An emotional video, posted on TikTok on Thursday, in which a woman claims that a fellow marine, who she says admitted to the assault, will be allowed to retain his position in the military, has been shared thousands of times on social media. This has prompted top Marine corps officials to investigate the claims made in the video, as calls and emails and direct messages on social media have crated a groundswell of calls for justice.
The disturbing story the Marine tells in the video, includes facing her “perpetrator” in court, where he was being “forced out of the military,” but still being given an honorable discharge from the Marines, while also being found guilty of the crime. According to the woman in the video, proof and an admission of guilt on his part weren’t enough for a dishonorable discharge. However, the Marine in the video explains, while that was devastating enough, she has just received news that he is getting “retained” by a commanding officer. This would mean not only is he not discharged from military service in the unit where the assault took place, he hasn’t been discharged at all.
According to the video, this change of events came because "All the way up, across the board, everybody said they would not retain him. And the fucking head honcho, the fucking CG (Commanding Officer) with all of the proof, fucking admission to guilt, decided that they will retain him. And this is exactly why fucking females in the military fucking kill themselves. This is exactly why no one takes this fucking seriously."
While officials told Military.com that they are investigating the matter, no word yet on what has been found. Capt. Casey Littesy told the outlet that "Sexual assault is a crime, is unacceptable, and violates our core values of honor, courage and commitment. We will respond with an update when we have more information." The U.S. Marines Twitter account put out a statement saying “We are aware of the video of the Marine in distress. The Marine Corps takes all allegations of misconduct seriously. The Marine's command @iimefmarines has taken action to ensure the Marine is safe.” The II Marine Expeditionary Force is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force (II MEF) responded in similar fashion.
Newly confirmed Defense Secretary Gen. Lloyd Austin said he saw the video, calling it “deeply disturbing,” and "We have to get the facts, we have to understand what just happened. Let me also say that I care about each and every one of our troops, and certainly I'm going to ask that her chain of command makes sure that someone is looking out after her needs and make sure that we're taking care of her."
Not In My Marine Corps, an online social media account purporting to represent a “group of active, retired, veteran, and civilian members dedicated to ending sexual harassment and assault in the Armed Forces,” and who is one of the nodes that boosted this video’s profile, has pointed to Marine Corps Base Camp in Lejeune, North Carolina, as the possible source of conflict, name-checking Maj. Gen. Julian Alford as either the possible CG who retained the suspected sexual assaulter, or overseeing the officer who did.
Others online have pointed to a website reportedly set up by the woman in the video, called “Not My Reality.” Reportedly the page is a forum space for survivors of sexual assault in the military.
Warning: The video is devastating and can be triggering for some.