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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

President’s Message:

Recently I have been review- and I wonder what can be done now to e ectively change
ing documentation regarding what is happening to our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and
sexual assault in the military. coast guard personnel.
Between 2015 and 2019, the
number of formal complaints Although it has been over 20 years since I retired, I
has risen from 657 to 1021. remember that we had cohesiveness in our Units that I
Also, in 2019, there were 442 no longer see. Maybe it’s the advent of Twitter, Facebook,
informal complaints that were Hangouts, Instagram, etc. that has caused us to interact
addressed and resolved at the less with one another, but I keep asking myself, “Where
Joanne Elliott, YNC lowest level; 126 were reported are the rst classes, where are the Chiefs, why are these
National President
as administratively closed and individuals going to their Chaplain, medical or legal for
23 informal complaints were pending resolution. (doc- help.” Are they afraid to do so? Are they afraid of repri-
umented by the DOD 2019 Annual Report on Sexual sal/retaliation? A way must be found to keep our junior
Assault in the Military and United States DoD Sexual personnel safe.
Assault Prevention and Response).
If any of you have any thoughts about how we can help, I
Having served 28 years (active and reserve) in the Navy, I would love to hear from you.
nd myself trying to wrap my mind around what is now
being reported. From the Navy to Fort Hood and even to
the Coast Guard I have reviewed reports of these incidents

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4 The Mariner • 2020 SUMMER Edition • Volume 63 • Issue 2