Australian Army Chief Issues Brutal Sex Assault – Business Insider
Male members of the Australian army also have a problem with sexual misbehavior, it seems.
A report by Elizabeth Broderick in the Sydney Morning Herald outlines how male members of the Australian army are under investigation for producing and distributing “explicit emails and photos that demean and denigrate women.”1
Worse yet, the explicit material was distributed to the internet via military networks. The number of men under investigation has reached a staggering 100, to include “senior officers2.”
Chief of the Army Lieutenant-General David Morrison has a few things to say to about the matter in a video released June 12:
“Women are vital to us maintaining our capability now, and in the future .
If that does not suit you, then get out .
You may find another employer where your behavior is acceptable, but I doubt it.”
“I will be ruthless in ridding the army of people who cannot live up to its values.”
And there’s more, watch:
References
- ^ A report by (www.smh.com.au)
- ^ senior officers (www.heraldsun.com.au)
Australian military embroiled in new sex scandal | Capital News
The Australian military was embroiled in another sex scandal Thursday with 17 personnel, including officers/AFP
SYDNEY, June 2013 The Australian military was embroiled in another sex scandal Thursday with 17 personnel, including officers, under investigation after explicit and repugnant emails and images demeaning women were uncovered.
Army chief Lieutenant-General David Morrison said he was appalled at the revelations, which follow a government report last year detailing more than 1,000 claims of sexual or other abuse in the forces from the 1950s to the present day.
That report was sparked by the so-called Skype scandal in 2011, when footage of a young male recruit having sex with a female classmate was streamed online to cadets in another room without her knowledge.
I d say it s worse than the Skype matter, Morrison told a media conference.
I view the allegations that are being made in the gravest light.
He said they involve the alleged production and distribution of highly inappropriate material across both defence computer systems and the public Internet over the last three years .
Illicit drug use may also be involved.
Three people have been suspended so far and may face police charges, he said .
Another five could be suspended and nine more were under investigation.
A further 90 Australian Defence Force personnel are implicated in the email chain, Morrison added.
The highest-ranking officer was a lieutenant-colonel, with the remainder either majors, captains, warrant officers, sergeants or corporals.
Morrison declined to go into details of exactly what the material contained, but said the matters both textural and imagery are demeaning, explicit and profane .
He said he had spoken to some of the women involved and apologised.
This goes to the heart of what I ve said about systematic problems with culture inside the army and it in turn shapes the army and it in turn shapes the approach that I m taking with regard to how we deal with this, the army chief added.
In the wake of the Skype scandal, the Australian government made a parliamentary apology to victims of abuse in the military and set up a compensation fund after hundreds of claims of rape and sexual assault.
As well as abuse, the government report last year depicted a culture in the military of covering up, failing to punish perpetrators and hostility towards victims who complained.
The government and the defence force say they are committed to change.
life of love: Intermet: Online Dating Success Story – Ginny and Dwight
It’s Wednesday, so time for another installment of Intermet1 ! Today, we’re continuing the success stories series with Ginny2 and her husband Dwight. How long have you and Dwight been together? Dwight and I met in person on November 4, 2009 . We had communicated through eHarmony and email for about 2 weeks before that but we consider November the day we met .
We have been together since then and got married on July 20th, 2012. Ginny made sure to point out that Dwight’s wearing his suit jacket insight out in this photo! Which online dating website did you use? We met on eHarmony3 . Both of us had previously been in long term relationships and knew that we wanted to find a serious relationship, not just people to date casually . I had been at a bachelorette party about a month prior to joining eHarmony where two of the girls there were dating people they met on eHarmony and I thought to myself: Wow !
If these two smart, funny, and generally cool girls are finding people on that website maybe I should try it out . Dwight had a similar thing where his roommate was on eHarmony and had encouraged Dwight to join and try it out . We were very lucky though, Dwight and I were both each others first face-to-face meeting through eHarmony and each other’s last. What was your worst experience in online dating? Again I was pretty lucky and didn’t go through any crazy and weird dates through online dating .
However I would say something that was hard to deal with, that I didn’t quite expect, was the feeling of rejection even though it was these people you had never met . With eHarmony, they send you matches based off of your profile that you filled out when you sign up and every day I would get like 20 or so matches which you would then look through and see if you wanted to start communicaton . You can send them a request or questions and then you wait…and wait…and wait… !
You wait for them to respond, or you wait for people to do the same to you . Some days I would get responses and some days I wouldn’t . Those days when I had nothing would definitely make me question what I was doing and also why people weren’t responding .
I mean, I’m a pretty fun and cool girl! 
But you have to remind yourself, these people only know what my profile puts out there (which is why I think this Intermet series has been so awesome helping people with stuff like profiles) and also if its meant to be it will be . You have to be confident in who you are and that things like this can take time . I was lucky because through the waiting I was able to meet Dwight. (Sar’s note: thanks, Gin!) Do you tell people you met online ?
If so, how do you do it? Yes, most definitely ! We shout it from the rooftops and encourage lots of people to do the same . Those girls at the bachelorette party who encouraged me to join eHarmony, they are both now married to people they met on eHarmony, and Dwight’s roommate who encouraged him is now also married to a girl he met the day after Dwight and I did .
Without people being honest with us about their online dating experiences, neither of us would have had the courage to try it out . I do have friends that online dating hasn’t worked, but usually when we tell people how we met they have a story of someone else they know who met online. Do you recommend online dating? Yes, I would most definitely recommend online dating ! However I think you have to be at a point where you are ready for it .
You have to know what are important qualities for you to find in a mate and you also have to have a bit of an open mind . You are trying something new and meeting new people and I just kept thinking, I would want people to be open minded about me . I think that you also need to be confident in yourself and at a place where you can take rejection with a grain of salt and be able to move on and grow from it .
Its an experience and if its meant to happen it will happen . Dwight and I are very lucky, we don’t know if we would have met each other if not for online dating . Thanks for telling us about your relationship and story, Ginny4 !
Do you want to be featured in our Intermet’s Online Dating Success Stories series ?
Leave a comment below or email Sarah for more information !
Next week, we have Hallie’s5 story about how she met her husband!
References
My Gun Diary: Harrington Strikes Again!Master of Girls with Guns …
The good, Lord Master Harrington has struck again with another fabulous Girls with Guns Photo Gallery.
The two hottest things in the world, girls and guns!
Major General Michael T .Harrison Suspended By Army For …
WASHINGTON A two-star general who commands U.S . Army forces in Japan has been suspended from his duties for allegedly failing to report or properly investigate an allegation of sexual assault, the Army said Friday.
Maj . Gen .
Michael T . Harrison was suspended by the Army chief of staff, Gen . Ray Odierno, and Army Secretary John McHugh, the Army said .
It provided no details about the alleged sexual assault case.
Until the investigation of Harrison’s role is completed, Maj . Gen . James C .
Boozer will take his place in Japan, the Army said.
Harrison already had been selected to become deputy commander of the Army component of U.S . Central Command, based in Kuwait . That new assignment was publicly announced in February by the Pentagon, which said at the same time that Boozer would replace Harrison as commander in Japan.
Typically, an officer who has been suspended rather than relieved of command could be reinstated in his job if cleared of all allegations .
But this won’t happen in Harrison’s case because Boozer already was scheduled to take over the command in Japan next week, which is sooner than the investigation is expected to be completed.
Harrison, a 33-year Army veteran, began his assignment in Japan in October 2010.
Amid increased political pressure to crack down on sexual abuse in the military services, the Air Force said Friday it is expanding the office responsible for sexual assault prevention and placed a female two-star general in charge.
Maj . Gen . Margaret H .
Woodward, who ran the U.S . portion of the allied air campaign over Libya in 2011 and is one of the Air Force’s brightest stars, is running the reorganized office . She will report to the vice chief of the Air Force.
The move won praise from the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep .
Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., who called Woodward a “breath of fresh air.”
The office previously was run by a lieutenant colonel, Jeffrey Krusinski, who was arrested in May and charged with sexual battery . That incident escalated public debate over whether the military was taking seriously the problem of sexual abuse.
The House is scheduled to vote next week on a defense policy bill that would take away the power of military commanders to overturn convictions in rape and assault cases . The legislation also would require that anyone in uniform found guilty of a sex-related crime receive a punishment that includes, at a minimum, a dismissal from military service or a dishonorable discharge.
McKeon said Woodward is well-suited to the challenge she is facing.
“I welcome her voice to this fight,” he said.
The Pentagon estimated in a recent report that as many as 26,000 military members may have been sexually assaulted last year, up from an estimated 19,000 assaults in 2011, based on an anonymous survey of military personnel.
An Air Force spokesman, Lt .
Col . John Dorrian, said Friday that Woodward’s office will be given additional resources, including a much larger staff than in its previous configuration . He said Woodward began the job this week.
Woodward entered the Air Force in 1983 with an aerospace engineering degree from Arizona State University .
She has one master’s degree in aviation science and another in national security strategy.
A command pilot with more than 3,800 flight hours, she flew aerial refueling aircraft and commanded air operations in numerous U.S . military operations, including the Iraq and Afghanistan wars . As commander of 17th Air Force, based in Germany, she commanded the U.S .
portion of the allied air campaign over Libya in 2011.
Most recently she served as the Air Force’s chief of safety .
She also oversaw an investigation of the sexual abuse scandal at the Air Force’s training headquarters at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.
___
Follow Robert Burns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/robertburnsAP1
Related on HuffPost:
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References
- ^ http://www.twitter.com/robertburnsAP (www.twitter.com)
US Army sex assaults like Afghan raids
Vice Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral James Winnefeld (file photo). A US admiral says sexual assaults committed by American soldiers in the country s Army are similar to insider attacks carried out by Afghan troopers against US-led soldiers in war-torn Afghanistan.
Any form of unwanted sexual contact or sexual harassment is a different kind of insider attack that is lethal, said Admiral James Winnefeld, vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a meeting with a women’s military group on Thursday.
We will not allow this to go on We have worked hard on this but not hard enough, he added.
Washington is facing a crisis resulting from the rising number of sexual assaults in the country s military.
On May 25, President Barack Obama said the problem would undermine trust in US military.
Those who commit sexual assault are not only committing a crime, they threaten the trust and discipline that makes our military strong, Obama said during the US Naval Academy graduation ceremony at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.
A newly-released report by the Pentagon on sexual assaults in the military indicates that unwanted sexual contact protests involving military personnel jumped to 26,000 in 2012 from 19,000 a year before . The figure shows a 37-percent increase.
The sharp increase in the number of sexual assault cases comes as the Pentagon is planning to integrate women into front-line combat roles.
According to a survey conducted in 2011, about one out of five military women said they had been the victims of sexual assault by another service member since joining the military.
MAM/KA