Seeking stories for a new book entitled
"We Were Soldiers and...Females"
Nov. 11, 2013
Hey all:
Is it time to turn back the clock on the Women's Liberation and women's rights movement and rethink allowing women to join the military? It's past time that we look at today's military and take strong actions to keep women out of harm's way.
One way to do this is by reevaluating job descriptions that women are allowed to serve in in the military and even think about discouraging women from joining the military all together.
It just might be time to stop women from serving in the trenches alongside of men on the front-lines. If men soldiers think this will be the last days of their lives, they will probably not care what actions they take against women in their foxholes. Is this what you want for your daughters?
This year while on my 15 state tour on the east coast, I watched the hearings on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC, about punishment for soldiers who violate and rape female soldiers.
For those of you who have had your head in the sand and have not been keeping up with the story, please read the below alarming statistics about women in the military:
According to military and civilian statistics, over 40% of female veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan reported suffering psychological trauma from sexual assaults or harassment. Four out of ten women have been raped. So a female solider is more likely to be attacked by a fellow soldier than killed by military fire.
The hearings focused on whether the military should allow punishment for these male soldiers to be determined by a court outside of the military. But like always they decided to keep it "in-house" through the military "chain-of-command" which means the abuses will continue to be covered up and male soldiers will continue to go unpunished.
When I left the comfort of my home in Georgia and joined the military, my reason for joining was I wanted to travel the world and I did. I was never raped in the military but at every duty station, I was constantly sexually harassed by lower and higher ranking sergeants and officers.
During my three and a half years of military service, I worked primarily as an Administrative Specialist in Military Police Battalions supervised by First Sergeants and Company Commanders.
While serving my duties, I frequently witnessed officers continuously "abuse their position of authority," especially against minority soldiers and females. This was my first introduction to any type of injustice.
Sexual harassment was rampant at many of the military bases. One of my military stations, Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), Aberdeen, Maryland, would later become notorious for a sex scandal that changed the whole history of the military.
At APG, many female soldiers came forth to tell their stories of abuse and blatant acts of sexual harassment from their superiors. Because of their testimonies, the military's laws, rules and regulations changed forever. I was really proud of these women.
When I look back at my military years, I remember many of the injustices I witnessed and they haunt me to this day. The sexual misconduct in the military was just a preview that I would later learn, of the discriminatory practices which seemed to be sanctioned in the federal government.
As most of you know, all of my 18 non-fiction books are about bringing attention to the plight of others and solving problems in the community. As a former female soldier, U.S. Army, and mother of 2 daughters, I would like to make a difference in the lives of women who choose to go into the military.
Therefore, I am writing a book and is currently seeking stories from women soldiers from any branch of service to participate in this book or a series of books on how women are treated in the military.
You can send a half or full page write-up on Microsoft Word (or copy and paste into an email which I prefer)...about your experience in the military working alongside of men.
If you can I would like for you to answer the following questions:
- What is your name, phone number and email address? (I won't use your real name unless you prefer I did and I should not have to call you but I might email you).
- What branch of service were you in and for how long?
- What were your duty stations (cities, states and countries)?
- What was your Military Occupation Specialties (MOS)?
- Why did you go into the military in the first place?
- How was your experience working alongside of men?
- How was the process to file a complaint when you were treated unfairly?
- Where the officers receptive to you coming forward or where they the main persons you had the complaints against?
- How were your fellow female soldiers treated?
- What about the female sergeants and officers - did they stand up for other women?
- If you had to do it all over again, would you volunteer to go into the military, or do you think that women should stop joining the military because of the alarming rape statistics against them?
- Would you allow a female family member to join the military and if so -- which branch?
Just so you know upfront, the book will be written in order to bring attention to the plight of women soldiers. If your story is selected to be a part of the book, it will give you a chance to tell your story and give your opinion on female soldiers in the military but there will be no financial rewards for anyone who submit their story.
You can send the questionnaire or write-up to [email protected] or [email protected]. Again, I prefer you send by copying and pasting into your email and if you have any questions, you can call me at the number below.
Sincerely,
Cathy Harris, Speaker, Author, Trainer
Angels Press, CEO, President, Publisher
P.O. Box 5288
Atlanta, GA 31107
(770) 873-2072
www.CathyHarrisSpeaks.com (Lectures, Seminars, Workshops)
www.AngelsPress.com (Empowerment and Publishing Company)
www.TheCathyHarrisStory.com (The Cathy Harris Story)
Articles on Military Abuse Against Women
Off The Battlefield, Military Women Face Risks From Male Troops
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