The Coast Guard sends some people home broken. A sexual assault leaves a never ending war in a person’s core, and you become a prisoner in your own mind. I’d never let my daughter serve.
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I have a few stories from the Coast Guard.
This one is not really mine, but as a victim advocate, the civilian girl had her Coast Guard husband beating her. Court Martial was in our building oddly, it was on a Saturday in Norfolk. From the police reports and everything it was obvious that the member was assaulting his wife. However, the court felt like it was OK for this man to walk around freely even though she was terrified of him. He walked up on us in an enclosed parking lot, and I stepped in front of her. She started having such a bad panic attack. Excuse my language, I told him to get the fuck out of there. I would beat the fuck out of him like I could because technically he was a dude compared to me.
He would've killed her if he could've touched her that day. I don't understand how he was able to run freely through all the buildings to trap her in the enclosed parking garage.
I remember coming to St Pete Florida before I striked as an SK. I met an E3 on gate duty. He was put together and really nice, but they all made fun of him and wanted him out. He was on a vessel where command allowed crew to teabag each other and pin them in bunks, etc. He was consistently drinking, never ironed his uniform, etc. He will never be the same again, and he went home completely broken.
I had a training subordinate who went through so much stuff when we were stationed in St Pete and didn't know how she has to be around these people when it's already been stated what happened. She came to work every day crying, she hated being there, she was on the verge of getting kicked out for weight loss. She was married to a Coastie and every day all of his friends would come say stuff to her about her weight.
My personal thing I never reported, but it was messed up. So, at St. Pete, had an SK1 that actually called in while I was hazmat training to falsely report a sexual incident on the master chief. Of course I didn't go along, but my E5 called and was like, “let him use you.” My E6 was talking on messenger to an E4 talking about me negatively. It was my subordinate that he was talking about negatively. I didn't do what he wanted so he talked about me to lower ranks. Not even a month later, it was the two of us on duty and he tried to touch my breast and wanted me to make it up.... He is still being promoted and in the service.
Sorry I medically retired as E6. Flew through ranks because I wanted to do 20. I loved the CG, until I was in a position that to ruin another person's career by lying or become isolated by even my subordinates or have sex with with E6. I started with a bachelor degree when I joined and I have prospectus for my doctorate approved and a few chapters complete. So actually, my perspective was on Coast Guard and sexual assault and reporting. There is a clause that the Coast Guard isn't covered in, but the other branches of the military are. I found a weakness in it and they approved my prospectus right away.
I don't know if you noticed that yet but victims in the Coast Guard don't get the other guarantees that other branches do because we're a different department. Well, the girl that was my subordinate striker, the base decided she was easy. Honestly, I have no idea how she made it through his friends harassing her and some people, like her higher ranking night shift detail, decided that he would try to Netflix and chill by knocking on the gate duty room after midnight. I was already spoken to about not reporting the past initial incident. So I did report her supervisor coming that late in the one bed duty room, trying to take advantage of her. She caught even more backlash and I regretted doing the appropriate thing by telling my supervisor. They only spoke to the watch commander and he said he was 'just trying to help her'. I always worried if she would do self harm because it was already so bad for her and I made it worse.
Btw, the watch commander was only spoken to. Nothing at all happened to him but by following policy, I made the unbearable so much worse. I have a son and I think if I sent him there to serve, would he be like the drunk guy that suspended in the rack and tea-bagged? Coming home to never just be okay and able to function?
This is the people that served and sent home broken. Don't need a war like the marines to leave a never ending war in a person's core. I promise, if I had a girl, no way would she serve her country. An assault is so so so much worse than a battle injury. See doctors can provide pain relief for a physical injury. Being a prisoner in your mind from sexual assault, how do you stop the memories, visions without slowing the every second thought process? You relive the pain and clear vision for life without shock therapy or death.
** 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. **