With Great Power... Part 1

Time is truly wastin’,

 There’s no guarantee,

Smile is in the makin’, 

We got to fight the powers that be

Got so many voices, 

Saying all the same,

Killing up all around me, 

Faces full of pain.

This Isley Brother's 70's dance tune reminds me of the immovable power that men have over others. They control and destroy lives of those in their way. Our military used to be considered the greatest force for good in this world. And now after hearing story upon story of those who have power but misuse it to for their own lustful ends, it's apparent that "power no longer keeps in step with virtue and honor."

Got So Many Voices, Saying All The Same

Even if you're not an avid comic book enthusiast, no doubt you followed the masses to the theaters to

"With Great Powers comes great responsibility" 2014 Marvel Comics

see the "Spiderman" movies. Aside from all of the plot twists, villainous doings, and girl trouble Peter Parker has, his heroic side is forged through a missed opportunity when he let a bad guy go Scott-free during a robbery. Later the same robber kills his Uncle in a cowardly act. After bringing his uncle's killer to justice, Parker is haunted by the irony that his uncle might still be alive if he had intervened earlier. "I know now that with these great powers, comes great responsibility." This mantra, as corny as it may seem, still rings true in our un-comic-type lives. We don't wear masks or capes, but at some level, we have been given things to shape lives, even if its just the lives of our children and loved ones.

DOD Secretary Chuck Hagel. "I want to give commanders more
responsibility, not less..."

Two weeks ago Chuck Hagel was quoted as saying he wanted to give commanders more responsibility in sexual assault cases, not less. My reaction was; how much more responsibility to they need? They've had the power to see that justice was done in all of these cases of sexual assault and rape, and their response was to ignore the victims, or call them sluts, whores, block cases from coming to trial, over turn verdicts, or be participants themselves in these heinous crimes. My question is: why haven't these commanders used their great powers of command and authority in helping victims, and catching perpetrators, and dispensing justice? The worst part of this issue is, the commanders and the Pentagon viewing themselves as being victims of having their responsibility stripped from them, while nothing could be further from the truth. Advocates and survivors are simply saying "we want a justice system that is fair and people with a background in the judicial process.

I Tried Talking About It, I Got The Big Runaround

The Pentagon and Congress continue to salad toss the rhetoric of saying that to remove the commander's authority in this one area, will remove good order and discipline. How can you remove something that most commanders don't already have? Taking the decision to allow sexual assault cases to go forward is not the lynch pin to a commander's ability to command his troops. Good

Does Lady of Justice Peek?

order and discipline must work for every man and woman in the system and not just for those who have a stellar record, or against those who appear to be trouble makers. Is the "Truth and justice for all" mantra, just for the powerful and privileged, while losers and the weak just have to deal with it? Perhaps Lady Justice has been playing Peek-a-boo behind her blindfold? Especially if you were a fly on the proverbial wall, watching an Article 32 hearing of the Naval Rape case, where 3 football players had been accused of sexually assaulting a female midshipman.

Female Midshipman Being grilled for 30 hours about sexual habits 

WASHINGTON — For roughly 30 hours over several days, defense lawyers for three former United States Naval Academy football players grilled a female midshipman about her sexual habits. In a public hearing, they asked the woman, who has accused the three athletes of raping her, whether she wore a bra, how wide she opened her mouth during oral sex and whether she had apologized to another midshipman with whom she had intercourse “for being a ho." 

Many military legal experts were appalled by what they heard. “What this case shows is that we think the military justice system can somehow solve the sexual assault problem, but it can’t,” said Diane H. Mazur, an emeritus law professor at the University of Florida. Several military justice experts said Article 32 proceedings should be eliminated. Navy Hearing in Rape Case Raises Alarm By JENNIFER STEINHAUER NY Times Sept. 20, 2013 

This is not good public relations if you are serious about having victims come forward. Most victims will tell you that the only thing worse than the assault is enduring ridicule at the hands of of their commander and the justice system.
At any level of the chain of command good order and discipline should work. But it stops when those with that power, use and abuse it for their own purposes, and then choose to cover over the crime with rank, privilege, and power.

I Got Knocked On The Ground

Things such as this saddens me down to the core, when I learn that not only a military leader has

Lt. Col. Joseph "Jay" Morse

betrayed us, but someone who is suppose to be a strong advocate against sexual assault has been overcome by the very cause that he should be fighting against. Apparently a top sexual assault prosecutor in the Army has been accused of assaulting a female army officer at a conference.

Lt. Col. Joseph "Jay" Morse, who is now under investigation, was in charge of supervising the Army's special victims prosecutors. These prosecutors are in charge of cases involving sexual assault, domestic abuse, and crimes against children.
Chris Carroll and John Vandiver, reporting for Stars and Stripes, write:
... The female Army lawyer alleged that Morse attempted to kiss and grope her against her will. The alleged assault reportedly took place in a hotel room at a 2011 sexual assault legal conference attended by special victims prosecutors in Alexandria, Va., before he was appointed as chief of the Trial Counsel Assistance Program.- 
Jeremy Bender March 6, 2014 Business Insider

The stories continue to shock and confound me as a Veteran and an advocate. These men of power have been preying upon subordinates and victimizing men and women for years now. And still very little has changed. When you hear about stories of Supermen such as Brig.Gen.Jeffrey Sinclair, who apparently has been misusing his authority to sexually abuse other women to the point of threats and intimidation, then it is small wonder why the reform that Kirsten Gillibrand is calling for is so needed today.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair is set to enter the plea Thursday morning before opening statements are scheduled for his court martial at Fort Bragg. The primary accuser in the case is a female captain who claims Sinclair twice ended arguments about their relationship by unzipping his pants and forcing her head into his lap. The woman says her commander threatened to kill her family if she told anyone about their three-year affair, which continued after the alleged assaults. -Michael Biesecker March 6 2014 Associated Press 

  

I will address this issue later in another blog dealing with the topic of Command Rape in the Military. It's as devious as anything.

With Great Power comes no accountability

Sad to say though, our society and more importantly our military, has become one that believes that "with great power comes anything you want." There is never a price to pay and no one to question you on your word. There is a Latin term: Noblesse Oblige meaning, "nobility obliges". It basically means, you were called to live a life of honor and respect; never abusing your power, and never betraying your name or privileged position. The deepest betrayal comes from those who are superiors, bosses or even commanders who assault us, while parading around with a false sense of superiority. It is obvious that there a very few who have power in the military and choose to be the leaders they were meant to be.

All This Bullshit Going Down

By now most of you know, last Thursday afternoon the Military Justice Improvement Act failed to clear the Senate floor for a vote. The Wonder Woman of this bill, Kirsten Gillibrand, made a valiant effort to attack the forces that would allow such heinous behavior to prevail in our military system. This common sense law would have made Truth, Justice, and the American Way accessible to men and women of sexual assault. With a majority of the Senate behind this bill, it fail to get the approval from Congress. Senator Gillibrand  held a press conference that evening speaking on behalf of the survivors of sexual assault.

 Senator Kirsten Gillibrand speaks to reporters on the failure of Congress to

help sexual assault victims in the Military.

"Tragically today the Senate failed them. Despite earning a majority  of the Senate we fell 5 votes short of overcoming a 60 vote filibuster threshold. But none of us will walk away. We will not stop our efforts. We will continue to work harder than ever in the coming year to strengthen our Military. Without a doubt the National Defense Act bill that we passed, Senator McCaskill's Victim Protection Act are all good steps forward to help our victims and hold offenders accountable. But these steps we have taken have not gone far enough."

Later Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) would go on to comment that: "this was victory for the Status-Quo": those who would look at this issue and not be affected by troops under a system that needed badly to reform. The power of a broken military has been enabled by an ineffective Congress, which continues to be untouched by this crime in the 21st Century. We will fight on!


Special thanks to all my Twitter sources: Rosie Palfry LaSanya Rucker, VivaLisiano,                       
                                                          Kris_SacreBleu, And Verasantaclara

Media Sources   New York Times- Navy Hearing in Rape Case Raises Alarm 
Associated Press- GENERAL TO ADMIT GUILT ON 3 COUNTS; DENIES ASSAULT
Business Insider Army’s Top Sex Assault Prosecutor Accused Of Groping Woman At Sex Assault Conference