A former member of the Wyoming Military Department told lawmakers Friday that victims of sexual assault in the military are not getting the justice they need.
Marilyn Burden formerly served in the Wyoming National Guard, where she worked in the Equal Opportunity program for eight years and served as an alternate sexual assault response coordinator for four years.
Burden told members of the Legislature’s Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee during their meeting at the state Capitol that military leadership has “failed to remove sexual predators from the ranks.”
Anyone who fails to take action in removing these perpetrators “is an accessory to the next crime,” Burden said.
“Based upon my training, sexual predators, true sexual predators, have between 300 to 600 victims in a lifetime,” Burden said. “You’ve got to figure out how to get rid of them, and there’s all sorts of ways to do that in the military.”
Sexual assault case update
The Wyoming Military Department (WMD) is statutorily required to provide an annual update on sexual assault cases within the military to the legislative committee. Maj. Gen. Greg Porter, the state’s adjutant general, told committee members that the number of sexual assault cases went down from 11 last year to nine this year, with two cases involving the same perpetrator.
All of the perpetrators are male, he said, and the victims are a mix of both male and female. In all cases, the victim knew the perpetrator, and the ranks were “relatively the same of victims and perpetrators,” according to the WMD report. Alcohol was a factor in only two instances.
“We’ll continue to hold folks accountable,” Porter said. “It’s important for our force to know that we don’t tolerate it, and that we take administrative action when folks violate our standards.”
A climate survey sent out to all Wyoming military members indicated some are still seeing instances of vulgar behavior, including vulgar language and off-color jokes. However, there are no reports of these instances, Porter said, assuming those issues are being taken care of by leaders on the spot.
“But I do want to dig into it a little more,” he added.
A rise in international tensions demands a strong military culture, Porter said. It builds the necessary trust and common vision for a military unit to be successful.
However, he added he’s been a little frustrated with the process of investigating sexual assault cases.
All such cases, including rape, are first reported to local law enforcement, Porter said. Once law enforcement makes the determination, the report could potentially go to the Office of Complex Investigations.
Frustration
Burden told committee members that penalties for driving under the influence are harsher than those for sexual assault charges. These victims may get medical and mental health support, she said, but there’s one thing they’re all missing — justice.
Military perpetrators are held accountable for their actions through administrative action, according to the WMD. But Burden said this is “only part of the solution.”
“What I’d like to remind everyone is that sexual assault, including rape, is a crime,” Burden said. “What’s missing from this list of actions are the words ‘courts-martial.’
“It literally communicates that there will be no criminal charges brought forward,” Burden told the WTE.
She also said there’s a “disconnect” between the number of recorded complaints and what Porter reports to the committee.
“Whatever the adjutant general’s intent is, it either didn’t make it to the people on the Air (Guard) side. … I don’t know. There’s just a disconnect,” Burden said.
In one unit of the Air National Guard, five complaints were filed against the same two or three senior noncommissioned officers (NCOs), Burden said. These included one equal opportunity complaint, three inspector general (IG) complaints and a sexual assault that’s under investigation.
The “most disturbing” part of this report, she said, is that these are the same individuals who were listed in a 2018 IG complaint. The complainant that year was threatened with an involuntary extension of her enlistment, bullied, harassed and had her medical records illegally accessed, according to Burden. The complainant was then forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement.
“Because things weren’t addressed six years ago, there’s problems now,” Burden said.
While not aware of the details of the complaints or investigation reports, Burden told lawmakers that troops believe their leadership “has delivered absolutely no visible consequences.” Her source told her this unit could lose eight members in the next six to 12 months “in order to keep two or three toxic ones with over 20 years of service.”
She also told committee members the adjutant general should brief lawmakers on all complaint areas that negatively impact retention, not just cases of sexual harassment. This would include lawsuits against the agency, suicide attempts and completions, and cases of power and abuse.
“My request is ALL complaints to congressional representatives, inspector generals (both unit and headquarters), lawsuits (and current status) and suicide attempts and completions be added to this annual brief,” she testified.
Committee members had no questions or comments for Burden at the end of her testimony.
In a text message to the WTE, Burden said, “We need more people to come forward and tell their stories.”
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