Guest Blog: Why I support S.967 Military Justice Improvement Act

Thanks to Rosie Palfy for her guest blog post on serving in the U.S. Marines and why she supports Sen. Gillibrand’s Military Justice Improvement Act.

By Rosie Palfy, former U.S. Marine

While I was serving in the Marines, I personally didn’t know of a single case where justice was served when another Marine reported being raped, sexually assaulted or sexually harassed. When I was stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., a female Marine was murdered in her barracks room after another Marine attempted to rape her. He cut her throat to the backbone, and nearly decapitated her. Then he proceeded to go do his laundry.

Every Marine I served with who reported an incident of rape, sexual assault or sexual harassment experienced some form retaliation from their command. They were either accused of or in some cases charged with fraternization, underage drinking, adultery, being gay, or being in a man’s room after hours. In other words, the so-called military justice system always managed to blame the victim.

The one time I actually saw justice served was when I escorted members of the media to the court-martial of an accused serial rapist. That was part of my job, while working in the base public affairs office. The accused Marine was convicted of breaking into multiple homes in base housing and raping the women who lived there. When the prosecutor showed the jury a map of where the women were attacked, you could connect the dots & form a circle. The Marine’s house was in the middle of the circle.

What many people, including lawmakers, fail to realize is that the majority of people who are raped and sexually assaulted in the military are men. Rape is about power, not sex. Therefore, men who prey upon other men are sexual predators looking for a moment of opportunity to prey upon someone regardless of their gender or sexual orientation.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has already garnered tremendous bipartisan support for S.967 the Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013 since she introduced it in May. The proposed legislation currently has 38 co-sponsors and was written in response to a recent Department of Defense report which triggered a number of congressional calls for action. The report noted more than 26,000 incidents of military sexual assault or unwanted sexual contact in 2012. The same report also documented 3,374 official reports of military sexual assault. Only a fraction of those cases were prosecuted, resulting in a mere 238 convictions.

The legislation would make sweeping changes in the military justice system. These changes would protect the rights of victims as well as the rights of the accused. The legislation would remove the decision about taking a sexual assault case to special or general court-martial completely out of the chain of command & give that discretion to experienced military prosecutors. The bill would apply to all military crimes that are punishable by one year or more in confinement, except crimes of a unique military nature, such as disobeying orders or being absent without leave (AWOL).

The legislation has been endorsed by the following organizations: Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America, American Legion, Fleet Reserve Association (FRA), Protect Our Defenders (POD) & Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN).

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