The Invisible War Page #5

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without her.

I- I mean, honest to god,

I couldn't-

I couldn't get up

every morning without my wife.

You know?

And, uh, I told her.

- I felt horrified.

And I felt sad.

And I felt angry.

And, you know, along the course

of the evening,

You know, feelings

just started to surface

That were probably

just simmering

For a very, very long time.

- And she puts her arms

around me

And we both sat there

and sobbed.

It was like-

[crying]

This great weight had been

lifted off of me.

- I think it's important

to recognize

That military sexual trauma

is not limited to women.

And, in fact, when it comes

to the absolute numbers,

Because of the proportion

of men

In much larger numbers

than women,

Actually the numbers

are even greater.

- I think one of the last bits

of research

Show that about 1% of males

had been victims

Of sexual assault within

the past year in the military.

That equals to about 20,000.

- You would get labeled

as a buddy-f***er.

And, um, that's not a nice

term to be related to.

So it's one of those things

that you just don't-

You don't talk about it,

or your don't

Bring to anybody's attention.

You just kinda

keep it to yourself.

- It's really, really hard

to forget.

You know, up until now

I still-

They live in my head,

you know?

I can hear them laugh.

I can see

their faces.

I can see

what they're doing to me.

- [breathes deeply]

I felt scared.

And I was scared

to tell my friends,

The people that

really knew me,

The truth about

what happened.

- The shame,

as bad as it is for women,

Is even worse for men

because it's all

Tied in with homophobia.

- The people who are

doing the raping are not gay.

That's not the problem.

And they're worried about

gays in the military.

The gays are not

the rapists.

They're heterosexual men

for the most part.

- This is not an issue

of sexual orientation.

This simply an issue

of power and violence.

Male sexual predators

for the large part

Have targeted whoever

is there to prey upon,

Whether that's men or women.

- Whenever I see that,

you know,

There is, uh, evidence

that another woman

Has been sexually assaulted,

The question I keep

asking myself is,

"when does this ever end?"

- Breaking news

at this hour,

The navy appears to be facing

a huge sex scandal.

Details are still

coming in.

- From abc,

this is world news tonight

With peter jennings.

- Good evening.

We're going to begin tonight

by putting a human face

On the worst case

of sexual harassment

In the navy's history.

At an annual naval aviator's

convention

Called the tailhook convention.

Senior officers have known

since 1985

That the convention included

the so-called gauntlet.

Set up for specific purpose

of targeting

And sexually molesting

women.

- I got off the elevator

on the third floor.

You could see maybe

It was just a few steps

into the hallway

Before, uh, they closed ranks

around me.

And then it happened

very quickly that, um,

From both sides

and from behind,

Men came in and started

reaching in my shirt.

I was getting pushed down

to the floor

And someone was reaching

under my skirt

Pulling my underwear off.

And, you know, it was about

maybe 30 or 40 feet

Of 200 guys trying

to pull my clothes off,

Like I was a high value

target.

The next morning, I met

with my boss for breakfast.

And I said, you know,

"what happened here?"

And he said,

"well, that's what you get

For walking down a hallway

full of drunk aviators."

And I said like,

"I-I don't think so."

- An investigation

was finally begun.

But 1,500 interviews later,

The navy's inspector general

reported

That his investigators

were being stonewalled.

A great wall of silence had

gone up to protect the guilty.

- The u.S. Army today

is trying to establish

The extent

of a new and growing

Rape and sexual harassment

scandal.

It all took place

at the army base

At aberdeen proving ground

Where 30 women have

filed complaints

Of sexual advances

that range from

Unwanted touching to rape

and forcible sodomy.

- Aberdeen proving ground

is a location

Where the non-commissioned

officers were

Assaulting and raping

trainees,

And then passing the name

of the person

They had assaulted

to another n.C.O.

- That is unacceptable

conduct for soldiers.

It's unacceptable

to the army.

And we have zero tolerance.

- 12 years ago,

the tailhook sex scandal

Shook the u.S. Navy,

And now the air force faces

what may be

An even bigger problem.

Rape and other sexual abuse

at the air force academy

In colorado springs.

- 142 allegations of assault

against women

Had been made

in the last decade.

- The highest ranking

air force generals

Knew about serious problems of

sexual assault at the academy,

Yet failed to take action.

- We don't intend

to sweep this under the rug.

Uh, we take it

very seriously.

We're gonna address it

publicly.

- In congress,

outraged senators

Accused air force brass

of ignoring assaults on women.

- We have a clear pattern

Of reports of sexual assault

Where the reaction

of the air force academy

Seems to be

to blame the victim.

- We are in the process

of instituting those-

Those changes now.

- You're in the process of

instituting those changes now?

Obviously you

and I and the secretary

Have a fundamental

disagreement here.

- What needs to be done

and should be done

As it relates to the problem

of sexual assault

Within the military,

women in the military that

Have had, um, a great deal

of difficulty

Accessing some sense

of justice?

- I-I-really-

I totally share your concerns.

We have to be-

we have to have zero tolerance

For any kind of sexual assaults

in the military.

- At a small post

in washington d.C.,

Marine pride, history,

and tradition live on.

Marine barracks

at 8th and "I" streets

Is the oldest post

in the corps,

And for 100 years,

from the early 1800s,

It was marine corps

headquarters.

- [chanting]

- Marine barracks

in washington, d.C.

Is the most prestigious unit

there is in the marine corps.

This is the unit where

the best of the best go.

It is the marine corps'

showcase ceremonial unit.

It handles presidents

and dignitaries...

Security at the white house,

The silent drill team.

- After my deployment

to operation iraqi freedom

In 2008, 2009,

my commanding officer

Recommended me for

the marine barracks washington.

I was excited.

It the tip of the spear

as far as

The marine corps

is concerned.

- She would stay

at work late.

And then she would

drive home

And she'd call me,

and she'd be on

Some kind of little high.

And she'd talk about

how she loved her job.

She was, uh-

This sweet person who was

trying really hard-

And succeeding.

- One of the first things I was

told when I checked in was,

"don't wear any makeup,

because the marines

Will all think that

you wanna sleep with them."

And I thought,

"that's just ridiculous."

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