Military Sexual Trauma

Michelle Nagel is 6ft tall and 185 lbs. She entered the military because she wanted to protect everyone in her country who couldn’t protect themselves. She passed or exceeded all of the military performance standards. One day she was assaulted. One of her fellow soldiers pinned her arm back, reached under her shirt, and tried to take her pants off. “I’m a big girl, I should be able to handle myself… but I couldn’t do anything,” she said in an interview. Michelle is not alone. 60% of women in the Military Reserves and the National Guard have experienced Military Sexual Trauma (MST), resulting from harassment, assault, rape, and other violence.

The Navy is considering the possibility of allowing women aboard submarines for the first time. Cramped submarine conditions make it nearly impossible to move through passageways without touching. What is your opinion about MST and the idea of women serving on submarines?

To see Michelle Nagel's story, watch the entire episode of Now at pbs.org.

Read the article Navy Moves to Put Women on Submarines.