I want to start off by saying, I love the Marine Corps.  Honestly, I do.  Some of the information I am sharing today will not convey this message.  I wrote the following journal entry back then in the midst of some degrading situations I encountered.  At times, I was greatly frustrated with my experiences as a Marine.  We are not without our problems as a military service branch, but I know throughout most of my experiences, the mentality of “taking care of one’s own” was drilled into us and I believe I’ve had a fair share of good leaders who valued their junior personnel.

I’ve also seen moments of downright poor leadership that I’ve talked privately about with friends and family through social media sites.  As the single female at my first unit, there were times inappropriate comments were made to or about me that never should have occurred.  Marines know better.  In fact, Americans in general know better.  Sexually harassment may not manifest itself on quite the same level or in quite the same ways as it did for past generations.  I think a significant part of that change involves equal opportunity in the workplace and also improved consequences for individuals who break the rules set in place.

In sharing my story, please pardon my language.  I’ve cut back on swearing, but back in 2006, I swore all the time.  I did leave out parts of my journal entry because the information I discussed was not relevant to the topic of sexual harassment.  I rambled on for a bit about my disappointment in American television shows, so I “cut out” the journal entry to focus more on the subject at hand.

~Cheryl