Feminist in Combat Boots
I took an Oath to protect the Constitution. Now here are my Constitutional rights. Written by Isabella Francis Mazotti
Congratulations Christopher Lagan, United States Coast Guard: You succeeded in being an A-hole
Posted by on April 7, 2011
The above screen shot was part of the OFFICIAL Coast Guard blog with a comment written by someone claiming to be a military sexual trauma survivor of the United States Coast Guard. They sign their name only as “Coast Guard veteran” and then went on from what I can see be a very sad but respectful post on how they’ll be marching in a veterans’ day parade waving a Coast Guard flag. “Coast Guard Veteran” wrote about MST veterans being shun out of service and how they may not feel that they have earned the title of veteran and that they indeed should be honored and respected like all other Honorable Discharged veterans.
Chris Lagan, United States Coast Guard public affairs, then went on and said because this veteran did not state his/her name that it can not and will not be approved to be posted on the Coast Guard blog. Okay, fine even though I did just went on the blog and there are MANY others who sign their names as “a veteran” or “wife of a BM2” those are fine but “Coast Guard veteran” which is not offensive or anything at all is not okay?
Well that is the minor of the two issues. What is the bigger problem is how he automatically assumed that it was a false accusations. You do not know who this veteran is. You do not know their name. You do not know his/her story. You do not know if they were telling the truth. You do not know a damm thing about them since you already alleged that you can not approve the post since it was ‘anonymous’.
Christopher, what is your obsession on telling rape survivors that they are liars? Most women who are raped are raped and false accusations are very rare. However in the Coast Guard, 92% of women are involuntarily discharged from service but not before being told that they are “crazy, lying, whores” and this is no different. Chris Lagan, you said that this survivor posted anonymously so what do you know about them to cry false accusation?
As for the attack of the service claim. What it an attack that she or he is proudly representing the Coast Guard in a veteran day parade. Is it an attack that we should not forget those who been raped in the service and they are veterans like the rest of us?
Now that it is sexual assault awareness month and he is once again making a fool of himself by dismissing sexual assault and rape survivors-including those that are using their full name to say that they have been raped. Is saying that you have been raped an attack on the service? I feel the opposite is, allowing our brave service members to suffer in silence and those who are speaking out to be dismissed is an attack on the people who are serving. Assuming that anyone that come forward, even if you don’t know their name, that they are lying about an assault or lying about being discharged from service is an attack on those who are serving and have been raped. Numerous studies show that 92% of all rape survivors in the Coast Guard are INVOLUNTARILY DISCHARGED FROM SERVICE and this person is part of this 92%. Christopher Lagan, you are failing sexual assault and rape survivors in the United States Coast Guard. Rape survivor deserve to be validated, believed and respected. If you can’t accept that then maybe Public Relations is not for you.
Remember you are being paid for by tax dollars and not to withhold the public (aka “Coast Guard veteran”) opinion especially if it did not go against any policies. Do you find it humorous to silence a RAPE survivor. Does crying false accusations to every rape survivor who was involuntarily discharged from service make you feel more like a man?
Looks like Cgreport also picked up on this topic and devoted a week to it. Wouldn’t it have been easier to just allow a rape survivor to say that rape survivors are also veterans and let not forget them?
Congratulations Christopher Lagan, United States Coast Guard: You succeeded in being an A-hole.
My tax dollars hard at work promoting misogyny and hatred.
Feminist in Combat Boots 
Let look at some statistics:
According to the Military Rape Crisis Center 92% of women report being INVOLUNTARILY discharged for service; the majority of them for ‘medical’ conditions for disorders that are later confirmed to be a FALSE DIAGNOSES which includes but not limited to adjustment disorder, personality disorder or a pre-existing condition. Most of these sexual assault survivors are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression and other similar disorders that are common among sexual assault survivors yet are not being diagnosed with those conditions by the Coast Guard.
What we have here is Christopher Lagan, United States Coast Guard, dismissing not only this woman’s rape but also that she was one of the 92% who were involuntarily separated from service. Instead of contacting her (they do have her email) to reach out to her or to ask if she’ll want her reasons of discharged investigated they automatically dismissed her rape case AND the reason why she was separated from service.
Even though there may not be an official policy stating that rape survivors to be separated from service-92% of all who report a rape also report being forced out of service, many for mental health conditions that they do NOT have, is more than just a coincident.
How can you tell the thousands of survivors that came forward that their careers came to an end after reporting a rape that their rape is not the reason that they were discharged?
Are they investigating anyone that report being involuntarily separated from service only to later find out that the medical reasons that they were forced out of service has been false?
As far as I know the Coast Guard are NOT investigating those claims. They are denying it is even happening so why will they investigate something that they won’t acknowledge in the first place that it is taking place. Read Chris’ response to this and tell me that is not a slap in the face for every single person that reported a rape then lost their careers. No wonder 80-90% of all rapes are NEVER reported-it is a career killer.