I live in eastern Connecticut, not far from the Coast Guard Academy. For those who don't know it's in New London, actually across the street from Connecticut College, which my cousin attended and a friend of mind taught at, so I've been in the area a few times. The Academy is a source of pride to our state and one of a few important symbols of our maritime tradition. Actually I drive right past it whenever I'm headed to Mystic and points nearby. The Mystic Seaport museum is another of those important symbols -- home, among other rare artifacts, to the only surviving wooden whaling ship, the Charles W. Morgan.
Every year, the CGA graduation is a big event, bringing at least one important speaker -- this year, Kamala Harris -- hundreds of proud parents, and a stampede of news crews. I've always been interested in the Coast Guard and I know a fair amount about the vessels they operate and their seacraft. Alas, however, this does not really surprise me.
CNN -- A secret investigation into alleged sexual abuse at the US Coast Guard Academy, the training ground for the Coast Guard’s top officers, uncovered a dark history of rapes, assaults and other serious misconduct being ignored and, at times, covered up by high-ranking officials.. . .
Despite credible evidence of assaults dating back to the late 1980s, investigators found that most of the alleged perpetrators were not criminally investigated at the time. Instead, the incidents were handled as administrative violations, and punishments, if they happened at all, were as minor as extra homework or lowered class standings. Sometimes, even those pushed out of the academy were still able to serve in the US military.
As a result, some of the accused ascended to top roles at the Coast Guard and other military agencies. In contrast, many alleged victims left the academy after reporting their assaults, ending their hopes of a career in the service.
Yes, they kept the report a secret for years. If you read on, you will find that many of the incidents they are talking about are just flat out rape, and that the boys just thought it was a fun game, as apparently did the administration. This is pretty similar to what happened in other military institutions* when women entered what had previously been all male preserves, and the instinct by superiors to just cover it up and make it go away rather than confront the problem is also all too typical. They don't seem to understand what does and does not reflect badly on them.
* The Coast Guard is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security, not the Defense Department, and unlike the military services it has, obviously, a domestic law enforcement, regulatory, and rescue mission. However, it is military in organization, and can be brought under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Navy in time of war. In fact, it's capability as an armed naval force exceeds that of most nations.
2 comments:
The superiors also seem 100% tone-deaf to a little phenomenon called PTSD, and its effect on victims.
Violent country, founded on violence, genocide, misogyny, racism and abuse. The story needs to be told and learned or it will continue unabated.
It has never failed to amaze me how organizations / professions protect members who are a stain on the reputation of the organization itself. Since their behavior besmirches the reputation of every other member you'd think that the natural response would be to come down so hard on the offender that no other member would ever dream of following suit.
The common explanation seems to be that the group is afraid of the scandal that would ensue. Yet most of us with a religious background have had the idea that we're all sinful pounded into us since childhood. So the discovery of bad apples should be expected. Not finding any ought to raise serious questions.
(I've come the the conclusion that logic is useless for understanding society.)
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