Fort Lewis punishes soldier for exposing sexual assault

By Wally Cuddeford, Works in Progress

On Wednesday, Dec. 15, sexual assault survivor Suzanne Swift appeared before a hastily assembled court-martial. She was charged with going Absent Without Leave from her unit at Fort Lewis, on the eve of their deployment to Iraq. Swift's court-martial wasn't going to happen until January, but it was hastened when she agreed to make a deal with the military. The terms of Suzanne Swift's deal are as follows:

Swift will spend up to 30 days in the brig.

She has agreed to stay in the military until January of 2009.

She has been reduced in rank from Specialist to Private.

Photo: Spc. Suzanne Swift takes on the enablers of sexual assault in the military.
The military also asked that she sign a statement disavowing the sexual assault she endured during her time in the service, but she refused to sign it.

Suzanne Swift's agreement was signed under the implicit threat of lengthy prison time (also known as "under duress"). Swift has stated she wishes never to return to Iraq, yet because of this deal, she may be ordered to deploy once again. Sending Swift back to Iraq would be putting her back in the same dangerous environment where she first received PTSD, both from the war and from her abuse at the hands of her superiors. This would make her susceptible to further sexual assault, as well as other forms of retaliation from hostile soldiers who see her as "the snitch who went and talked."

Once the deal was signed, Suzanne's court-martial was thrown together within a week. Because of the deal, there were no arguments or evidence. There was no "I went AWOL because my reports of sexual assault went ignored." There was no examination of the case. She simply showed up and was sentenced to 30 days in the brig.

In the Civil War era, there was a common practice known as the "drumhead court-martial." These were convened during wartime, near the field of battle, to address improprieties within the ranks. Such as when a superior officer decided there wasn't the time or resources available to conduct a proper trial, and that immediate action must be taken.

Drumheads were judicial exhibitions, performed in a meager effort to give lip-service to justice, all while ignoring every conceivable tenet of justice. A superior officer was given full authority to level whatever ruling he wanted, and order whatever punishment, which often included lashings and hangings. They were so hastily convened, it was common practice to simply gather the parties around a drum, using the head of that drum as the judicial bench. There were no lawyers, there was often no presented evidence, and ruling officers were not at all held accountable for their rulings. The only goal was to bring a speedy resolution to perceived misconduct within the ranks. It is safe to assume many innocent people were sentenced to immediate death without the chance to defend themselves.

Enlisting to serve in the Armed Forces does not mean you waive your right to due process and justice. Not in peacetime and not in wartime. Not back then and not today. Although these Civil War era kangaroo courts are travesties of justice by today's standards, Suzanne Swift's court-martial amounted to nothing more than a 21st Century drumhead court-martial.

But none of these proceedings addressed the real crime in all of this. Suzanne Swift was sexually assaulted and harassed by two of her superior officers while serving in Iraq, and continued to be harassed by other superiors upon her return. The military has chosen to prosecute the AWOL charge, while ignoring a soldier's repeated accusations of sexual assault on the part of her direct superiors.

During her first tour of duty in Iraq, Swift was forced against her will into sexual relationships by two different superior officers, both of whom are married. Swift made it clear to both of them that their advances were unwanted, but it did her no good. Upon raping her, the superior officer sensed that Swift may report the incident. He warned her, "Nobody will believe you."

Even upon her return to the U.S., the harassment continued. One incident happened when Swift asked her superior officer where to report in the morning, to which he replied, "In my bed, naked." Swift reported these incidents to the proper officials, but no investigation was launched.

When Swift was ordered to deploy to Iraq again, she suffered a breakdown at her home in Eugene, Oregon. She told her mother, "I just can't go back." Swift remained in Eugene for six months, until one night when local police broke into her home to take her back to Fort Lewis.

There are folks who ask for piles of evidence before they believe claims of sexual assault, saying "We can never know what really happened, and can't do anything about it until we do." Such a stance does nothing to combat sexual assault, and does everything to dissuade victims from speaking out. By coming forward, sexual assault survivors bring upon themselves ridicule and further harassment by people who would rather keep rape acts hidden, while the perpetrators of the assault often walk away unpunished. It is for this reason that accusations of rape should always be taken seriously as soon as they are voiced.

Suzanne Swift is fortunate that she has a solid case, implicating both the superiors who assaulted her, and the military that refused to take her seriously.

No commander should ever become involved with people under their command. It is not consensual if a jailor enters a sexual relationship with his prisoner. It is not consensual if a police officer has a sexual encounter with a detainee. And it is not consensual if a military commander gets

sexually involved with a subordinate who fears for her life and is desperate to survive, and whose only means of survival is to do whatever that commander tells her to do. Exploiting such a situation for sexual favors is called "command rape." It is every bit coercive, whether or not the commander thinks it was consensual, and whether or not he wants to take responsibility for his conduct.

Several people witnessed the "in my bed, naked" statement. This is not in dispute.

Upon Swift's forced return to Fort Lewis, she was placed in the custody of the same person who had openly harassed her before.

Confirmed perpetrators went unpunished. The man who made the "in my bed, naked" remark was merely transferred to another unit, instead of being brought before a judicial hearing.

Only the most minimal investigation was conducted. Several times the assault was reported, with no investigation. Eventually, the Army did assign one person to investigate the allegations.

He investigated for three days when a 30 day investigation is mandated. This investigator interviewed Swift for one hour, and asked that she not go into detail about exactly what was said. Nothing ever became of the investigation.

Swift has received far more punishment for going AWOL than is normal. Generally, AWOL soldiers who return are processed out with an administrative discharge and no punishment. Retaliatiory punishment is common for AWOL soldiers who speak out against the war, but it is even worse when the soldier's only "crime" is speaking out about rape.

Suzanne Swift is not being punished as an AWOL soldier, but rather as a whistle-blower. She spoke up about her abuse, defying the military's high-priced public image campaign, and exposing the military as a violator of its own "equal-opportunity" pledge.

Superior officers, as well as the military itself, simply cannot be held immune from accountability for their actions. If the military will not hold itself accountable to prosecuting sexual assault, then we must hold it accountable.

Swift must be immediately released from the military environment that has abused her. Suzanne Swift deserves an honorable discharge, full medical for life to treat the PTSD from her abuse, and a sincere pledge that nobody will have to go through this abuse at the hands of their superiors ever again.

Wally Cuddeford is an Olympia resident, US Navy veteran, and organizer with the South Sound Project for Military Resistance and Justice, and the Port Militarization Resistance.