This is an important read.

When I was in the Pentagon, I used to travel in and out of Afghanistan a lot. One trip was to Kandahar Airfield and there was no return date on my ticket. I was there as long as it took to get my job done. 1/ https://twitter.com/robertlbateman/status/1280599542690385920

Before departing, an Air Force officer and colleague of mine pulled me aside in the bathroom. She wanted to know if I’d taken self-defense classes. I was confused; I was going to be spending my time downrange behind the wire 2/

Did she think I was going to be ambushed by the Taliban?

No, she said.

No, I needed to be prepared for what might happen while I was on the Airfield.

The threat she was worried about for me: fellow US soldiers. 3/

This was 2008. And I guess the word had been spreading from one woman to another that rape and sexual assault downrange were very, very real possibilities.

She asked me if I was going to carry a gun while there.

I wasn’t authorized a weapon.

She was worried for me. 4/

I told a few people about this exchange at the time, including some male officers. They shrugged it off, telling me that my colleague was clearly wrong.

They didn’t believe that this could possibly be an issue 5/

In the end, I was in Kandahar for about six weeks. Nothing happened to me. But I remember taking precautions; never walking or going to the chow hall alone, especially at night. Stuff like that.

Many women in those situations have not been so lucky. 6/

So read @RobertLBateman’s piece and be enraged. Be angry.

Be furious that women have had to quietly whisper the real risks to each other.

Be furious that when their concerns were brought to light, their male colleagues dismissed them. 7/

The recent stories of assault and rape in the military are heartbreaking.

Esp bc this has been an issue FOR YEARS that could only raised in the margins

It’s hard to do your job & serve the nation when male counterparts - incl those in uniform - degrade your worth & humanity

We can and must do better.