U.S. Army Specialist Suzanne Swift of Eugene, Oregon possibly faces court-martial for refusing to return to Iraq with her unit and face what she alleges was an environment where her superiors sexually preyed upon her and other women.

By Dave Mazza

Sara Rich was nearly asleep when the knock came on her front door late on Sunday, June 11. As she made her way from the bedroom to the door, she heard voices outside the window. She thought one of her older children had forgotten thir keys. When she opened the door, however, Rich found Eugene police officers on her doorstep and at a windowon the side of the house.

“They asked for Suzanne but I told them I didn’t know anything,” stated Rich. “When they tried to enter the house I put my hand up and told them they hadn’t shown me a warrant. That’s when one of the officers twisted my hand and pushed me away.”

The scuffle brought two of Rich’s daughters to the door. Police identified one as Suzanne by a tattoo on her hand. She was handcuffed and led away. They informed Rich her daughter was being taken into custody on a military pick up order. A federal warrant had been issued charging U.S. Army Specialist Suzanne Swift with being absent without leave — AWOL.

Swift was placed in the Lane County Jail late Sunday night. On Tuesday, she was picked up by Ft. Lewis military police and transported to her unit’s barracks there. She remains restricted to base awaiting the Army’s decision whether or not to discipline her.

So begins what may be the final chapter in the story of a young woman forced to make the impossible choice between serving her country and protecting herself from sexual predators.

Suzanne Swift didn’t grow up in an environment that held military service in high regard. Her mother is a self-described hippie who grew up on a commune, hated the Vietnam War, and still considers herself a peace activist.

But Suzanne also shared the experiences of her own generation that moved people to join the military: a depressed economy offering one dead-end job after another in a society that seemed increasingly more self-absorbed and increasingly less concerned with issues that were larger than any individual. When the Army recruiters told Swift that a five-year enlistment would guarantee her training in the Army’s military police program, money for college and no deployment to Iraq, she couldn’t resist. Over the objections of her mother, Swift enlisted in April 2003.

Swift’s dreams about her time in the army were shattered upon her arrival at boot camp.

“Recruiters told her ‘you aren’t going to Iraq, but let me tell you, you all are going to Iraq and are going to die,’” stated Rich.

Even so, Swift completed basic training and then went through military police training from August to December 2003. A month later she was on her way to Karbala, Iraq with the 56th Military Police out of Fort Lewis.

Her arrival in Iraq was also her introduction to a very different army. Swift told her mother that sergeants started preying on her — sexually harassing her — immediately. “The whole mentality shifted” as soon as they got to Iraq. Women were confronted with the concept of “command rape” — submitting to their superiors’ demands for sex. As Swift explained to her mother, her safety depended on these people: “If you don’t do it you are in jeopardy and if you do you are in jeopardy.”

On her arrival in Iraq, Swift asked one sergeant in the presence of several other men where she was supposed to report. He responded “in my bed naked.” That was the beginning of a year for Swift in which comments like that soon escalated into more public humiliations, demands for sex and threats of harm should the demands not be met. The tormenters in Swift’s case were her three top sergeants who viewed her as their personal property. As the young specialist explained to her mother, there was little choice but to submit. Resistance meant being sent into combat or other dangerous situations without support — threats they made to her whenever she tried to reject their sexual demands. When she finally did say no, she was repeatedly written up for things like being 30 seconds late. Transfer or promotion just met changing the faces of those who were subjecting her to such treatment.

Swift’s return to the U.S. brought relief from her situation. The unit fell back into its old routines. The specialist thought that with things returning to normal she might be able to make it through her enlistment. That hope was dashed with the announcement that the unit would once again be deployed to Iraq. Rich noted that with that came the return of the daughter she had seen upon return from Iraq — fearful and depressed.

Despite her sense of foreboding over what another tour in Iraq would mean, Swift continued to prepare for departure. Three days before deployment Swift broke down, telling her mother, “I just can’t do it — I can’t go back there.” Rich felt Swift was clearly suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, a feeling that was confirmed by a psychiatrist who examined Swift a few days later.

In addition to the psychiatric examination, Swift also spoke with an attorney two days after she was officially AWOL. Attorney Larry Hildes is familiar with how the military operates, recognizing that it often takes a great deal of shouting and door slamming to get them to move.

Swift’s case proved no different. Hildes spent the first six months just getting the army to respond to his letters and telephone calls. He was seeking to accomplish two things: avoid Swift returning to base until her mental condition improved and get the Army to start investigating the conditions that brought Swift to her current situation. The June 11 arrest brought that largely to a close.

Swift was placed once again under one of the sergeants who had harassed her. She was also the subject of ridicule from her fellow soldiers who, according to Swift, “treated her like a traitor.” There were a few exceptions. A handful of soldiers in her unit empathized with Swift and one, whom she considered a brother, remained supportive.

The specialist’s situation has stabilized in some ways since being arrested. Although she is restricted to base, she seems to be otherwise free. This is most likely in large part to the work of Hildes and Sara Rich. The former has been very aggressive in pushing the colonel in charge of Swift’s case to investigate all aspects of the case, including the conduct of the three sergeants that created an environment that caused Swift to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. Hildes also got Swift out from under the charge of the sergeant who had been her primary tormenter in Iraq.

“As soon as she got back they assigned her to one of the sergeants that harassed her,” stated Hildes. “It took calls to congressional delegates, shouting matches with officers and shouting down a colonel who finally decided this needed changing.”

Hildes, after striking out with an equal opportunity officer who, rather than advocating for Swift told her she was on her own, now thinks he is making headway with the colonel heading up the investigation. The key, according to Hildes, is to get the investigating officers to look beyond the sort of proof one can obtain in other types of cases. Hildes wants them to consider the environment these sergeants created and how that left Swift no option but to submit as well as cause her to develop post traumatic stress disorder. If Hildes is successful, Swift should be able to receive a medical discharge with no loss of benefits.

Expanding the investigation is also important because it means the three sergeants may be held accountable for their actions. In light of the growing evidence of such actions among the troops in Iraq, the need to send a clear signal that such behavior will not be tolerated is becoming critical.

Rich’s efforts on her daughter’s behalf are helping to make that happen as well. The day after Swift was arrested, Rich organized protests outside the jail and has continued to keep public pressure on the military.

“Commanders view this sort of thing as a black mark — they can’t handle the rank and file — so they try to keep things on the down low,” stated Rich. “But it isn’t working. Women are calling in droves. Thank God people are listening.”

Dave Mazza is editor of The Portland Alliance.

Editor’s Note: As this issue goes to press, Suzanne Swift’s situation remains unsure. Watch for further developments in this story here on our web site.