"McCarty: Military needs victim advocates, Marine's lawyers tells Congress"

The article "McCarty: Military needs victim advocates, Marine's lawyers tells Congress" by Mary McCarty can be found in the stateman.com. After reading about the murder of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach it is clear that their is a need for victim advocates in the military. Lance Cpl. Lauterbach did what she was suppose to have done when filing her complaint that she had been raped by a fellow Marine. But even after doing so, it was reported that she had been met with skepticism, outright disbelief, by her supervisors and met with harrasement by her fellow male Marines. Her six months nightmare ended when she was murdered and buried in a shallow fire pit by a fellow Marine. We have to ask ourselves, where were the victim advocates when this marine was sexually assaulted and needed the support and protection.
In Lauderbach's case, her victim advocate was her direct supervisor who was not proactive nor was independent. The victim advocate system is a system where soliders are more concerned about their own promotions and following their commanders orders, rather than doing what is right. It makes me wonder how many other victims like Lance Cpl. Lauderbach have been denied the help and proctection by victim advocates while they were serving in the military. It is a shame that not only do these soldiers have to be concerned with the safety of their lives in war but also whether they will be sexually assaulted while serving their country. I believe that we should take the necessary steps in hiring civilians as victim advocates that are independent with the experience and education needed to do the job right. Victim advocates who are knowledgeable in military law and where promotions do not interfere with their judgments on making the right decision, protecting victims of sexual assault and filing their complaints.