military

So my ex left for the Air Force on Tuesday. Hard enough in and of itself, to see someone who holds such an important part of my life and heart, leave, knowing that I will probably never see him again. But, try adding on that for the past eight months he has been dating someone who was my friend for fifteen years.

Needless to say, she has decided that it is too uncomfortable to talk to me. I think she hates the fact that I was there first. I was his first for so many things, and she can never replace replace me in that regard. I think it makes her jealous. So she has said a handful of words to me on twice as many occasions, which has effectively ruined the friendship that endured most of our lives. I have tried to talk to her, I really have. I've sent emails, tried to get her alone at school. She just turns red and leaves or ignores me.

I keep meaning to write an article about the election and my opinion on Sen. Clinton. I will get around to it, too. In the meantime, there's this:

Grave of Pregnant Marine Found

The North Carolina police found what they believe to be the body of a female marine that had gone missing in Deccember - shortly after reporting that she had been raped by a fellow Marine. Who is now, to the surprise of no one, the prime suspect for her murder.

What I found even more disgusting (and what, curiously, isn't discussed in the article) is that, after reporting the rape, Marines scratched up her car, called her names, and one even punched her in the face. Got that from the CNN news on TV just now.

I wanted to share some stories with everyone. I have been doing a lot of research as of late on rape/sexual harassment/assault in the military. A lot of the statistics are hard to find, probably something swept under the rug for a while.75-85% of accused rapists get HONORABLY discharged. Anyway. I was talking/ranting with some of the other women that I work with about harassment, and how the cases of rape/assault in deployed areas are staggering and underreported. We’re scared of our soldiers when we’re fighting for our country? That doesn’t make sense, but it can be true.

Almost every woman I work with has been harassed in some form in her military career. During my first deployment to Iraq my HGFL (Home Girl for Life), Lewy woke up to a man standing over her bed. (After she found shorts, she chased him with a 9mm, too bad she didn’t catch him.) Turns out he was this creep I told to eff-off at the gym. He must have followed us to our building. (I never liked when he was near us, he stared up my shorts when I was benching, all creepy-weirdo like.) She reported it, and since he never actually touched her, NOTHING happened. Our commander (A civilian sex crimes Detective) tried to explain the importance of him getting brought up on charges to the upper echelons, but notta. I think towards the end of the tour they caught him walking in on more female soldiers and he had to be permanently escorted by 2 guards, and his weapons got taken away. Whether or not he was punished under UCMJ, I have no idea. I am going to put that on the list of “Reasons Why I Will NEVER Re-Enlist.”

I have been reluctant to talk about anything thus far having to do with my miltary career. I feel as though I will be judged among activists, personally. I will ask kindly before you read this please don't judge. I'm not a war monger, I don't want to kill anyone, and I certainly am not responsible for the suffering of any other human being. That being said. Here I go.

While in Baghdad, Iraq I served as a machine gunner.I've been on over 300 missions in a combat sector aka "front lines." I've been shot at, mortared and scared shitless for my life. I've endured the loss of friends, didn't see my family for most of two years, and it all happened because I am a soldier. And a damn good one at that.