History of Feminism
Related: About this forumA Sergeant Pimped Out Female Soldiers. The Army's Going After a John.
(I knew about women prostituting themselves in the army from my daughter, when she was in. She didn't know about any organized pimping. I also wonder how Gay men suffered under DADT-- because the military is perfectly set up for sexual blackmail. This is just speculation on my part)
Grimes denies the charges against him, claiming that there was no money involved, and that although he considered a rendezvous with a private, he never went through with it. But what's not up for debate is that Grimes knew about McQueen's scheme and did nothing to stop it; his defense attorney, Daniel Conway, has said Grimes also refused a plea deal that would have required him to testify against his colleague. Grimes's part in the drama raises the classic question: How much guilt do we assign to the bystander (if that, indeed, is what Grimes is)? And when it comes to the military's corrosive gender culture, bystanders may be the bulk of the problem.
Its the peers who dont blow the whistle who are the biggest problem in the whole culture, said Lory Manning, a former captain in the U.S. Navy and a director of the Womens Research and Education Institute. When youre talking about a serial rapist, his friendsand I say he intentionallygenerally know whats going. Its a huge issue in the military and its not much talked about, and nor are the peers held responsible for not informing the command.
On that last point, at least, the Fort Hood case may represent the slow march of progress: Conway claims its precisely Grimess refusal to squeal that has landed his client in court. At the end of the day, Master Sgt. Grimes chose to do the right thing and not have sex with that young lady, Conway told the Statesman. He disparaged the prosecutor for trying to charge [Grimes] in hopes of a conviction and using [Grimes] to testify against McQueen. If Conways theory is correct, this is a rare case of the military cracking down on an officer for keeping mum.
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115810/army-prostitution-ring-fort-hood-case-represent-progress
niyad
(113,284 posts)ismnotwasm
(41,976 posts)The articles I've read seem unsure if she'll have the votes-- this might be a catalyst
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/gillibrand-bid-curb-sex-assaults-military-fire-article-1.1527185
Peregrine
(992 posts)A member of my unit happened to be gay. He was very close to a girl who worked in the clinic. a lot of guys were out after her, so the gay guy and the girl made a deal. In order for a guy to have sex with her, they would first have to have sex with him and pay him $100. It worked for a few months, but finally blew up. The CID screwed up the investigation so bad, that the Army just told the guy, "Here is an honorable discharge, now get lost."
There was another one. I was involved in the investigation since the woman had a clearance. The SGT of our motor pool kept are sneaking into the room of a female who happened to be an intelligence analyst. Both were married, but not to each other. The SGT faced a court-martial for adultery, and was dishonorably discharged. The female was tougher. She had married a S. Korean national (who was still in S. Korea and denied a visa) but never registered the marriage with the military (this is the part I was responsible for chasing down). Because of this, we could not prove she was actually married according to military law. We ended up pulling her TS clearance and she was shipped away to some infantry division as a clerk.
ismnotwasm
(41,976 posts)My daughter was under the impression that the women who were prostituting were not coerced, but she had not been directly involved in any situations, it was more 'gossip'
This story is different because it has organized prostitution of military personnel which clearly is just a bloody mess.
NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)But what's going on at Fort Hood is inexcusable.