Army Spec. Suzanne Swift went AWOL and refused a second deployment to Iraq last June after a seargent in her chain of command coerced her into having sex with him. Swift says several of his colleagues also sexually harrassed her. She reported this to no avail, and subsequently went AWOL and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Army disputes her PTSD diagnosis, and has offered Swift an honorable discharge if she agrees to serve another nineteen months and to sign a statement claiming no sexual harrassment ever took place. Swift refuses, and awaits a Court Martial. A fuller account, with links, was posted by Diane Dees at the MojoBlog. What appears to be a website maintained by Swift’s supporters is accessible here
Dees also noted at her blog, the Dees Diversion, that yesterday “All Things Considered” had a feature about U.S. soldiers who have developed PTSD and suicidal depression as a result of their experiences in Iraq. A SF Chron article about women soldiers dealing with the aftermath of war is accessible here.
The National Women’s Law Center maintains an informational site about sexual harassment and women in the military here. NOW has a webpage related to women in the military here.
