Reporting of incidents of sexual assault in the military has increased dramatically over the past 10 years, with 6,131 reported in 2014, up from 1,700 incidents reported in 2004. Data on veterans shows about one in four women and one in 100 men report that they had experienced Military Sexual Trauma (MST).

Existing research indicates that MST has been associated with increased screening rates of depression and alcohol abuse, in addition to significantly increased odds of meeting criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition, MST has been associated with reporting increased number of current physical symptoms, impaired health status, and more chronic health problems in veterans. MST is an unrecognized epidemic, not talked about, yet having an impact on the health of our veterans today.

It took me 37,287 words to describe the impact sexual trauma in the military has had on my life. It has taken me over 30 years to come to terms with my experience where I can now write about it and speak about it. I want to educate people about rape in the military. Perhaps I will be able to help others by sharing my experience. To keep silent just perpetuates the violence and reinforces the culture of rape that has been accepted in the military.

As a young girl in my 20s, I entered the United States Air Force in 1987 for their post-nursing school internship program to develop my nursing skills. Despite the horrific trauma I went through, I survived and graduated from the nursing internship program, but the cost would be tremendous. The experience of being gang raped changed me in ways I couldn’t articulate until recently.

I grew up in Indiana and went to nursing school at Purdue University. My brother Darwin and I called it “Undue Perversity”! I went into the Air Force directly after nursing school. Since my military days, I have worked as a psychiatric nurse. I have experienced both sides of being on a psychiatric unit. I have been a patient suffering from PTSD after MST, and I have taken care of psychiatric patients. I was working at the Veterans Administration with patients, some of whom have had MST. My insight and perspective in this book will be helpful to both practitioners helping veterans and to other veterans suffering from sexual trauma as well.