Fort
Lewis solider says she was in coerced relationship
By The Associated Press
Thursday, June 15, 2006EUGENE,
Ore. - An Oregon soldier who was arrested after refusing to deploy
with her Army unit to Iraq for a second tour says she was coerced
into a sexual relationship with her immediate supervisor. |
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Suzanne Swift, a specialist with the 54th
Military Police Co. based at Fort Lewis, Wash., said three sergeants began
propositioning her for sex shortly after she arrived in Iraq in February
2004. Swift said she ended up having a sexual relationship with her
immediate supervisor, but it wasn't her choice.
"In a combat situation, your squad leader is deciding whether you live or
die," she said in an interview with the Register-Guard newspaper on
Wednesday. "If he wants you to run across a minefield, you run across a
minefield."
Swift remained in Iraq until February 2005. When her unit was redeployed
to Iraq in January 2006, she refused to go and remained in Oregon, citing
the harassment as a reason.
Swift was arrested at her mother's Eugene home on Sunday and held at the
Lane County Jail before being returned to Fort Lewis on Tuesday.
Her unauthorized absence violates the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Her penalty will be decided by her commanding officer and could range from
a reprimand to court-martial, loss of all Army benefits and up to five
years in prison.
"The Army is investigating the details surrounding her absence from the
unit," Fort Lewis spokesman Joe Hitt said.
Swift's attorney, Larry Hildes, said his client's commanding officer, Lt.
Col. James Switzer, assured him that he planned a criminal investigation
into the harassment allegations.
Hildes said that when Swift complained to the appropriate Army authority,
an equal opportunity officer, her complaints were ignored. For rejecting
the sexual advances of two men, Swift said she was publicly humiliated and
forced to do extra work.
Swift said she believes the military is now taking her allegations
seriously. She is back in the barracks with her company, which returned in
April from its second tour in Iraq. While Swift said she didn't discuss
sexual harassment with the other women in her unit, she's certain she
wasn't the only one targeted.
"Nobody talks about it," she said.
By abandoning her unit for more than 30 days, Swift moves from
unauthorized absentee to the more serious category of deserter - a soldier
with no intent to return, said Kathleen Duignan, executive director of the
National Institute of Military Justice. The nonprofit agency works to
improve public understanding of the military justice system.
Her commander will likely balance the aggravating factors in her case,
such as deserting during a time of war, against the harassment
allegations, Duignan said.
"I can't see it offering a complete defense, because they would say she
should have continued to bring it up through the chain of command,"
Duignan said.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003064464_websoldier15.html
Soldier complains of sexual
coercion
By Susan Palmer
The Register-Guard
Thursday, June 15, 2006
A Eugene soldier being investigated for deserting her military police unit
has alleged that she was sexually harassed by two superiors and coerced
into a sexual relationship with a sergeant while she was in Iraq.
Suzanne Swift, a specialist with the 54th Military Police Co. based at
Fort Lewis, Wash., was arrested at her mother's house in south Eugene on
Sunday and held at the Lane County Jail before being escorted by military
police to Fort Lewis on Tuesday.
In a brief phone interview from the base, Swift said three sergeants
directly in her chain of command began propositioning her for sex almost
from the minute she arrived overseas. She was in Iraq from February 2004
until February 2005. When her unit was redeployed to Iraq in January 2006,
she refused to go and remained in Oregon.
Swift is restricted to her base while the Army looks into her case, Fort
Lewis spokesman Joe Hitt said.
Though she can't leave, she is being treated with dignity and respect, he
said.
Her unauthorized absence violates the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Her commanding officer could recommend a reprimand or a court-martial,
which could result in her loss of all Army benefits and a sentence of up
to five years in prison.
It's not clear how long the investigation into her absence will take, said
Hitt, who did not specifically confirm that Swift's allegations are also
part of the inquiry.
"The Army is investigating the details surrounding her absence from the
unit," he said.
But Swift's attorney, Larry Hildes, said that her commanding officer, Lt.
Col. James Switzer, assured him that he planned a criminal investigation.
"He's taking her allegations of sexual harassment seriously," Hildes said.
Hildes said that when Swift complained to the appropriate Army authority,
an equal opportunity officer, her complaints were ignored.
For rejecting the advances of two of the noncommissioned officers, Swift
said she was publicly humiliated and forced to do extra work.
Swift said she had a sexual relationship with her immediate supervisor in
Iraq, but that it was a coerced relationship based on his power over her.
"In a combat situation, your squad leader is deciding whether you live or
die. If he wants you to run across a minefield, you run across a
minefield," she said.
Swift drove a Humvee in Karbala, a city southwest of Baghdad. On combat
patrol, she was frequently assigned to visit Iraqi police stations, often
the targets of insurgents.
"You have to be on your guard the whole time," she said.
While Swift didn't talk about sexual harassment with the other women in
her unit, she's certain she wasn't the only one targeted.
"Nobody talks about it," she said.
But Swift isn't the only one to make these kinds of accusations. News
reports of women being harassed and sexually assaulted in Iraq and Kuwait
in 2004 prompted the Department of Defense to create a task force to
examine the extent of the problem and to develop recommendations for
dealing with it.
The Defense Department's sexual assault task force report concluded that
its policies and programs aimed at preventing sexual assault were
inconsistent and incomplete and left women particularly vulnerable in
joint combat environments.
Swift said she believes that the military is taking her allegations
seriously now. She is back in the barracks with her company, which
returned in April from its second tour in Iraq. Swift said her fellow
soldiers aren't treating her any differently than they did before. Those
who were friends with her six months ago are still friends, she said.
"I hope more women will speak out against the horrible things that
happen," she said.
But such allegations are notoriously difficult to prove, often devolving
to the word of the victim against the word of the accused, Hildes said.
"That's the nature of sexual harassment," he said. "There are almost never
witnesses."
While her allegations are serious, Swift faces a serious charge herself.
By abandoning her unit for more than 30 days - the federal warrant lists
her as missing since Jan. 9, 2006 - she moves from unauthorized absentee
to the more serious category of deserter, a soldier with no intent to
return, said Kathleen Duignan, executive director of the National
Institute of Military Justice. The nonprofit agency works to improve
public understanding of the military justice system.
Her commander probably will take into account aggravating factors in her
case, such as deserting during a time of war, Duignan said.
"It's a unique military offense," she said. "It goes to good order, morale
and discipline." An effective fighting force requires soldiers who are
ready to respond to their orders, she said. That will have to be balanced
against the harassment allegations Swift has made.
"I can't see it offering a complete defense, because they would say she
should have continued to bring it up through the chain of command,"
Duignan said.
Hildes said he expects Swift will be discharged from the Army rather than
face a court-martial, but Fort Lewis spokesman Hitt said no decision has
been made yet.
Either way, the issues represented by this case - desertion and failure of
trust among soldiers who need to work together - are troublesome on the
battlefield.
"When good order and discipline falls apart, your effectiveness
diminishes," Duignan said. "You take it a step further, and those are the
kinds of things that lose wars."
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/06/15/a1.swift.0615.p1.php?section=ci
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