TL;DR: The soldier who abused me while I was in got sentenced 12 years and is a sex offender for life.

When I was 19 and in the Army, I started dating this guy I had gone to AIT with. Long story short, it started wonderfully and ended with him being extremely abusive and almost killing me.

I remember I called the police once. I was in a tanktop and underwear in 40 degree weather because I had to run outside and use a neighbor's phone to call 911 after my abuser took my phone and threatened to kill the both of us. I was covered in bruises. And the cop said "he probably had a bad day at work. Just go back inside and talk about it tomorrow."

After I left, I called his 1st line, Sgt J, and Sgt J made me feel like he truly believed me and took me seriously. Until I get a call from my ex the next day saying "Sgt J told me what you told him. He says you're crazy and you need to stop."

So I gave up. Moved away to another city and just accepted nothing was ever going to come from it.

Then a year after I left, I get a call from CID. He had abused someone else and she came forward and had a lot of evidence. I was finally being taken seriously.

Two years after that call, a few months ago, I had my day in court. It was humiliating, and terrifying. At some points, some jury members looked like they were going to throw up. It was extremely intense.

He got sentenced just below 12 years and is a sex offender for life. I remember them reading the first "guilty" verdict (out of MANY) and I just broke down and sobbed. I never thought I would be believed. I never thought I'd get justice. And I did.

The end of my enlistment was really rocky because of the abuse. I was dozing off at work because he wouldnt let me sleep at home. Only one NCO, my first line, seemed genuinely concerned about me and tried to keep tabs on me. The others treated me like a shitbag even though I stayed on top of my training and was commended by multiple officers for my work. I look back at it and it was obvious I was struggling. I wish those NCOs didnt brush me off immediately when I suddenly started tanking, mentally and physically.

If you are being harrassed/abused, even if you think no one will believe you, record everything. Take pictures if you can, write things down, and if you report it, get a record of it, even if nothing is done about it.

If you are an NCO, please check in with your soldiers who suddenly start having issues with their work performance. Male or female. Married or single. Yeah, some people are genuine shitbags, but others can be going through hell behind closed doors.

Thanks for reading this far.

I'll take a 10 piece nugget meal with a coke.