Review of The Invisible War (2012) by Walter M — 30 Nov 2013

While perhaps prone to speculation, "The Invisible War" is still a chilling and heartbreaking documentary about the epidemic of sexual assault, committed against both men and women, in the military. This information, gathered from government sources, is alternated with the ads the military uses to attract young female recruits, like the Air Force one I watched yesterday at the multiplex. Ironically, the armed forces seem less interested in prosecution and therefore deterrence than in haphazard prevention protocols, thus making it easier for sexual predators to thrive, not unlike sexual abusers in the Catholic Church. Part of that has to do with the lackadaisical way that rape is prosecuted through the chain of command which Senator Gillibrand is fighting to change by moving it to judge advocates instead.

What "The Invisible War" does extremely well is putting a human face on these cases, a good deal of them legacy recruits, as these brave women and one man talk not only about the heinous crime itself but the aftermath, as they have twice the occurrence of PTSD than combat veterans and contemplate suicide. That's not to mention having to jump through the hurdles of the bureaucratic Veterans Administration.