Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy

I was a new non-rate coming up a scuttle when he pulled his pants down, squatted over the scuttle, and placed his genitalia on my head.

** This anonymous U.S. Coast Guard Survivor Testimonial was originally submitted to “The Pettiest Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard” on Facebook in May of 2024 and re-published by MLAA. MLAA does not know the identity of the author and has not verified any of the claims or allegations made in this testimonial. Light formatting changes for readability, or redactions for PII may have been applied before publishing. **

I was a new non-rate reporting to a 270 in Portsmouth, VA. I was learning the security round from a “senior” deck non-rate. He was liked by everyone, including the Command. I don’t have a problem saying his name but it seems useless at this point. He was a complete douche but again, I was new and he was liked by most.

As I was coming up a scuttle from checking one of the bilges, he had gone ahead up the ladder. As I went to go up, he pulled his pants down and squatted over the scuttle, placing his genitalia on my head. I was completely disgusted and furious instantly. I punched him as hard as I could in his genitals. I fell back down the ladder onto the floor. I could hear him squalling, saying “Why did you punch me? It was just a joke, everyone else was initiated the same way.” I told him that I’m not everyone else and that he better not ever try that again. He made my life hell until the day he left. I was always treated like shit by him and the other “senior” deck people, including the BM2.

I remember later hearing that BM2 on a Coast Guard radio commercial one time and it made me so mad I wanted to hurt people. He was fully aware of everything that happened and that this was a common occurrence for new non-rates. I left the unit as quickly as I could because I knew that it was never going to get better there, especially not for me. I didn’t know anything about reporting or anything like that back then. When I finally learned about the reporting process, it seemed so convoluted and difficult that it was made to discourage people from reporting. I don’t think that I have ever told the story to anyone, but I know that he told people back then.

I have more to share but I will have to tell my story in pieces.

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