Disturbing Letter from Afghanistan

[kpete]

Disturbing Letter from Afghanistan
Submitted by davidswanson on Sat, 2006-07-29
By Lawanda Boddie

My name is Specialist Lawanda Boddie-Slack, i am currently deployed to Afghanistan in support of operation enduring freedom. I understand your opinions and your feelings and have some of my own. one of my comrades just blew his brains out two days ago, and he is the first one in my battalion to actually suceed with killing himself. we have only been here since march of this year and already we have had about 4-7 soldiers attempt to commit suicide. i was deployed here against medical advise becuase my company commander wanted to make a name for herself. she is not even with us anymore she is now back in the states teaching. i suffer from rape trauma syndrome and when i had a flashback my first sergeant all but said everything was my fault. before it was known that i was having a flashback i was told that unless i made a formal complaint against the person who allegedly assaulted me that there "was nothing that could be done for me" i took that to include no medical care either...and basically that is what happened. until i decided to make a formal complaint i was not given medical care...even then i was flown to another location with my alleged attacker on the same plane with me, we were staying only feet away from each other....i spent five days without any resources,no support, and my chain of command refused to talk to me about anything...they(my chain of command)failed to warn the females that there had already been 2 rapes and five sexual assualts before me...that is a damn shame...i am writing to you because i know that my story is not the only one...
thanx for listening

more at:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/lawanda

[shadowknows69]

1. Good post kpete

I've been dying to approach this subject in my taxi with female soldiers but obviously that's nearly and impossible iceberg to break and I'd probably get fired for even attempting it. I suspect it is very widespread.

[Monkeyman]

2. Again it shows Chain Command is broken.

I never served with female's but if the resources are not there for this type of crime. Our military needs to step up and make sure there will be.The day of the Female soldier has arrived and they must make it safe for them.

[Recursion]

5. Agreed 100%

The chain of command snapped the day that our three- and four-stars put their careers above principle and didn't resign when they were ordered to do these missions with inadequate numbers and equipment. Sometimes leaders have to throw down their stars to truly lead.

These crimes, like Haditha, Abu Ghraib, et al, show that the discipline that once marked the US armed services as a force without parallel in the world has disintegrated. Frankly, our security is in grave jeopardy now because of that.

[TexasLawyer]

3. Military Suicides On The Rise

Military Suicides On The Rise

By Terry Gildea

http://publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=947271§ionID=1

WASHINGTON, D.C. 2006-07-27 The rate of suicide among US military personnel is on the rise.

Defense officials say they are committing new resources to detecting and preventing suicidal behavior in soldiers, including those fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. But watchdogs -- and a recent government report -- suggest the Pentagon may not be doing enough to make sure at-risk personnel get treatment once they get home.

No legislation has been passed, but Oregon lawmakers are pushing the military to do more. Terry Gildea reports from Capitol Hill.

-----------

It was nearly a year ago that the Army awarded Specialist Leslie Fredrick of Fort Lewis, Washington the Combat Action Badge for his service in Iraq. Two weeks after getting the honor, Fredrick shot himself.

<snip>

88 active duty soldiers killed themselves in 2005, a number that was up 13% over 2003 and more than 70% over 2001.

<snip>

[Joanne98]

4. If they get away with raping their own, what are they doing to the

civilian women in the war zones? I expect photos will be surfacing from this war for years.