Senate hearing brings Coast Guard Academy harassment cover-up to forefront
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee held a hearing about the alleged cover-up of whistleblower reports of sexual assault and harassment at the Coast Guard Academy.
Caitlin E. Mauro attended the US Coast Guard Academy for one semester as a teenager before leaving. She told the subcommittee, “I was assaulted. I was groped in a room with 30 of my peers. And they watched and they laughed.”
Four women spoke in front of the subcommittee about their personal experiences dealing with abuse, retaliation, and in some cases, alleged crimes against them.
“My experiences are not isolated events,” Retired Lieutenant Melissa McCafferty, US Coast Guard, said.
“We are always told that you just have to say no,” First Class Cadet Kyra Grace Holmstrup, an active service member, said as she recounted her own experience. “But no to him was an invitation to try again.”
“The Academy, and the Coast Guard at large, is fraught with cronyism, power addicts and abusers.” Mauro asserted. She recounted the atmosphere of intimidation at the Coast Guard Academy.
“Its culture has continued to refuse accountability” Senator Blumenthal (D-CT) leveled. “[For] three and a half years, the Fouled Anchor Report was withheld.”
The referenced report, known as Operation Fouled Anchor, was a secret internal criminal investigation done by the US Coast Guard about sexual assault allegations at the academy. CNN reporters were the first to ask questions about this report, prompting the Coast Guard to quickly brief Congress.
“There exists a corrosive pattern of sexual assault, harassment, abuse, bullying, intimidation and retaliation” Lt. McCafferty added.
Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) said “It’s beyond unfortunate that we even have to have this hearing.”
McCafferty finished her testimony by expressing the frustration of victims, saying, “I have repeatedly witnessed senior leaders dismiss substantiated reports of harassment, assault, abuse and retaliation in order to shield their fellow officer and friends from any form of discipline.”
Retired Colonel Lorry M. Fenner, US Air Force, now serves as Director of Government Relations for the Service Women’s Action Network. She offered her opinion to the subcommittee on how real change could be affected by saying, “When the men get as interested in this problem on a larger scale as the women are, we might see change in a positive direction.”
The US Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan directed a series of reforms to the way in which perpetrators are held accountable, however former Vice Commandant Charles Ray is the sole official to publicly face consequences with regards to the scandal at the academy. He resigned from his post earlier this year, when the story broke.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
