#heathphillips | Oscar Mike Radio

Episode 107 – Talk with Heath Phillips

by Travis Partington | Aug 16, 2018 | Podcast

Episode 107 – Interview with Heath Phillips

I saw a story about a Navy Veteran who was exonerated after going AWOL (Absent Without Leave). Heath Phillips went AWOL because after 49 times of going to his command he still did not get the help he needed. Heath was being sexually assaulted and only by going AWOL was he able to escape this hell. I talked about this story after reading about this in Episode 96 – 49 X. Almost 30 years later, Heath’s discharge status was upgraded to honorable.

It was a complete surprise when Heath and others reached out to me on Twitter about the podcast. We began to talk about his story and what he is doing now. I asked him to come on OMR and he agreed. We did not focus much on what happened, but about how big the problem is and what can be done about it.

One of the things I got out of talking with Heath is that holding in sexual trauma is never a good idea. Also things have changed in the military where what happened to Heath should not happen to anyone else. I say should because there is always a chance that servicemember’s command will not do the right thing. However, there are resources to help:

We also talked about how parents and friends can help someone who has experienced military sexual trauma. Just being there for that person and letting them know that you love and care about them is probably the single biggest thing a person can do to help.

There is progress being made, but it is going to require continued vigilance and being proactive to make sure that someone never experiences what Heath had to do through.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4J8Z09zHXA[/embedyt]

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Episode 96 – Heath Phillips – 49x

by Travis Partington | Jun 8, 2018 | Podcast

Episode 96 – Heath Phillips – 49x

I had another podcast lined up for this week. However, I saw this story on the Washington Post website (He went AWOL after being sexually assaulted….) and felt this was more important in an age of #metoo and increased awareness around sexual assault. I decided to talk about Heath and his story and what I felt was a failure of leadership.

In 1988 Heath was 17 years old and serving on the USS Butte. It was on this ship that he started being sexually assaulted by 6 other male crew members. After filing a complaint 49 days in a row, Heath went AWOL. I couldn’t believe it either, he filed a complaint 49 straight times and nothing was done. Upon review of his case, he received a Other than Honorable Discharge, and was kicked out of the Navy.

Heath faced challenges from PTSD as a result of what happened to him, go into alcoholism and kept fighting to clear his name. Three times the Navy review board looked at his plea to upgrade his discharge to honorable, and three times he was denied.

30 years later, after the fourth time presenting his case to the Navy review board, Heath got the news last week that his discharge was upgraded to Honorable.

I still can’t get over how this happened. I don’t understand what the mind set was of the Captain of the USS Butte and other Petty Officers that allowed this to happen and did nothing to defend this Sailor. They aren’t fit to wear the uniform, much less call themselves Naval Officers.

Heath does talks across military installations advocating for those who have been a victim of sexual harassment and assault in the military. I am glad he kept fighting and did not give up or go into the abyss. There are some links below about Heath’s story and the Military’s SAPR Office.

LINKS