My tormentor was selected for OCS. Now every time I transfer I worry that I will have to work for him again and deal with more abuse.

** 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 love the Coast Guard. I found purpose and meaning through the job I do on a daily basis. I also did not know how bad some of my shipmates have had it. I want to add my story to the call for action. For context, I am a cisgender male heterosexual.

I was repeatedly sexually assaulted prior to joining the Coast Guard. I worked at a restaurant where a manager would put his hands down my pants to grab my ass and try to grind into me at every possible opportunity. He was popular, and I was timid. I did not speak up at the time. Since then, I have had many friends across the LGBTQ+ spectrum and have heard gut-wrenching stories about the abuse they face on a daily basis.

After spending some time in the Coast Guard, I was assigned to a large cutter in a small shop. My LPO decided my nickname was "fag" or "fagbag," depending on the day. It did not matter how many times I told him it was not appropriate and I did not appreciate it. He was sat down multiple times and talked to about it by other people, but nothing changed. He also decided to share my medical information around as gossip and use that as further ways to justify his actions. Nothing came of my complaints; in fact, he has since been picked up for OCS and is now an officer.

I worry every time that I transfer that I will have to work for him again and deal with the abuse.