Sea Year Sexual Assault Report(s)

M/N X: I stand by my advice. You have already done much to be proud of. Now is the time to look out for yourself.
KPMom2013: With all due respect, your harassment situation is completely different from what a woman on a ship at sea confronts. You are completely alone to face unwanted sexual advances, and sometimes even death threats. There is no home to retreat to, no police station, no family. You are singularly, utterly alone.
BTW, I would never let my daughters attend KP. I know and have experienced too much. I respect that other KP women had different experiences from me and am happy to hear their opinions. But, if you, yourself did not endure 4 years of KP, then have a career on ships and ashore, your opinion doesn’t carry much weight.
And hence the problem persists. We all walk our own path in life and no one knows exactly what it is like to walk someone else's path. When we compare experiences with a "my experience is more important than your experience" attitude and do not value input from others, we get nowhere. I was not trying to imply that I know what it is like to be on a ship because I don't. My point is that we all have defining moments in our lives where we can choose to speak up for ourselves. As for the maritime industry, not every company is as tolerant of misbehavior as Maersk is. If MN X wants to have a career at sea, I want to support that and hope that others in the industry would offer their support as well.
 
In truth, the academy’s real motto has always been Verba non Acta.

Definitely some real truth in that

M/N X: Don’t be fooled by all the support you are receiving. It is temporary and will disappear in time.

I presume you are referring to the support of those in power. Sadly, in all likelihood, there is also truth in this. Whether it be Maersk, MEBA, MARAD or USMMA ... in the end they all care more about self preservation than any individual. If this were not true than this problem would have been fixed decades ago.

I have mad respect for anyone speaking real truth to real power. I will just leave it with this.
“Bad men(women) need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men(women) should look on and do nothing” – John Stuart Mill
 
M/N X: If you want to talk privately, please let me know. Otherwise, know that option B is also your choice.
 
@kpmom2013 and @NatBow--Please contact the Senate Committee, or me, if you wish to share your experience. Alternatively, post it to the MLAA website [it's not mine] because the Committee is reading that too. They need to know what has been happening so that they understand how to fix it. They are only getting started.
 
@kpmom2013 and @NatBow--Please contact the Senate Committee, or me, if you wish to share your experience. Alternatively, post it to the MLAA website [it's not mine] because the Committee is reading that too. They need to know what has been happening so that they understand how to fix it. They are only getting started.
Hello Good Counsel: When I first posted, I was trying to reach just one person, M/N X. I wanted her to know that she should look out for herself after coming forward. I simply don’t care what outsiders think about her future path and what she should do next. In the end M/N X will stand alone.
I’ll leave it to others to speak for the women of the merchant marine. It’s always been that way.
 
@Midshipman X thank you for your bravery. This is not a conversation that is easy to have. But it is one we must have.

As the mother of a daughter and of a son, I am burdened by your story. I have no words. I am livid. I know I raised a daughter who would use her voice as you have. I am sorry this is a story you have to tell. I know none of this was your doing. I applaud your bravery. It takes voices like yours to effect change. And change we need.

I would hope I raised a son who would advocate for his fellow shipmate and kick the hell out of anyone who looked sideways at a shipmate of his. That no matter the kickback or fallout that they sang to the hills the wrongs being done. This **** has gone on too long. It has to change. The culture has to change. The protections of pedophiles and rapists has to change.
Enough.
 
I have a mid at KP currently. She is not anonymous at this point. She gave too much identifying information in her letter and my mid said it was obvious who she was. Regardless, according to my mid, she is VERY much supported by her classmates and adminis

Hello Everyone.

I am Midshipman X. I am the one that posted the article. I have read though all your comments and many more like them on all the other platforms that spoke about my account. I posted anonymously, but I am no longer anonymous to current midshipmen, USMMA leaders, MARAD, DOT, FBI, Shipping companies, and now News outlets. I am sure that it is only a matter of time before my name comes out to all of you, and so be it. I left key details in my story knowing there might be a risk that it circles back to me, but all of it was too important to leave out. I had to tell my story properly.

Most of you are parents. I ask you to think of what happened to me and place your DS/DD in my shoes.

Imagine if it was your kid reading everything people were saying about them. Or that your kid had this much to deal with right now.

I was a 19 year old teenager. I was broken. What happen to me BROKE ME. Please spot pointing out what I should've done. Trust me I know I made mistakes. I know I was to trusting that people could actually be good. Call me naïve... BUT I AM NOT THE ISSUE! Alcohol is not the issue that causes rape to happen either. Please I ask you to stop victim blaming/ situation blaming and focus on the real issue.

I shared my story to show others that others would know that they weren't alone. I was finally ready to say what happen to me. I never expected all of this to come from my story. I spent years trying to recover from what happened and all of this is just like revisiting it every time something new is published.

Change is coming. I feel like we are closer now than we ever have been. I hope you realize that what happened to me could happen to anyone, including anyone of your kids...male or female. There is a culture that must be stopped. The answer is now telling women that we don't belong at sea. The answer is telling rapist and harassers it's not okay to do those things. They must be stopped. Please do not think that the solution to this issue is to stop women from being in this industry. That is totally backwards. Please let my words spark some change, it seems like they already have.

I feel the love. I feel the hate. Whatever side you may be on, brace for long overdue change.

Very Respectfully,

Midshipman X
USMMA Class of 2022

Mishipman X,

After reading your story I was sick to my stomach and my heart broke for you and all the other silent young women out there. I have a DD currently at sea and while she has been fortunate to not have anything horrific happen to her she does speak of sexual harassment. I don't know you and you don't know me but I hope you know that you have more support then not. As a KP parent I want to be a voice of change. I want to help and support women in the maritime industry. You could be the Mocking Jay spearheading this change and leading your supporters! Thank you for being brave. I do hope you can find some peace in your heart and be able to move forward as you have your whole life ahead of you!
 
Let's all state the obvious. The Sea Year Project is BROKEN and OUT DATED. The crux of this problem is two fold.

1. The Mids from day one on campus are hammered continually about the "Sea Project, Sea Project, Sea Project". Talking with past and present mids, alumni and parents. It is obvious that we are all in violent agreement that the Sea Project puts an unnecessary amount of stress and importance that force mids into a mindset, that they're willing to do almost anything and at all cost, in order to get these stupid signatures and sign offs from personnel who should not be in any kind of leadership positions. How many mids do we lose each year to this stupid sea project from fear of reprisal and retribution or outright "failing" the sea project. How much of the sea project is actual useful real world training???? The Sea Project can provide valuable hands on learning...but in its current format, it does not.
2. The scumbags who commit these assaults need to be hammered.
 
Let's all state the obvious. The Sea Year Project is BROKEN and OUT DATED. The crux of this problem is two fold.

1. The Mids from day one on campus are hammered continually about the "Sea Project, Sea Project, Sea Project". Talking with past and present mids, alumni and parents. It is obvious that we are all in violent agreement that the Sea Project puts an unnecessary amount of stress and importance that force mids into a mindset, that they're willing to do almost anything and at all cost, in order to get these stupid signatures and sign offs from personnel who should not be in any kind of leadership positions. How many mids do we lose each year to this stupid sea project from fear of reprisal and retribution or outright "failing" the sea project. How much of the sea project is actual useful real world training???? The Sea Project can provide valuable hands on learning...but in its current format, it does not.
2. The scumbags who commit these assaults need to be hammered.
I don’t know enough about #1 to comment but I would like #2 1000 times if I could.
 
@kpmom2013 and @NatBow--Please contact the Senate Committee, or me, if you wish to share your experience. Alternatively, post it to the MLAA website [it's not mine] because the Committee is reading that too. They need to know what has been happening so that they understand how to fix it. They are only getting started.
“how to fix it”

Are there any suggestions from those on the forum? If anyone should know I’d assume it’s many of the posters posting on this thread.

As someone who was previously trained to work , as a crisis intervention type , with rape victims , I really am curious as to what the experienced people on this forum might suggest that might actually work.
 
DD screams at me: "Put the rapists in jail!" Pull the TWIC cards of the harassers and warn the Masters theirs are in jeopardy. First, however, the incidents must be reported. And I have no idea how the fears of retaliation and ostracization are to be overcome. It is a several thousand year old international culture and those fears are warranted.
 
“how to fix it”

Are there any suggestions from those on the forum? If anyone should know I’d assume it’s many of the posters posting on this thread.

I would suggest making continuation of any vessel subsidies contingent on active participation in an industry wide SASH program and active support of any efforts to root out known but protected offenders.
 
It will have to start at the top with committed industry and govt leaders who are committed to changing the culture.
“The shadow of the leader” will be the critical element. Zero tolerance with serious consequences.
 
USMMA needs to spend less time and effort on endless regimental SASH training in order to cover their collective rear ends and more resources on timely and meaningful response and support for victims and witnesses who report.
 
USMMA needs to spend less time and effort on endless regimental SASH training in order to cover their collective rear ends and more resources on timely and meaningful response and support for victims and witnesses who report.
To some extent I disagree. 100% agree they need to support victims, but repetitive dialog to the regiment is not a bad thing. With mids currently home on break, I wanted to find a way to approach the subject with DS. However, I didn't have to - he was speaking with a female USAFA cadet who brought up the subject and I had the privilege of listening to the two converse on the topic for a bit. My bystander take away was that the school is doing a good job training on the topic. Awareness is a large part of the challenge. Action is another large component. Talking frequently on the topic creates awareness, removes stigma, and keeps it top of mind. This is not a USMMA or shipping industry specific problem.
Admittedly, we had similar conversations 20+ years ago - but they were not limited to sexual assault and harassment, but also included topics like racial bias/prejudice and diversity. As a student at the time, the feeling was like "enough already -- we get it!" However, the long term impact of those conversations as a student still resonate today and my spidey senses tingle when conversations start veering off into gray areas or clear lines have been crossed. Others around me who have not had the same level/frequency of training often do not see anything wrong going on.
 
Agreed. Part of the effort to get more people to report is moving the line of what's unusual behavior from "no one reports" to "no one does that anymore". The reason your head snaps around when you hear a blatant racial slur or see someone grab a waitress's behind is that these days it's pretty clear where the bulk of society stands on those behaviors (even if there's still a certain segment of the population that doesn't get it.) But it took a while to normalize same-sex marriage, or before that the mere existence of gays, or of women in the workplace, or of minorities as actual people and so on. You stay with it until it sinks in.
 
USMMA needs to spend less time and effort on endless regimental SASH training in order to cover their collective rear ends and more resources on timely and meaningful response and support for victims and witnesses who report.W

USMMA needs to spend less time and effort on endless regimental SASH training in order to cover their collective rear ends and more resources on timely and meaningful response and support for victims and witnesses who report.
Since Admiral Buono replaced Superintendent Hellis, he has increased victim advocates from 1 to 60, as well as implemented meaningful changes at the academy. SASH violators have been punished and dis-enrolled. Thats not "covering their collective rear ends" as you put it. The victim in this recent case did not report it at the time, and it was only recently that she wrote a letter detailing the attack. An official report/complaint still has not been filed. So how can you say that USMMA, and by extension Admiral Buono has not responded in a timely matter.
 
Bumping this topic to the top to ask if USMMA or other authorities have made changes? DD is an applicant and the CNN article published this week has caused her to seriously rethink USMMA and military service in general. What protections are in place to ensure a woman can have a safe workplace? Ensuring a safe workplace is different than just providing more victim advocate resources AFTER someone gets raped.
 
I know this is terrible. But merchant seamen as a group are not an enlightened or well-educated group. I don’t know how young female officers on merchant ships can ever be safe. Not in this century at least. If I had a daughter in the USMMA I would urge her to commission into the USN.
 
As a KP grad and a parent I have 2 primary takeaways: #1 The USCG needs to step up and do their job; It's not clear they quite know what they need to do. #2 The culture starts with the small things. Early on the chief or 1st engineer repeatedly calls one new cadet his "wife"? Full Stop! That needs to get reported and documented immediately. It never should have come to the other things when it was clearly a hostile environment. The mids need to be trained to recognize it, empowered to report it, and supported through a defined workplace process (that doesn't seem to exist in the industry). The master and shipping company need to be held to metrics and consequences. The same requirements should be applied to any US-controlled vessel (not just US flag) if its legally possible, otherwise they will just re-flag.
 
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