Last month, I wrote about Joseph Rocha, the gay sailor in the K9 unit whose abuse and humiliation at the hands of his chief revealed a culture of abuse.
And, Rocha wrote a piece for the Washington Post today. In it, he writes:
I can’t say for certain when the abuse started or when it stopped. Now, several years removed from those days in Bahrain, it blends together in my mind as a 28-month nightmare.
. . . In 2005, roughly six months into my time with that unit, a new sailor in our group was taken aback when I was left tied up in a dog kennel. She reported the incident and, from what I understand, this prompted an internal investigation into hazing in my unit. Even then, the abuse continued, and I still couldn’t bring myself to talk about it. It took 90 minutes and the threat of a subpoena to get me to testify.
Rocha also writes that his best friend in the unit, Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer Valdivia, was blamed for for not stopping the abuse of their superior. As a result, Valdivia ended up committing suicide:
This incredible woman, whom I ate lunch with every Sunday and ran with every morning, was gone. Since the night I learned of her death, I have been haunted by nightmares.
But Rochus also wrote this:
I don’t think I will ever feel as powerless as I did when I was on my knees, wearing a U.S. military uniform in the Middle East, forced by my superior to shove my head between another man’s legs. But I have discovered that telling this story holds its own kind of power.
Today, Rocha was interviewed by CNN to talk more about happened to him. Rocha also talked about why he marched in the National Equality March.
Watch the CNN interview.
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