In case anyone tries to tell you (or you see/hear/read on the news) that female soldiers are dying in Iraq of dehydration, because if they drink water in the evening, they'll be raped on the way to the latrine, please tell them they're full of hot air. You can read about the accusation, with a rebuttal, here. In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that the link is to a military blog, so its primary interest is to rebut the accusation. The author of the rebuttal has also served in Iraq.
I know that not all of the people reading this post agree with our current activity in the Gulf, but that's not the issue here. The issue is lies being presented as truth. This particular rumour (accusation would be another word for it) is patently un-credible.
There are a few major stumbling blocks to the theory:
- The person perpetrating the rumour states that a female Master Sergeant (Army E-8) died of dehydration because she was afraid of being raped, and that it was covered up. Only one small problem - no female Master Sergeants have died in the Gulf. (oops)
- To die from dehydration, one would have to ingest no water for a prolonged period of time, and there would be noticeable health issues cropping up before resulting in death.
- If one *did* get up in the middle of the night to use the latrine (located well away from the sleeping quarters), one got dressed, including kevlar armor, and carried one's weapon along (either M-16 or 9mm pistol).
These are just the easy issues - there are others, many of which are listed on the blog I linked to.
Make up your own minds when you hear the rumours - I'm certainly not
trying to tell anyone what to think. I'm only asking that if you DO
hear a rumour like this, you consider the source (a
disgruntled/disgraced US Army officer) and the credibility of the story
(the 2 issues I pointed out are not the only issues).
As a US Army veteran (it predates my Air Force time), I am offended by these allegations, and by the unquestioning acceptance they are receiving in some quarters.
hat-tip to The Daily Brief