“We did not send a rapist and
a murderer to Iraq.”

May 20, 2009

Those are the words of the aunt of former U.S. soldier Steven Green who has been convicted of rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the murder of her parents and 6-year-old sister to cover it up.  This incident made major headlines in 2006.  Now he has been convicted and is facing a possible death sentence or life in prison.  His aunt is pointing her finger squarely at the military while the military makes noise about Green’s harsh childhood and neglect.

Several years ago, journalists from Korea came to interview me about the U. S. Military and some of its recruiting practices.  The interview was not any different than any of a hundred other interviews until near the end when the journalist kept rephrasing the same questions over and over again trying to get me to say a very particular thing on camera.  After a few attempts of this I finally said, “I understand you are trying to get me to say that because many of the troops that are recruited by the military come from poor backgrounds, it results in the members U.S. military committing sexual assaults.  I won’t say that because I do not believe that.”

I didn’t believe that because the neighborhoods in cities where the military recruits are the neighborhoods where I grew up.  But there was no rampant raping going on in my neighborhood.  In fact, I was witness to as much, if not more, sexual assault in the prestigious college I attended.

The military, sad to say, can make no claim of not having a problem with sexual assault.   According to the DoD Report on Sexual Assault in the Military for Fiscal Year 2007, “There were 2,688 total reports of sexual assault involving Military Service Members,” of which “The Military Services completed a total of 1,955 criminal investigations on reports made during or prior to FY07.”  In the military, with a prosecution rate of 181 of the 2,688, the rate of reporting an already notoriously under reported crime is even lower.  One study noted that sexual assault in the military is three to ten times more prevalent than in the general population.  Nearly one-third of a nationwide sample of female veterans who sought health care through the VA said they experienced rape or attempted rape during their service.

Domestic violence in military families is also disproportionately high.

The reality is that killing and dehumanizing the other person is a skill the military teaches.  It has always amazed me that the military is then surprised when members of the military do just that.

Regardless of the reason for Steven Green’s transformation into a rapist of children and murderer, there is no question this is a tragic story.  Few seem to have ever cared what happened to him in the military or out of it.  Green’s mother did not even attend his sentencing hearing due to a “going-away” party in her honor.