The Invisible War Page #4

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she already has-

I tell her to have

a text message

Or me on speed dial if she needs

to get out of there.

- Big surprise, big surprise,

big surprise.

- We'll get you

a big surprise.

Come on.

How'd it go?

What'd they say?

- Uh, it went good.

They-

- mama!

- Of course they-

they ordered a back x-ray

Instead of a face x-ray,

but-

Here, here's some makeup.

They should have-

they should know-

They should know

what's wrong with me.

Like, read my stuff and

you'll see that it's my face.

It's not my back.

It's not my legs, my arms.

It's my face.

- So the people who need

The proof don't even know

what your case is even about.

Like, I don't even know

why we wasted the gas money,

The trip, anything.

It was completely

a waste of time.

What a good veteran's day,

right?

- Yeah, it's a perfect way

to spend it.

- Yeah.

Screw it.

[dog barking]

- All right, it's around

midnight on October 24th.

And kori woke up myself

and our baby.

She woke up screaming.

So, uh, it's been

happening quite a bit.

[baby shouting excitedly]

- Go, go, go.

Oh!

- Got any more?

- I'm sorry I woke you up,

but it's fun, right?

We're having fun.

- Can we dive more?

- Yeah, let's put more in.

- I know kori almost

likes it better,

'cause it's quiet.

And, you know, really no one

to run into at night.

- Here.

- Because it was

an isolated duty station,

They were in charge,

and we were just

Kinda like cattle.

So-

That was the first time that

I was drugged and raped.

I was in this room

with some of my friends.

And I only had, like,

one or two drinks.

And I went and laid down.

It was, like, instantly.

I was not feeling well,

and came to

To having a pillow

over my head,

And my "friend"

raping me.

And that went on

repeatedly.

You had to call an operator

to get a line off base.

So, they listened

to your phone calls.

So they were screened.

And I used to call my dad

and beg him

To get me out of there.

He would always ask me,

"hon, well, what's wrong?"

And I'm like, "I can't

tell you what's wrong,

"because the people that

are listening

"to our phone calls

are the same

People that could

hurt me."

- Most sex offenders

are hunters.

Just like any hunter,

they study their prey.

They study their movements.

They study their behaviors.

They study

the environment.

- You have rapists that prey

on other human beings.

They-they stalk them.

They wait until

the victim is at

The most vulnerable point

in time

To perpetrate

their crimes.

- A lot of times,

the victim is somebody

That the suspect

is very familiar with,

And they're very aware

of what's going on.

- Most sex offenders

have this hidden persona

That nobody ever sees

except for the victim.

Therefore, when they're caught,

or if somebody reports,

People don't tend

to believe that

Because they don't see

the typical sex offender.

- If it's an officer,

it's an officer

That has habitually

in the past

Preyed on an enlisted.

They would do it once,

they'd get away with it.

And then they think,

"wow, this was pretty easy.

Um, I'm gonna try it again."

- Particularly

for a savvy perpetrator

To work within a relatively

closed system,

Like the military,

It becomes a prime, um-

Sort of target-rich

environment for a predator.

- When I was discharged,

I moved to seattle

Where things got

really bad.

I started to lose

everything.

I was homeless.

And there was addiction.

I was selling drugs,

packing a gun.

- 40% of homeless female

veterans

Have been raped

while they were serving.

They spin into such depression

and abuse

That they can't

hold jobs.

They can't hold

their lives together

And they end up

on the streets.

- My partner, amy, uh,

I met her a few years ago.

I was going and trying to do

some stuff at the gym and-

And, uh...

[chuckles]

- When I first saw trina,

I was at the gym.

And I look over

and it was like the universe

Was, like,

"there you go."

And in my head I was like,

"well, there you are."

Well, I knew there was

something "special" about her.

- [laughs] wow.

- For sure.

When we first

started dating, it was hard.

The biggest hurdle was

not taking p.T.S.D. Personally.

It does get

really stressful.

[video game gunshots]

- What's that?

- A trader.

- Trader?

- Yeah.

- Oh, like a vendor?

- Yeah.

- Oh.

Not like, "I'm a traitor."

Like, "you bastard traitor,"

that kind of thing?

[laughter]

okay.

- If I've ever lived

with anybody,

It's just been

with that person.

So when I moved in,

it was like, "oh, my god."

You know, it was amy,

three boys.

- "I'm not just moving in

with amy,

I'm moving in with

an entire family."

- And I was like,

"oh, my god."

- Yeah.

- So they were so used to so,

you know, such open space.

And with my p.T.S.D.,

you know?

Yeah, we had some moments.

- I'm sort of sad to have

never known trina beforehand.

- Yeah.

- When she was sort of

In her-

in her prime.

Now she's anxious

and sad a lot.

- You gonna go-

You gonna go protect me,

mitch?

Suzy, come.

Let's go.

A lot of times if, like,

we're out doing something,

You know, mitch will

be, like, checking in,

Like, "oh, it's okay, trina.

It's all right."

I'm appreciative of it,

you know.

But it makes me really sad

That here's this little

That's watching out

for my well-being.

It hurts, you know?

I want it to go away,

you know?

And it doesn't go away.

- Move it!

All:
Yes, sir!

[indistinct yelling]

- I think the men that

we attract to the military-

You know, we've got,

"the army of one."

You know,

"be all you can be."

All those themes that

we've had throughout the years,

Um, very, very

heavily masculine.

Masculinity

cannot be victimized.

Because if you're a leader-

If you're a masculine person

and you're victimized,

Then you're weak.

The problem is that anybody

Can be a victim

of sexual assault.

- I joined the service

in, um, 1972.

The military is a great

way of life.

I got to see the world.

Um, I got educated.

I loved the military.

I was 19 and, uh,

I went to chow hall alone.

And the next thing I know

I was laying on the ground.

I was struck from behind.

And two guys were

holding me down,

And one guy was, uh,

pulling my pants down.

And, uh, you know,

He was taking care

of his business.

And you know,

I struggled.

And I was being struck

and hit and told-

You know, told to shut up

or they'd kill me.

And I see how

it destroyed my life.

I mean, I've been married

three times.

Just luckily I have

a wife right now

Who I've been

married to for 25 years.

- You start wondering.

And you start sort of

either coming up

With reasons why things

are the way they are.

And for a long time,

I kept thinking,

"I don't know, there's-

something-something else."

- I had never told anybody

in over 30 years.

I decided

to tell my wife.

It was the scariest moment

in my life.

I was gonna tell my wife,

she was gonna leave me.

And I would be lost

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