During basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, U.S. Army Spc. Natasha Schuette, 21, was sexually assaulted by her drill sergeant and then pressured not to report the crime. Though she was hazed by her assailant’s fellow drill instructors, she refused to back down and Staff Sgt. Luis Corral served four years in prison for assaulting her and four other female trainees. The U.S. Army rewarded Natasha for her courage to report her assault and the Sexual Harassment/ Assault Response & Prevention office distributed a training video featuring her story.

U.S. Army Pfc. Natasha Schuette, 21, was sexually assaulted by her drill sergeant during basic training and subsequently suffered harassment by other drill sergeants after reporting the assault at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. While Staff Sgt. Luis Corral served just four years in prison for assaulting her and four other female trainees, Natasha suffers daily from PTSD because of the attack. While stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, she slept with a gun, machete and two knives next to her bed.

During basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, U.S. Army Spc. Natasha Schuette, 21, was sexually assaulted by her drill sergeant and then pressured not to report the crime. Though she was hazed by her assailant’s fellow drill instructors, she refused to back down and Staff Sgt. Luis Corral served four years in prison for assaulting her and four other female trainees. The U.S. Army rewarded Natasha for her courage to report her assault and the Sexual Harassment/ Assault Response & Prevention office distributed a training video featuring her story.

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was encouraged by an increase in the reporting of sexual assaults to commands so he implemented a variety of measures to combat the issue, including the examination of gender-responsive and appropriate military culture and a review of alcohol policies and sales. Off duty Marines socialize at bars outside Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, Ca.

Dr. Nancy Lutwak, Veteran's Administration emergency room physician in New York City, began screening patients for military sexual assault and opened up a room just for female veterans so they could have a safe place to reveal their military sexual trauma and then receive the health care and counseling they require.

Brittany Fintel served in the US Navy aboard the USS Gridley while stationed in Bahrain. One day she was grabbed and pinned down on a bed by her Lead Petty Officer. Another sailor witnessed the attack but turned and left as she screamed and fought off her attacker. After she reported the sexual assault, her superiors claimed she had an "adjustment disorder” and had her flown off the ship. Eventually, she was discharged from the Navy after being diagnosed with PTSD. Brittany joined the military to see the world and gain tuition funds for her future education, but her experience in the Navy shattered all her sense of trust. "They (the military) kick the victim out. The victim is more fucked up in the head than apparently the rapist," she said, weeping on her couch at home in San Diego. Her PTSD service dog "Indiana" is never far from her side.

Connie Sue Foss went to sleep after a Christmas party at her National Guard unit. When she awoke, she was tied down and a fellow guardsman had his hands around her throat as he raped her. “Don’t bother screaming, there’s only me in the building,” he said. She bears scars from punching a window during a PTSD episode and holds a molar she lost from grinding her teeth at night.

Connie Sue Foss went to sleep after a Christmas party at her National Guard unit. When she awoke, she was tied down and a fellow guardsman had his hands around her throat as he raped her. “Don’t bother screaming, there’s only me in the building,” he said. She retreats into her own thoughts while her daughter hovers near the bathroom door of their apartment in Spring Hill, Florida.

Tiffany Berkland and Elisha Morrow were sexually harassed by their company commander when they were in U.S. Coast Guard basic training. Elisha thought about faking a suicide attempt to get away from him; "he haunts your person by day and your dreams at night." They did not report the harassment for fear of being kicked out of the military but came forward when they met a third victim. During the trial, they met a fourth woman who had been raped recently by the same company commander. They sit in their hotel room after attending the Truth and Justice Summit on MST in Washington, D.C.

Veteran Meredith Hilderman was a linguist in the U.S. Marine Corps and a newlywed when she was raped by a fellow Marine. Her Master Sergeant told her "You must have wanted it. You're married and your husband isn't here." Out of the military now, she looks at her old uniforms that she stores in a bin in the basement of her Akron, Ohio home.

Kate Weber was raped one week into a deployment to Germany when she was nineteen. "I just lost everything. I know he was a repeat offender the moment he touched me. He was able to get away with it because the chain of command allowed it." She suffers from severe PTSD brought on by Military Sexual Trauma when she was in the U.S. Air Force.

Kate Weber was raped one week into a deployment to Germany when she was 19 years old. "I just lost everything. I know he was a repeat offender the moment he touched me. He was able to get away with it because the chain of command allowed it." She suffers from severe PTSD brought on by Military Sexual Trauma. While spending most of her day in bed, she negotiated play-time with her seven-year-old son Ryan in their Rohnert Park, California home.

Jessica Hinves, was an U.S. Air Force fighter jet mechanic when she was raped by a member of her squadron at Lackland Air Force Base. The case against her rapist was thrown out the day before the trial was to begin by a commander who said "Though he didn't act like a gentleman, there was no reason to prosecute." She and her husband Scott and children Patrick and Marley pray before dinner at home in Hampton, Va.

Heather Picovitch was a decorated U.S. Navy recruiter when she was drugged and raped by a male recruiter in her office. She lost her career after reporting the assault and her rapist received a minor reprimand. She lives with her family in Biloxi, Mississippi and struggles to make sense of her traumatic experience and the effect it has had on her life.

During basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, U.S. Army Spc. Natasha Schuette, 21, was sexually assaulted by her drill sergeant and then pressured not to report the crime. Though she was hazed by her assailant’s fellow drill instructors, she refused to back down and Staff Sgt. Louis Corral served four years in prison for assaulting her and four other female trainees. She sets up a survival green house in her back yard.

Under cover of darkness, U.S. Navy sailor Melissa Bania, holds a banner inscribed with the story of her rape before hanging it on the footbridge across from Naval Station San Diego. Military Sexual Trauma survivors gathered in San Diego to bring attention to the epidemic of rape in America’s military.

TSgt Jennifer Norris was drugged and raped by her recruiter after joining the U.S. Air Force when she was 21 years old. In tech school, she fought off the sexual assault of her instructor and later evaded the advances of her commanders. "It’s like being in a domestic violence marriage that you can't get divorced from," she said. Norris reported the sexual assaults and harassment saw her attackers punished, but then suffered a sustained campaign of retaliation by her peers at work. She suffers with PTSD brought on by MST. Norris has become an advocate and is the Maine Coordinator for the Military Rape Crisis Center, counseling MST survivors from her home in Rumford, Maine. She sits with her PTSD service dog "Onyx" at a fellow military rape survivor's home in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Military rape survivors Jennifer Norris and Jessica Hinves chain-smoke and discuss their rapes late into the night at Jessica's home in Biloxi, Mississippi. Jennifer Norris was drugged and raped by her recruiter after joining the U.S. Air Force when she was 21 years old. "It’s like being in a domestic violence marriage that you can't get divorced from," she said. Jessica Hinves was a U.S. Air Force fighter jet mechanic when a member of her squadron at Nellis Air Force Base raped her. The case against her rapist was thrown out the day before the trial was to begin by a commander who said, "Though he didn't act like a gentleman, there was no reason to prosecute."

Lawmakers grill military lawyers from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill to discuss sexual assaults in the U.S. Armed Forces.

TSgt Jennifer Norris was drugged and raped by her recruiter after joining the U.S. Air Force when she was 21 years old. She testified on Capitol Hill before the sparsely attended House Armed Services Committee hearing to discuss sexual misconduct by basic training instructors at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

TSgt Jennifer Norris was drugged and raped by her recruiter after joining the U.S. Air Force when she was 21 years old. She breaks down while testifying before the sparsely attended House Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, to discuss sexual misconduct by basic training instructors at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

TSgt Jennifer Norris was drugged and raped by her recruiter after joining the U.S. Air Force when she was 21 years old. Nancy Parrish, President, Protect Our Defenders, comforts her as she breaks down after testifying before the sparsely attended House Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, to discuss sexual misconduct by basic training instructors at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

Suzie Champoux mourns the death of her daughter, U.S. Army Sgt. Sophie Champoux, who committed suicide under suspicious circumstances after being repeatedly raped while in the U.S. Army. She cries while her boyfriend shows her pictures on her daughter's phone that was returned to her after her suicide. Suzie died of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020.

Suzie Champoux mourns the death of her daughter, Sgt. Sophie Champoux who committed suicide under suspicious circumstances after being repeatedly raped while in the U.S. Army. She visits her daughter's grave in Clermont, Florida. Suzie died of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020.

Gary Noling holds his daughter Carrie's journal on the anniversary of her suicide in Alliance, Ohio. Carrie Goodwin suffered severe retaliation after reporting her rape to her US Marine commanders and drank herself to death five days after she was sent home with a bad conduct discharge. "It destroyed my family. When Carrie died, I lost all three of my kids and my grandkids. I lost two-thirds of me. Two-thirds of me is in that box of ashes." He did not know she had been raped until he read her journal after her death.

Gary Noling stands in his daughter Carrie's bedroom on the anniversary of her suicide in Alliance, Ohio. Carrie Goodwin suffered severe retaliation after reporting her rape to her U.S. Marine Corps commanders. Five days after she was sent home with a bad conduct discharge, she drank herself to death. "It destroyed my family. When Carrie died I lost all three of my kids and my grandkids. I lost two-thirds of me. Two-thirds of me is in that box of ashes."