Feminist in Combat Boots
I took an Oath to protect the Constitution. Now here are my Constitutional rights. Written by Isabella Francis Mazotti
the SARCs has spoken
Posted by on January 31, 2011
Ever since I posted Hello SARC do you hear me? and Panayiota’s follow up post Has Anyone Seen the SARC? we been contacted by SARCs many who felt that they been incorrectly portrayed in the blog posts. We welcome all SARCs to speak to us on what they are doing to help survivors of Military Sexual Trauma from being re-victimized, being forced out of service and helping a survivor receive justice. We also inviting MST survivors to share their stories on working with a SARC, was their helpful or did they cause further damage?
We’ll leave you with this from the New York National Guard, a SARC I contacted after I could not reach anyone on their so-called twenty-four hours hotline responded back. The number she gave me to call instead is “no longer in service.”
Feminist in Combat Boots 
As a SARC I find it ridiculous after reading most of your blog post, that you put “the majority of” SARCs in the same category. As a SARC with not only the Arm and Navy, nothing is worse to me than a victim not receiving the support and resources they need. There are better ways to go about fixing your bad experiences with a couple of SARCs, than blasting them on a blog.
I think this is the only way to bring about the much needed change! FACE it you ALL are doing a lousey job!
That’s like having a bad experience with a doctor and saying ALL doctors suck. You can’t put EVERYONE in the same category. I notice most of the blog stuff is about uniform SARCs, has anyone tried contacting a SARC at an Army Community Services, Marine Corp Community Services or Fleet and Family Support Center? I know on a regular basis the Navy regional offices regularly check their base’s hotline numbers.
In defense to what Gary said. I’m sure that there are some great SARCs out there but when they do not pick up their phone and when their email addresses are incorrectly listed we can not recognize the good SARCs. How do we know if you are good if we can not talk to you?
Army, Army write Army on the board 100 times until you get it right. If you are not a veteran, sexual assault or rape victim…SHUT UP! Nobody cares what you have to say. Remember 100 time.
Linda Carroll Madson. US Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer (retired)
Sexual assault victim.
I forgot, why are you making a joke about all this talk. Your talk doesn’t match your actions. Ridiculous indeed. You don’t even sign your name, what are you scared of, someone calling you on the carpet? Don’t forget Army 100 time!
Linda Carroll Madson
My SARC wasn’t even present at any point in time for my rape investigation. I went to her to report another assualt, and a she allowed my MP unit to downgrade it from Assualt to Harrassment.
Ryan – that is exactly the general attitude that the military overall has about rape and sexual assault: it’s not really a problem. It was just YOUR unfortunate luck to have a bad experience…
And I call BS. When every single one of us is saying we had a horrible experience with our SARC, when we’re still being forced to live and work with the perpetrator and told to “treat him with respect”, when our whole military culture is still telling us what happened is our fault, when the majority of us are still getting involuntarily discharged because the military doesn’t want to admit or let the public know what happened to us, when well over 90% of perpetrators are still being promoted and allowed to stay in with little to no punishment… NO. You are not doing an adequate job.
The SARC program, as a whole, is a giant failure. It is a ‘glossing over’ so that the military can wipe its hands of the fact that 1 in 3 women in the military are still being raped. I, too, never even met my SARC. I called her once, hoping she could advocate for me because my command was forcing me to violate the restraining order and be in close contact with the perpetrator mere weeks after I was raped. Her response: “suck it up. Pull yourself up by the bootstraps. Get through this and we can cry about it later.”
F all of you.
My victim advocate told me that she does not believe that I was raped and that I am lying and crazy. I did end up carrying a tape recorder have her recorded.
Witnesses heard her say the same thing in public areas on bases including the elevator with no regards to my privacy.
After a witness saw a sexual assault against me (that was retaliation for being raped) my own victim advocate told the witness that if he pushes the case further that he would be the one who would get in trouble.
As a former SARC at the Air Force Academy, to know that this type of SARC behavior is going on makes my blood boil. Even under the best of circumstances, survivors of this crime will face many heart breaking obstacles in their attempt to find healing and justice. The last thing they need is to be let down by those whose job it is, to be a lifeline to the survivor in this most horrific time of need. Some heads need to roll over this at the highest levels.
Has anyone spoken to Dr. Kaye Whitley at SAPRO about this and if so what was her response on finding a solution ASAP.
Doctor, were you at the Air Force Academy when all the female cadets were being raped and assauted by their own classmates?
I have written to everyone from the White Hoese down I have not so much as received a call, email, letter, etc… Oh Oprah Winfrey’s producer me. She wants to talk.
Linda Madson