
and Afghani people. However,
it is my belief based on numerous aspects of these crimes (School of the
Americas) the US military and government has an unwritten policy of
rape, torture and criminal miss conduct that is used to further US
global interests. These abuses are used to undercut the potential of
other nations’ resources and enslave through abuses other other
nations’ people, financial and political potential. These interests
are a wanton disregard to other nation’s rights for self-evolution and
self-determination. Military
laws and federal US laws while often discussed as being leading models
of democracy are used selectively throughout the US military to give the
public impression of equal accountability; rather it is a system of
unequal protection. Many military criminals to include senior military
leaders, rapists and abusers have been given protection within the
military and by US courts and officials. These protections are
compoundingly dangerous to US citizens, military and global populations
in personal, community and national security.
It is my belief that the US must be held accountable equally to
all laws that the US holds all nations to. Failure to do so is a
disregard of our place as a global neighbor and attempts to place the US
as global master. I will gladly
provide you with any information to understand and experience the
catastrophic and systemic failures of these government and military
systems in the hopes of re-guiding them into honorable pursuits.
If you have any questions for me or would like me to do a
presentation please feel free to contact me at (937) 879-9304 or
2568. Reverend
Dorothy Mackey, Exec. Director, STAAAMP, Inc. Appendix With an
undergraduate degree in criminal justice and as an ordained minister, I
am well aware of both the civil, federal, international violations of
law and the moral breeches of human conduct widespread within the US
military. Most notably, I am very familiar with the extremely poor
reactions, refusal and ignorance taken by military leadership concerning
the victims of hostile environments, sexual assaults, rapes and various
other abuses. The symptoms and patterns of abuse, the official and
unofficial policies and laws that protect assailants over victims is
clear and will be provided in this package.
These are not just cases of assailants to victims ignoring
well-established laws, but the ongoing allowance of this conduct and the
command’s and US governments’ continual refusal to fully hold
accountable assailants. My work in the field of abuse, especially
military abuse includes: speaking with 14 Air Force Academy rape
survivors, assisting in breaking the story and appeared on Today Show
with Katie Couric, CNN Early Show with Paula Zahn, Bill O’Reilly
Factor, Court TV with Catherine Crier, and Sam Donnelson radio live;
interviews by Chicago Tribune, LA Times, New York Times, Denver Post,
Associated Press, etc. Requested to review and provide input to the
United Nations Report Special Rapporteur Radhika Coomaraswamy concerning
global abuse of women, 2003; Presenter/speaker for the following events:
International Conference of Psychiatrists on Sexual Offenders, Austria,
2002, International Conference of Psychiatrists on Sexual Survivors,
Czech Republic 2002, and a presentation to Amnesty International Czech
Republic 2002. Panel member for the East Asian Pacific Women’s Summit
on US Military Abuses, Okinawa 2000, Panel member for the Women’s
Feminist Majority Conference on US Military Abuses 1999, Ohio &
National Coalition Against Sexual Assault, New Orleans, LA, 1998, Panel
member for The Hague for Peace Conference concerning East Asian Abuses
by US Military members 1998, East Asian Pacific Women’s Conference,
Washington D.C. 1998, Japanese Lawyers Guild Conference 1998, Guest
Speaker for numerous college and university classes and panel member to
include for the John Marshal School of Law 1995. Note A:
These cases include: The full text of this paper is available from Black Women’s
Rape Action Project bwrap@dircon.co.uk
and Women Against Rape war@womenagainstrape.net
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