Rape and the Soldier: The Right to Heal
Bravo to the Advocate for the article “Of Rank and Rape” [May 26, 2011], about the epidemic of military sexual trauma (MST). We are familiar with Panayiota Bertzikis and the work of the Military Rape Crisis Center, leading up to the lawsuit about the military’s response to MST.
Nationally, a group of veterans and active duty soldiers have initiated an effort to put an end to three forms of trauma facing their brothers- and sisters-in-arms called Operation Recovery. MST is one of the three forms of trauma that Operation Recovery is aiming at. The other forms of trauma are PTSD and TBI (traumatic brain injury).
Operation Recovery calls for traumatized service members to have the right to heal—to seek care, to pursue treatments, and to be able to follow the recommendations of their doctor, without those recommendations being overridden by military authorities. Part of the right to heal is the right to leave the traumatic situation, and the right to not be forced to deploy or continue service. In the case of someone with military sexual trauma, that also means not having to work or live with the perpetrator.
Here in the Valley, a coalition of recent and older veterans and allies are starting to work on Operation Recovery. We had our first public event in early April, with over 40 people, and a followup event at the end of April. We will be reaching out to people in the National Guard and Reserves, to let them know about Operation Recovery and to help them connect with vital resources for their healing, like the Military Rape Crisis Center and various medical and mental health resources.
Anyone interested in hearing more can contact us at geoffloben@charter.net.
Jenn Blain, Ted Goodnight, Geoff Lobenstine
via e-mail
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Hands Across the Sands
To help say no to offshore drilling and yes to clean energy, readers of the Valley Advocate can join hands with thousands of others across the country at Castle Island Beach in Boston on Saturday, June 25th.
We cannot let our increased appetite for oil and gas compromise our oceans, our marine wildlife and fisheries, and our own security. There are many Gulf coast residents still suffering from the effects of last year’s oil spill. Jobs have been lost, fishing, recreation and tourism industries are still struggling, and an environmental crisis continues to unfold.
It is necessary to implore Massachusetts leaders to look towards more sustainable incentives for clean energy, such as offshore wind, rather than expose our coastal industries and ecosystems to extreme risk.
By volunteering to help groups like Oceana and attending events like Hands Across the Sand, we can keep offshore drilling from destroying our beaches.
Lynn Tran
Rockland
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Remembering Newsman Bob Paquette
On behalf of the WFCR/WNNZ family: the staff, our Foundation Board, our volunteers, and the Five Colleges, including UMass-Amherst, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone in the community who has contacted me or the station in one form or another to offer sympathy and support to us and to Bob Paquette’s family after his untimely and sudden death over Memorial Day weekend.
The outpouring of affection for Bob truly demonstrated the impact he had on the lives of our region. We will all always be grateful for the work he did. We truly cannot thank everyone enough for remembering Bob Paquette as you have.
Martin Miller
CEO and General Manager
New England Public Radio
WFCR/WNNZ
Correction: Our brief story “Maximum Generosity” in last week’s issue (page 17) was accompanied by a photo of the band Of the Earth that was credited to Sy’s Fund. It should have been credited to the photographer, Kimberly Hatch.
