** 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. **
Here’s my sexual assault story:
I was at a surf station in Oregon from 2008-2012. In 2009, I received some bad news from my mom and I turned to my BM1 and his YN2 wife for support and comfort. They took me out and called the off-duty section to come out. I didn’t drink much that night and I am still convinced to this day that I was drugged. I passed out at the bar and the next thing I know, I’m being put into the BM1’s truck. He then kissed me and his wife entered the truck and wasn’t phased at all.
The next thing I know, I’m in their house, in their bed, in just my bra and underwear. The YN2 wife is on my left and the BM1 is on my right. He is fondling my breasts and eventually inserted his fingers inside me. I was frozen in that moment, absolutely terrified as he is violating me and trying to wake me up. His wife gets up and goes to the bathroom, and I follow, telling her I want to go home. She then walks me to the spare bedroom. I was still extremely messed up but I waited a few moments and made my way out to the living room to find my clothes all over, but was unable to find my belt. This was odd to me because I always left it on my jeans. I found the rest of my clothes and got dressed and got the fuck out of there. The following Monday, the BM1 approached me and said he had my belt and that he was sorry.
This situation really messed with me for a long time. This finally went to court martial in 2012. He and his wife had sexually assaulted multiple women, but I was the only one that went forward and testified against him. He got kicked out but his wife didn’t. I eventually was stationed with her in Seattle, talk about a hostile work environment. I talked to my detailer and asked him to put me anywhere else in WA and he wouldn’t, and the command at Seattle didn’t give a shit that I was dealing with his now YN1 wife harassing me and honestly scaring the shit out of me because she was mentally unstable. Oh, he was also coming on base because he had an ongoing medical issue. I asked the CMC if I could at least know when he came on base so I knew not to leave my office and I was told to just deal with it.
Because of this, I lost so much faith in this organization and its higher-ups. I’ve been through years of counseling, but I’d finally been able to work through it and find a way to have a normal relationship. The sad part for me was that I looked up to the surfmen at my station. I was the SK2 and I leaned on these guys to be there for me, to mentor me, to have my back, and this is what happened. There were so many signs that he was a predator but everyone overlooked it. Last Friday, I made Chief and I will say, the only reason I did was for the retirement. I will always strive to be a good Chief and be there for my subordinates, but I didn’t make Chief to help out the CG. At least 2 more years and I’m completely done with this organization. They don’t have our backs, they’d rather sweep shit under the rug.