Resources Violated Veterans Arkansan Paulette Smith* was called an “office slave” by an Air Force instructor during her training to become a C-130 Load Master. After experiencing sustained sexual harassment from this instructor, one day he shoved her into a bathroom in plain view of other service members, closed the door, and raped her. “I never reported the rape because I knew, especially because I was still in training, that if I reported it, if I went over his head, it would come back on me and my career would be over,” she said. Deployed twice, once to Afghanistan and once to Iraq, she suffered not only combat trauma, but perpetual sexual hostility from fellow male service members. She was honorably discharged from the Air Force in 2005 and began the arduous task of seeking treatment for military injuries and severe combat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Eight years later, rather than receiving the vital services that she needs, she continues to fight the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) quagmire, excruciating delays, record inaccuracies, and the denial of her procedural rights. Unfortunately, Paulette’s experiences are not unique. A 2010 Department of Defense study revealed that 19,000 military service members, men and women, had been sexually assaulted, but less than 14 percent reported the incidence. Only 15 percent of active duty military are women, yet they are twice as likely to be raped as their civilian counterparts. It
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is estimated that one in three women service members is sexually assaulted and almost 75 percent know their attackers—many of whom outrank their victims, which complicates reporting. Studies also show that service members are four times more likely to be raped when sexual harassment is tolerated or ignored. Service members with combat PTSD and military sexual trauma (MST) face a daunting maze of procedures, hearings, evaluations, and appointments, particularly when the culture of sexual harassment, sexual assault, stigmatization, and intimidation are part of a veteran’s experience. The need for legal assistance through expertise and advocacy is paramount to helping veterans acquire appropriate services, care, and compensation. Legal counsel for military veterans recently became more than the subject matter of an article for one of this piece’s co-authors when her son recently returned from a very difficult deployment to Afghanistan to discover his marriage was over and his money was gone. It was not through his base’s JAG office that he found the counsel he needed, but through an Arkansas attorney who knew both military and Arkansas divorce law. The legal community can become a powerful agent of change through pro-bono representation, offering workshops, and serving as advocates with government agencies. In addition to advocacy with VA and military red tape, service members often face intimidating legal challenges regarding domestic law, employment law, and consumer credit catastrophes.
Two recovery resource groups, Committed to Freedom and Harvesting Happiness for Heroes, have formed a collaborative relationship to address the needs of veterans who suffer from combat PTSD and MST through a new program called Reclaim and Regroup (R&R). The first R&R retreat will take place in central Arkansas in February 2014. This collaborative effort will then be duplicated across the country to care for violated veterans. Budget cuts and the threat of sequestration have placed the already stretched resources of military service members to the breaking point, and the need for pro-bono legal representation has never been greater. Whether challenging the military system due to MST or fighting for custody of their children, facing the trauma of post-combat stress combined with divorce, the threat of bankruptcy, or civilian employers not protecting jobs for deployed Guard, the legal community has an opportunity to say more than “thank you for your service” for those who lack personal resources, who are overwhelmed when returning to civilian life, and who are plagued with ensuing health issues that have left them vulnerable to inefficient and abusive agencies and systems. *Name changed to protect her privacy By Sallie Culbreth, M.S., founder, Committed to Freedom (www.committedtofreedom.org); Lisa Cypers Kamen, M.A., founder, Harvesting Happiness for Heroes; (www.hh4heroes.org) and Anne Quinn, Co-Director, Committed to Freedom.