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| Col. (ret) Don Christensen |
Michigan Radio's "Stateside" program has
this interview with Col. (ret)
Don Christensen, president of Protect Our Defenders, concerning the need for change in the U.S. military justice system's handling of sexual assault cases. He says it's impossible to hold commanders responsible, and that DoD has never done so. He was the prosecutor in the
Wilkerson case, where a 3-star convening authority famously overturned a jury verdict. He contrasts the power of inherently-biased military commanders to make key military justice decisions with the power of civilian prosecutors. This third generation Air Force veteran says he'd have "a long talk" with his children if they wanted to go into the military.
I need someone who is wiser with more authority in this matter to tell me exactly what our strategy is to combat sexual assault in our military because when I read an interview such as this, I feel hopeless and don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I feel drained and defeated just reading about a Col. who did everything he was supposed to do to advocate for a victim and just like that some higher ranking officer signs off as 'not good enough' and overturns the verdict. How do you expect health professionals and other advocates in the A.F to empower victims to report and go through the judicial process when this is the outcome? Am I missing something here? Someone please tell me this Col. is a fraud and failed to handle the sexual assault case properly ( I might feel better believing that instead). And why does the military keep telling the public that the Armed Forces are "training" personnel to prevent sexual assault?! They have people sit down and watch a video for an hour and sign a roster...since when does watching a video constitute training?
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