At Aberdeen, officials filed criminal charges against three men and administrative charges against two more. The charges against the men range from sending inappropriate love letters to rape. It's possible that officials will press more charges - 15 other officers were placed on paid administrative duty as a result of the investigation. Such frequent discrimination could not have emerged at Aberdeen overnight.
An Army phone hotline, set up at Aberdeen last Thursday, already has fielded more than 2,000 additional harassment complaints, from Aberdeen and elsewhere. Other branches of the armed services are plagued by similar problems. For example, the Navy Tailhook scandal implicated 70 officers in the assault of at least 26 women. Machismo military culture appears to breed a disturbingly high incidence of criminal sexual conduct. The armed services must forge a new culture, one adapted to attain gender equity.
Often, in the armed services, women have no means to expose harassment without personal endangerment. In some cases, the danger is physical. One of the instructors at Aberdeen threatened to kill three trainees if they told supervisors he was having sex with them. More often, ambitious women are forced to endure sexual harassment to advance in rank - or at least to prevent stagnation or demotion. A woman, by turning down advances from a superior officer, risks receiving a poor performance evaluation. Furthermore, if she files a complaint against her supervisor to a higher officer, she will probably find the "good old boys" network very much alive.
Rear Admiral George W. Davis VI, the officer in charge of the Tailhook investigation, did not discipline Tailhook convention attendees because he believed the public would perceive such actions as a "witch hunt." In other words, he resents efforts to correct problems in a centuries-old military tradition.
Although the military forced Davis to resign because of these actions, his sentiments may mirror those of many officers. Any woman pressing sexual harassment charges could face a number of male officers who would deliberately hamper her advancement. To hold military sexual harassment in check, reform must start at the top.
All personnel, ranging from plebes to high-ranking officers, must receive comprehensive and ongoing gender sensitivity training. As of now, the military has received 56 complaints of sexual harassment involving Aberdeen. Armed forces supervisors must be held more accountable for their personnel. Just as important, lines of communication must stay open. Soldiers should feel free to report any sexual harassment incidents without fear of reprisals. Aberdeen and Tailhook display clear lack of institutional control - which means that the incidents are likely not isolated to one or two bases.
Sexual harassment traditionally has been intertwined with the military culture. As gender equity becomes the societal norm, the military, as evidenced at Aberdeen and Tailhook, has been slow to adjust. Although efforts such as the hotline show promise, the armed services must enact permanent measures. The institutional habit must be to assure that women receive their full constitutional rights.