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From Victim To Accused Army Deserter
The Army is still weighing action -- including a court-martial -- in the case of Spec. Suzanne Swift, 22, right, with her mother, Sara Rich.
(By Chris Pietsch -- For The Washington Post)
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"The presumption is the subordinate might take it as an order and might fear retribution if they say no," said Manning, a retired Navy captain. "The more junior they are, the more unlikely it is that they can say no without fearing the consequences."
19 and Just Out of Boot Camp
Suzanne Swift was 19 years old, one of the least-experienced members of her unit, when she was deployed to Kuwait in February 2004. She had completed boot camp and military-police training six weeks earlier and now was part of the 66th Military Police Company. She gave her version of her military experience during interviews over two days at her mother's home in Eugene.
She said she had signed up with the military police because she thought it would keep her out of Iraq. But when her unit received orders for a year-long deployment, she went.
In Kuwait, she said, a platoon sergeant who had been friendly toward her -- and who had assured her mother, "Don't worry, ma'am, we'll take care of your daughter" -- stopped her as she was headed to the shower and asked her bluntly: "Swift, why do you look like you want to" have sex with me?
Stunned, she said she replied: "You have lost your mind."
A day later, on a convoy, he persisted, she said.
"Dude, no," she told him several times, she said.
Swift said she was unprepared for the come-ons, which had never happened during training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. "I was like, this actually happens? This goes on and it's okay?"
She said she reported the incidents to a soldier designated to handle equal-opportunity complaints. He seemed receptive, saying he would tell a captain, she said. But nothing happened.
Her unit soon moved on to Iraq, where her 30-member platoon, with three other women, was based at Camp Lima in Karbala, southwest of Baghdad. Their mission was to support Iraqi police.
Earlier, she said, she had noticed unusual behavior by her squad leader, who warned her away from fellow soldiers with such advice as: "Watch out for that guy. He's going to hit on you." At times, she said, he pulled aside other soldiers and asked them: "What's going on with you and Swift?"
She said other soldiers seemed leery of her friendship.
