What is Your Story?
When I was 17, I enlisted in the Army and received orders to Camp Carroll, Korea. This was my first time being on my own and I was nervous but excited to see the world and meet new people. I arrived in Korea a few months after my 18th birthday and met coworkers who I thought were my friends, and other people who turned out to be genuine friends. I was visiting another base when I met someone and we had a great conversation so we figured that we could go hang out again. I was under the impression we were just friends; he was under the impression that we were more than that. I got an airbnb by the base because I was going to hang out with my other friends as well. The first couple of days that I hung out with my other friends were so fun, we explored the town, tried new food, and caught up. The last couple of days I met up with my other “friend” and the original plan was that we were going to see the movie Venom. He told me that he didn’t want to go right away and that we could watch another movie in his room while we were waiting. Instead of the movie, he got me drunk, assaulted me, and followed me back to the airbnb where the cycle continued. The next day, I was finally able to get back to my base at Camp Carroll where I found out that he had put in to be transferred to my work place and he would call me every single day for 2 months straight. I originally put in a private report against him, but I switched it to an unrestricted report once he showed up to an event I was facilitating for work. My friends at work sided with him, saying that I should have known better and my mental health tanked. My Sergeants didn’t protect me, even when I warned them that he was on the sign up list for my work event. In the end, my legal team and those who worked in victim support were able to get me out of the country and back in the US. The case against him was eventually dropped due to a Commander’s ruling, despite all of the evidence against him. Later, he was stationed at the same duty station as me again, despite the fact that it was supposed to never happen. I felt the same way I did back in Korea: alone, scared, and ignored. I was able to get mental health counseling and this time, I had protection. I was able to get medically retired and was diagnosed with PTSD.
What Can You Tell Others Who are Going Through the Same thing?
Do the hard thing. People may turn against you, shame you, but if you don’t speak up, you can potentially be allowing that behavior to happen to other people. Hard things don’t last forever and better things are waiting.