A Navy veteran is speaking out about how he has overcome sexual assault and addiction after 51 years of being in the dark.
According to a June 4 news release, Michael Roland enlisted in the Navy in 1969 at age 17. He was assaulted outside the enlisted club of his post six months later and chose to keep the secret quiet for 51 years.
“I went into a cocoon. It became so overwhelming that I ran, and I did that my whole adult life,” Roland said about how he tried to suppress his feelings concerning his ordeal, according to the release.
Upon entering the service, Roland was employed as an aviation mechanic at a naval air station outside of Memphis, Tenn., the release reported. The teen quickly understood he was the youngest and lowest-ranking seaman in his squad. When he entered the Navy, he thought of himself as naive.
Roland felt compelled to accept an invitation to the NCO club extended by the more senior sailors in his unit, the release said.
“They said they were going to initiate me. I never drank and after about three drinks, I passed out. When I woke up, I was in the back alley of the club,” he said, noting he realized someone had lowered his pants exposing his genitals, according to the release.
Sadly, Roland’s sexual assault is not an outlier as a 2016 Veterans Affairs study of more than 20,000 post-9/11 veterans and service members revealed 41.5% of women and 4% of men had suffered sexual trauma while in the military, the release reported. While undergoing VA health care exams, one in three women and one in 50 males have admitted to experiencing military sexual trauma.
More than 10,000 men are allegedly sexually abused each year in the armed services, according to a 2016 Pentagon report. The majority of estimated military sexual assaults are committed by men, who make up more than 80% of the active-duty force, the release said. One report from a service man is received by the Department of Defense for every four military women, according to the Pentagon's estimate.
It was a situation in which Roland admits he didn’t have an outlet to discuss what happened to him, according to the release.
“I was angry. I was ashamed. I didn’t want to tell my commanding officer or any of the guys in my squadron. I just had to deal with that and I didn’t know what to do,” he said in the release.
