Walk a Mile in Her Shoes

I say rat 'em out. Also, the information provided illustrates what would have been the issue with the initial post.
 
Wow. This thread is chock full of different topics to comment on. Regarding uniform regs: I absolutely feel no one should be dressed out of uniform nor wearing it at inappropriate events. However, under the category of Physical Training, I remember times we wore running shoes vs boots with our cammies, Unit T-shirts vs olive green ones, and in actual field conditions there were lots of variations of the norm. The Commanding Officer could designate the uniform of the day - perhaps that is where some of this falls?

I guess I would think that if this walk/ run was categorized as PT then unique footwear could have been "authorized?"
 
I also don't understand the objective. The Coast Guard has a "Not In My Coast Guard" campaign for the same reason. I LIKE to hope it works, but I have my doubts. Sexual predators don't need a group of people walking around in high heels or saying "Not in my Coast Guard." They aren't moving in for their next victim when suddenly they think "Oh wait, not in this Coast Guard?" No, because they're already a predator. The best thing training can do is 1. Tell people what they can do if they or someone they know has been assaulted (as far as reporting, getting help, maintain evidence, etc), 2. Get some information or tips about how to avoid situations that sexual predators may take advantage of and 3. Let everyone else know what the penalties are and how there is no length the service won't go to bring justice to the victims.

I'm not sure the last time I had sexual assault training, but I didn't accept sexual assault before the training and I haven't accepted it after. The training is more helpful to talk about tools available. Last, predators aren't swayed by demonstrations or Youtube videos or inspirational/emotional speeches. Sexual predators are dogs, and in my humble opinion, they should be treated as such, and punished to the highest degree possible.

You may be interested to know that Congress does not have mandatory reporting for its sexual assault victims (and yes, folks are sexual harrassed and assaulted on the Hill..... nothing).


Maybe these events, and "Not in my Coast Guard" campaigns really just reassure others, outside of the services, that the behavior is not tolerated, institutionally.
 
So you don't think seeing a bunch of ROTC guys wearing heels is going to make a thug rethink beating up his girlfriend?
 
I really didn't mean to open up such a can of worms. But it struck me as the kind of feel-good slacktivism that permeates our society. Against breast cancer? Wear a pink shirt to work. Feel bad about Invisible Children? Change your profile picture to KONY 2012. I see it as a waste of time and resources.

Want to really do something? Volunteer at a battered women's shelter. Hate breast cancer? Find a woman currently under going treatment (there's probably one in your neighborhood) and clean her house or make meals. But these localized acts don't photograph as well, and we all know it's about Instagram or Twitter.
 
The regs are the regs. All the way up to the lowly E-1 to the CNO. Granted, flag officers probably have a lot of leeway (I've seen a picture somewhere of a past CNO with no undershirt during an interview for example), but an O-5 commanding his unit to break it in advance of a political agenda? I don't know if the guy is retired, reserves, or active if he's leading these cadets, but his superior should say something along the lines of,"What the **** man, you don't put your troops in ****ing high heels AND force them to make a political statement in them."

Really unprofessional on the whole.

i_sk8_shipm8.

Guess what? On this site posters don't feel the need to drop the F bomb to drive home the point.


FYI ROTC CoC are AD.
 
This thread is now becoming too funny!

Oh look a squirrel! We are so off point now that it is hysterical impo.

The tread was titled Walk a Mile in her shoes and now it is about F bombs.

Look....a squirrel!
 
Is it bad I totally missed the f bomb?

Ha Ha. That was another of the topics within the thread to discuss.

The third is the effectiveness of "awareness" events like the "walk a mile..." or Susan K/ MS/ Cancer "walks." I am not a big fan of these events and choose "action based assistance" or direct contributions instead. I concede however that they must be effective in raising money as every cause does some form of this type of event.

A fourth topic is the one of "mandatory" participation in events. I would bet anyone who has a few years of active duty is aware of circumstances like this and while they didn't like it, they succumbed to the pressure. On occasion, I had to take units to dress up political events, mayoral gala's etc. My men were volun-told that they would participate on their own time (if there is such a thing). Back when I was in you were expected to get 100% participation in United Way campaign giving. This was always done on payday (back when we handed out paper checks) and guys would not get their check till they turned in a signed donation form. I didn't "order" them to do it... I just told my Platoon Sergeant that I expected 100% participation and to report back when he got it. I am sure I wasn't comfortable with that situation but I made it happen. Another example is blood drives. These too were scheduled for payday and you can guess how they were handled.

I kind of wish I could post this anonymously but thought it better to put out there for future officers and parents to read. You too will face challenges like this and have to decide whether to take a stand or deliver what is asked. Not all dilemmas are going to be an unlawful order or war crime. There will be subtle orders like this also. At the time, I reconciled it in my own mind. You will need to think about how you will handle them.
 
I guess we need to now have a "Walk A Mile In His Boots" march because over 50% of sexual assaults in the military are male on male....but that's a different discussion.

FWIW, it's great to support causes, though I would've preferred it not to be in uniform.

Honestly, it doesn't look like there's any clear info on whether or not it was mandatory. My opinion is that it probably wasn't forced like a cadet claims, but cadets have a habit of taking guidance from cadre without fully processing it and requesting necessary clarification. Essentially, the word is gospel and leadership doesn't want to approach cadre to clarify what really needs to happen (less chance of being yelled at, I did it too). Hell it happens to me here all the time still. Just my opinion, but that's where I believe that stemmed from. The lower echelons don't know what's going on at the top and the telephone game in between leads to misinformation if guidance isn't clear.

I think sexual assault is despicable and shouldn't be tolerated. However, I also think my views on this issue would stay the same if I were wearing an ROTC t-shirt and pants as opposed to my duty uniform.

I'm most concerned with how the hell they made it a mile in heels.
 
This thread is now becoming too funny!

Oh look a squirrel! We are so off point now that it is hysterical impo.

The tread was titled Walk a Mile in her shoes and now it is about F bombs.

Look....a squirrel!

I think you were the one that made the derail about F bombs.
 
Good job "walk a mile in her shoes"!!

You effectively just got twenty or so posters (and hundreds of views) from people talking and thinking about sexual assault instead of the standard: should I retake my ACTs for the twelfth time?, will dodmerb know I had asthma at 3 yrs old, army's new god-awful football team name, why is cadet command changing those dates again!, and why is the coast guard always forgotten....?

Kudos!
 
Well, we're talking about uniforms, cursing and squirrels to be honest. HA!
 
Well, we're talking about uniforms, cursing and squirrels to be honest. HA!

You LITS, 'to be honest', must have skimmed over the posts that didnt follow your narrative. I saw lots of comments regarding sexual assault. ;) Let me point some out to you....because maybe you should go back and read what others wrote. Here is just some:

platypus1618: Showing support for sexual assault victims is not political. It's just like showing support for soldiers with PTSD or victims of domestic violence or terrorism.

Jcc123: I've heard many argue that it's discriminatory since men are also victims of domestic violence and abuse - of course they can be, but no one can deny that women are by far the majority of victims. And, support of women victims in no way implies a lack of support for male victims.

clarksonarmyThis is an important cause, and I'm proud of the efforts across Cadet Command, and especially here at Clarkson to increase awareness regarding this issue. Every time there is an incident of sexual assault or harassment in our ranks it brings far more discredit to the organization then any poorly planned awareness effort.

Pima: My DS married his college sweetheart. Their relationship was long distance (200 miles+). He was in AFROTC, if she was assaulted, I am dang sure he would have walked it in support of her. I am sure his friends would have too.... Why are we even arguing this? I always believed the military represented those that could not defend against bullies. Sexual assailants are bullies.

Even txpotato wrote: Want to really do something? Volunteer at a battered women's shelter. Hate breast cancer? Find a woman currently under going treatment (there's probably one in your neighborhood) and clean her house or make meals......

Ohio2015Parent: DS "marched" with his class and cadre in a WAMIHS earlier this fall. The shoes were donated, the event a highlight of Dad's weekend...photographed in campus and local papers. There was no negative press or push back from cadets. They also break uniform regs for t-shirts when they march/walk/run in supporting autism, pedi cancers, breast cancer, alzheimers and many others during his 4 years. I am very proud that my DS and his unit show support for many causes. JMHO.....

MomWPgirl: I know of a few guys who have done this in support of raising awareness. They were not humiliated.



while many threads divert from the topic I would NOT say that we are merely "talking about uniforms, cursing and squirrels to be honest" HA!
 
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