AWOL Female Soldier Claims Harassment

(Eugene, Oregon) As one of only a handful of female soldiers among hundreds of highly-trained, young, testosterone-charged male soldiers, U.S. Army Specialist Suzanne Swift was logically approached. Swift claims she was also sexually harassed and abused. As a result, Swift went AWOL (absent without leave) for six months before she was arrested by authorities in June.

From The Register-Guard:

She said she refused to return to Iraq in January because she feared she would be subjected to a repeat of the sexually charged atmosphere that plagued her first deployment.

From February 2004 to February 2005 she was stationed in Karbala as a military police officer.

Army authorities are contemplating whether to court-martial Spc. Swift on a charge of desertion or reprimand her through non-judicial punishment.

To a degree, Swift's allegations have been supported by Army investigators, however, according to Ft. Lewis spokesman Joseph Piek, "In this investigation, she has never claimed that she was abused or raped." Nonetheless, the website, SuzanneSwift.org, claims actual rape occurred in addition to sexual harassment. A 'private therapist' also weighed in with a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

Meanwhile, Spc. Swift's case has become the cause du jour for the leftist crowd, including the left-leaning media. Peace activists and feminists, in particular, have recharged their noise-making neurons. Consequently, the real issue regarding Suzanne Swift's failure to abide by her contractual obligation to serve and protect the U.S. as a soldier is being muddied by groups with a variety of political agendas.

Companion posts at Conservative Thinking and The Jawa Report.