Due to “retention issues,” the Coast Guard will continue protecting predators. Leaders would rather toss aside a member broken by sexual assault than punish the member that assaulted them
** This anonymous U.S. Coast Guard Survivor Testimonial was originally submitted to “The Pettiest Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard” on Facebook in May of 2024 and re-published by MLAA. MLAA does not know the identity of the author and has not verified any of the claims or allegations made in this testimonial. Light formatting changes for readability, or redactions for PII may have been applied before publishing. **
I have been out of the Coast Guard for a couple years now. I was discharged for mental health issues related to SA. While in the service, I observed so much inappropriate behavior and experienced it myself on multiple occasions. I still have active duty friends, and at some point, most of them have had to deal with this. Some have been reported, some haven't; the outcomes were the same regardless. Pushback from command, little to no retaliation against the guilty members, and a sorry excuse for "counseling."
I was assaulted by an army vet very early into my Coast Guard career. I did not report it. Maybe a month later, a different incident occurred and the individual did report it. To my knowledge, there were no lasting repercussions for the assault that was reported. It furthered my hesitation to speak up about my own.
My mental health plummeted after the assault. I never struggled with insomnia or substance abuse beforehand, and suddenly I was drinking at every opportunity and going days without sleep. I didn't reach out for help. Everything I read through pretty much said that I'd be discharged and likely face some sort of repercussion for underage drinking while they're at it.
I ended up making an attempt on my life. My Chief escorted me to the hospital. While I was waiting in the emergency room for a suicide attempt, he made an inappropriate comment about how good he looked, how he wants married women to see him and be jealous that their husbands don't look like him, how he likes to show his body off at the beach. I was so uncomfortable that I didn't even respond.
I ended up being recommended for discharge after my attempt. I tried to talk to a military mental health professional about what my Chief said. I was told that I was reading too much into it and that if I were to report it, they would keep me in the service for longer. So I didn't.
I was no longer allowed to go underway, so I was sent TDY to work on base until I got out. While working on base, a shipmate continually made inappropriate sexual comments about me to my face, at work, in uniform. I told him multiple times to stop. My friends told me to report him, but I was too nervous to speak up. In retrospect, I should have, because this individual ended up drugging me when we hung out outside of work. He didn't do anything to my knowledge, but he absolutely could have and I would not have been able to stop it. I felt the effects of the drug for multiple days afterwards, and had to show up for duty and act like I was fine.
Eventually, I gave in and talked to our SARC. I didn't disclose everything, just that I had been assaulted in the past and that I needed help. She assisted me with making a restricted report and put me in touch with a civilian therapist. I did not receive proper care until I reached out to someone without command pressure. This is the reality of trying to get help in the Coast Guard.
Because of "retention issues," they are going to continue letting these people get away with heinous acts. They would rather toss aside a member broken by sexual assault than deal with the fallout of punishing the member that assaulted them. It happens all the time. In training environments, on ships, on bases, everywhere. Leadership can require everyone to watch a video on consent with a middle school comprehension level every other week, but it won't stop these individuals from raping and harassing their shipmates. Nothing is going to change until they actually start punishing the guilty members. Discharge them. Make everyone aware that they are dangerous. Otherwise, they and countless others will continue to get away with it.