On 6/2/00, Lt. General Claudia Kennedy retired from active service. See the article link below.
As of 5/23/00, the Army has officially assigned another general to the post for which Kennedy's accused harasser, Maj. Gen. Larry G. Smith, was being considered. See the article link below.
The Army is once again dealing with sexual harassment charges. This time the "victim" is the highest ranking woman in the Army, Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy. ("Victim" is my term; I doubt she considers herself a victim in any sense of the word.) Now a three-star general, she alleges that she was sexually harassed in 1996 by an officer of equal ranking (a two-star general, at that time). She complained unofficially, and was apparently satisfied that her complaint was being handled appropriately - until the officer who assaulted her was being considered for a prestigious posting, as if he had nary a black mark on his record. (According to a 4/6/00 report by ABC News, his new duties would have included investigating incidents of sexual harassment.)
What is it with these guys? It's not as if the Army's policy is ambiguous - at least not as it is written. In August of 1994, the Department of Defense issued a revised policy directive that stated unequivocally that "sexual harassment is strictly prohibited in the armed services." This policy came to be known as "zero tolerance," a term made popular in 1996 by then-Secretary of Defense, William J. Perry:
"...Our policy on sexual harassment is crystal clear. We believe that sexual harassment is wrong, ethically and morally. We believe it is wrong from the point of view of military discipline. And we believe it is wrong from point of view of maintaining proper respect in the chain of command. And for all of these reasons therefore, we have a zero tolerance for sexual harassment."
And yet, a look at a few of the more visible events since that revised directive seems to show an amazing lack of understanding of the term "zero tolerance":
1996 - Sexual harassment charges were brought against five men responsible for training recruits at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. The investigation began in September after one female soldier said that one of her drill instructors, Staff Sgt. Delmar Simpson, had raped her. The investigation continued to widen, eventually including four drill instructors and a captain, all of them married, and involving at least 30 women, most of them age 20 or under. (Ironically, Lt. Gen. Kennedy, then a Major General, was quoted in CNN's coverage of that case. "Sex is the tool, but the agenda is power and control," Kennedy said, rejecting the term "sex scandal.")
1997 - Sgt. Major of the Army Gene McKinney, the Army's most senior enlisted man at the time, was accused of sexual misconduct by six female soldiers. McKinney eventually was convicted on one count of obstructing justice, fined and demoted to the rank of master sergeant. McKinney retired shortly thereafter.
1998 - Maj. Gen. David Hale, Deputy Inspector General of the Army, was accused by four women of using his rank and power over their husbands' careers to coerce sex from them -- and then lying about it to Army investigators. Hale was allowed to retire quietly despite the allegations, and eventually pleaded guilty to seven counts and was demoted one rank to brigadier general.
1999 - The U.S. Army's highest-ranking enlisted man in Europe, Command Sgt. Major Riley Miller, was charged with kidnapping, forcible sodomy and other crimes following accusations of sexual assault by a subordinate female soldier.
And those are just the more visible events. To read a long litany of the sexual harassment experienced by less visible victims, visit the Military Woman Home Page and view the "Harassment, Discrimination and Domestic Violence Issues" files.
How is it that so many men can be unclear on what seems to be a very clear concept?
One post dated July 16, 1999 in the Military Woman files tells of an event during the young woman's time as an ROTC cadet. "My Professor of Military Science (a LTC) even went as far as making fun of the Army's sexual harassment video ... Every male cadet in that room was laughing at the tape by the end of the showing ... Every one of those cadets was taught sexual harassment that day, every single one is a LT in the Army today." And therein lies the answer: The policy may not be ambiguous, but enforcement of it most certainly is.
Some military men - not all, but too many - seem to have a problem understanding that sex is supposed to be a consensual activity. And too many of their superiors seem to be unwilling to enforce the "zero tolerance" policy so eloquently described by Secretary Perry. And too many good women are driven out of the service because of it. And too many "old guard" military men will say that's just as well, women don't belong in the military anyway.
Barbara A. Wilson, Captain, USAF (Ret), also known as "Captain Critical" to her website fans, has a few choice words about that:
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Perhaps this newest charge, coming from a top-ranking officer will finally make a difference. Perhaps this time, the archaic attitudes of the remaining "retro-macho" military men will give way to a realization that military women are "on the same team," as this Navy recruiting poster from WW II so optimistically stated. One can always hope. |
But, it is more likely that this case won't be much different than previous cases. There will be an investigation and some sort of resolution. We will hear how appalled the senior officers are. We will be assured that "steps will be taken." Regressives will add the event to their litany of why women shouldn't be in the military. Life will go on, people will forget, superiors will go back to turning their heads with a wink and a nod - and the next time an Army sexual harassment case hits the media, the question will once again blaze through my mind: What is it with these guys??
Karen
Army's Only Female 3-Star General Retires
Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy bid farewell to the Army today. In her remarks at her retirement ceremony, General Kennedy said that the Army had made steady progress toward fairer treatment of female soldiers, adding "These days the sound you hear overhead in the Army and at the Pentagon isn't an airplane breaking the sound barrier. It's the sound of a glass ceiling being shattered, and the Army and the Pentagon are better because of it."
U.S. Army Chooses New General for Deputy IG Post
CNN reports that the Army has quietly dropped plans to make Maj. Gen. Larry G. Smith the service's deputy inspector general. In an internal memo, the Army announced that another General, Maj. Gen. Joseph R. Inge had been selected to be deputy inspector general. No mention was made of Maj. Gen. Larry Smith.
Army Sex Scandals - A New Conspiracy Theory!
Sexual harassment isn't funny, but Alternative Media Guide Penny Perkins' take on the Aberdeen Proving Grounds scandal sure is! An "oldie but goodie" from 1997 that includes serious information tempered with a great sense of humor.
American Women in Uniform
The home of the skeptical, irascible, doubting, iconoclastic Captain Critical, AKA Barbara A. Wilson, Captain, USAF (Ret).
Myths, Fallacies and Urban Legends
Captain Critical debunks fallacies and urban legends that about about Women in the military. From the website above, but worth a mention on it's own.
Pentagon Investigates Sexual Harassment Charge
3/31/00 - CNN - Pentagon sources confirmed that Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy, the Army's highest-ranking female, has filed a sexual harassment charge against a male general.
Women's History: Military and War
Comprehensive resources for learning about the history of women in war, from Women's History Guide Jone Johnson Lewis.
Women in the Military
An extensive list of resources and information about military women and issues affecting them, from U.S. Military Guide Rod Powers.