After looking at modern American culture, I most likely won’t stay in the military any longer than my current contract requires. There are far greater conflicts at hand than those in Iraq and Afghanistan (and depending on how things go, possibly Syria, Pakistan, North Korea, or Iran). Though often cited as the most trusted institution in America, the US military has seen a very disheartening increase in sexual assault among personnel.
While I was at my National Guard drill in August, my unit received SHARP training (Sexual Harassment and Assault Reduction Program). I’ve had this instruction before, but it was different this time. Naturally, the interpersonal trust on which the Army heavily relies suffers. When that trust is violated, it hurts unit morale and combat readiness.
Sexual liberation is becoming a national security issue.
When a sexual assault occurs in a combat zone and is reported (“reported” being the key word), the victim is evacuated for counseling and treatment. The assailant and a victim’s advocate are also evacuated. The unit is down three people. On top of losing combat assets, other resources, such as helicopters, humvees, and operators are pulled away from their duties.
The kicker, though, is that economy is at work too. According to Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond Chandler III, over the last five years, sexual harassment and assault have cost the Army about $400 million, and that’s just the Army. There are four other branches of service that are all having the same issues right now: the Marines, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Coast Guard. Look at our national debt and deficit. With the government stripping the military’s budget to go towards other ventures, proportionately more of the military’s budget goes towards paying for the results of sexual assault. This budget has one source: your tax money.
“When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the citizen.”
In 2009, at an ROTC training course, I remember at one point while discussing Army culture, one of our instructors said “just because we’re wearing this uniform doesn’t mean we’re all good guys.”
Citizens make the conscious choice to enlist, whether during peace or war. They have all be raised in the sexually liberated culture that has added extensive complications in relationships between men and women and degraded the value of the person. They Army talks about changing the culture and the precursors to sexual assault such as innuendos, but the precursors have precursors. Watch this video when you get a chance (I couldn’t find it on YouTube to embed it. Sorry!).
The military has a responsibility to it’s people, but this is a cultural issue and not a military one. The military’s job is to fight wars. This is work that has to be done before a citizen joins. It is OUR responsibility as followers of Jesus to change the culture. Sadly though, it’s work that’s being continuously stymied by moral relativism and the federal government (the HHS mandate, anyone?), Planned Parenthood, the secular-progressives, Hollywood, and the liberal media. However, truth will prevail (Matthew 16:18).
This is why I said earlier that I will most likely leave the military. There are greater conflicts at hand here.
The wider-ranging impact.
I had originally intended to cover the economics of this problem a bit more (such as an increase in poverty and welfare spending), but I think that would be taking too much of a detour. That’s something to address more in-depth later on. I’d hope that showing the economic aspect of a moral issue might get people to rethink this no-consequence mentality, but it’s probably in vain. After all, in Chapter 1 of his book How NOT To Share Your Faith, Mark Brumley writes that logic does not automatically lead to belief.
Our society needs to understand that there are consequences and that they build up. Sure, there are plenty of other reasons why we’re in the financial shape that we are (such as the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Labor, the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, congressional salaries and pensions, sending foreign aid to hostile nations, the First Family’s frequent AND lavish vacations, etc.), but the domino effect has to start somewhere.
One Final Note: I believe in the United States Army too much to remain silent.
I found this video while researching the aforementioned impact of sexual freedom on our culture and on the military. There is so much I could write about from this female Soldier’s story alone, maybe even an entire separate site. For now, I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
Note: This video is VERY lengthy…
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHGmLHdJR4g]
Something’s got to give.