The excuse? Poor Supervision and Training
By: S. Rowan Wolf, Ph.D., Uncommon Thought Journal
May 26, 2004 This work is under a fair use Creative Commons License
"Poor supervision and training", I'm getting sick of this particular excuse. Aren't you? US troops, raiding and stealing, abuse of detainees, general "bad behavior" ... the refrain of what the problem is? Those troops lacked supervision, or they had poor (or no) training. Excuse me? In the US military they have poor supervison and training? How can this be? Both of those are things the military is known for. Has something critical "broken" in the military? If so, why isn't being talked about? Or is it just a flippant excuse. The most recent "lack of supervision and training" comes in regards to sexual assaults among military personnel (Wa. Post, 6/03/04).
This had made the headlines, and even a special focus on "Nightline." Women military personnel are being raped by their comrades and the military doesn't follow up. In fact, many are afraid that reporting the incident will harm their service and advancement opportunities. Even when reported, the women are generally told to stay with their units. They are forced to remain part of the "team" where one of their team mates has violated them. When resolution does come, it generally means the reassignment of the female service person who was the victim - not the rapist.
It is put about that the armed services really needs to come to grips with this problem. They need to work on their policies and protocols. They need to do more training and supervision. My guess is that the problem is much deeper than this. Why do I think this? The following blurb from Army Times, Sex slaves and the U.S. military:
"At a time when the U.S. State Department and the United Nations labor to combat the international trafficking in women, the U.S. military supports a flourishing trade in sex slaves in South Korea.
Hundreds of trafficked women, mostly from former Soviet bloc countries and the Philippines, are forced by local bar owners to work as prostitutes in bars that cater to American servicemen. The women are typically lured to Korea with promises of high-paying jobs but end up being held against their will and coerced into working as prostitutes in circumstances that both the State Department and the United Nations condemn as a form of sexual slavery.
The U.S. military leadership in Korea says it is powerless to put a stop to the practice, which they claim is the responsibility of the Korean police. But the top Korean police expert on prostitution said it is unlikely Korean police will do anything to halt the trafficking because of widespread police corruption.
While U.S. troops continue to be the sex-slave racket’s best customers, U.S. commanders turn a blind eye. And there’s no end in sight. "
The rest of the article is for subscribers only - which I am not.
I think that the last paragraph of the blurb tells it all - "US commanders turn a blind eye." So is that what is called "lack of supervision?" When commanders know things are happening, but give implicit approval by ignoring what is going on, is that "lack of supervision?" Does the lack of training refer to commanders or troops? If the problem is endemic and clearly points to the denigration of women (in the military or not) is that a "training" issue, or is it a policy issue? At the very least it is a military "culture" issue which is not addressed by "policy," or at least the "policy" is not enforced.
Meanwhile, women serving our country are fair game the the military "turns a blind eye" to sexual slavery.