Woe is the soul without sympathy

"Team Kadena,

Due to the recent off base incident, Lt. Gen. Sam Angelella, Commander, U.S. Forces, Japan, released the following statement on the attached General Order regarding the initiation of a USFJ Off-Installation Curfew and Training period:

"It is an honor and privilege for me to serve as Commander US Forces, Japan. In the military we are held to a higher standard because o

f the trust and responsibility that we are given.

I want to personally apologize for the grief and trauma the victim has endured and the anger it has caused among people in Okinawa. Under US PACOM Commander authority, I am immediately issuing a curfew to all military personnel in Japan, both temporary and assigned. In addition, core value retraining for military and SOFA civilians will be conducted by subordinate
commanders and a review of the USFJ liberty policy will be executed over the coming days and weeks. Additional program details will follow.

Japan is one of our greatest allies, most trusted partners, and is the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Pacific region. We will continue to do all we can to ensure the U.S.-Japan relationship remains strong."

Following are points from the General Order that will go into effect at 2300, Friday, October 19, 2012:
. Applies to members of the United States Armed Forces when in Japan, which includes personnel temporarily in Japan.
. Curfew Policy.
- Off-installation curfew is in effect from 2300 until 0500 daily
- During the hours of curfew, service members must either be:
1. On a U.S. military installation
2. Off the installation in a private-residence
3. If on temporary duty (TDY/TAD), or on leave or pass, in their place of lodging, which may include a hotel room.
. Violations of this order are punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

This incident, if true, was a heinous and unconscionable act and a disgrace to our uniformed service as well as a chest blow to our "American ambassadorship" program we service men and women have worked so hard to build here on Island. This curfew will show that we take this issue to heart, and we sympathize with the Okinawan people."

The above is a memo put on the KadenaAirBase facebook page.  The memo and the curfew mentioned are a reaction to the reported rape of an Okinawan woman by 2 sailors, who were on Okinawa for a limited time.  This (no longer alleged) crime is heinous in its own right, but add in the outrage of the general (dependant) population of troops serving and living on Okinawa now, and it's a new low for humanity. 

How dare anyone think the curfew is unfair! You know what's unfair? A woman walking alone at 4am'ish and being attacked and violated by 2 men! To those people who say she should've "known better" than to walk alone in the dark....FUCK YOU! Way to jump right onto the "blame the victim" mindset! I guess those people have never, ever walked somewhere alone, in the dark. Must be nice! It should never come to the victim's at fault for what happened! It's a crime, disgusting and evil, and its done a deep damage to the woman and her family. 

To the people upset that those "men" (and I use the term loosely) had their names, ranks and other info printed in a Japanese paper before the American authorities were ready to release the info....why shouldn't it be released? They're not special! They are goddamned pieces of shit, who had no care for this young woman and her person, so fuck them! I hope they rot in Japanese jail and get passed around to get ass-raped over, and over, and over again! 

Boo-damned-hoo you have to be in your house at 11pm! Did anyone stop to think that maybe, just fucking maybe, this was not just to appease the local host nation's leaders, but also to keep Americans safe? Wow! That's a novel idea now isn't it?!?! Just maybe this is to protect our service men and women AND their families from suffering the same kind of crimes at the hands of angry Okinawans?

My biggest issue with this whole situation is, the lack of empathy for the victim. It's all "how unfair (to the Americans)" this and "this sucks" that. In the over 200 comments on the thread I posted above, less than 5 were anything remorseful towards the victim and the Okinawans in general. This is the biggest problem with our society! If it's not you then why care! Why care?? Because a woman was raped, by 2 men, who she may or may not have even understood the language they spoke (not all Okinawans speak/understand English) because she was out in the wee hours of the morning! Why aren't more people asking why these two asses were out in the wee hours?? The curfew for all service members is midnight! No one mentions that. They were passing through Okinawa. Had they not been arrested, would they have even felt remorse for their crime? Would they have done it again in another host country? Have they done this before and gotten away with it?? 

It is a sad day in America when our service members commit such a soul-crushing crime and other Americans are more upset over the repercussions and how it affects them, than the crime itself and the victim!!  

My heart hurts for the victim, her family and Okinawa as a whole. I have wonderful memories of our time on Okinawa and have only had them overshadowed by (surprise, surprise) the actions of the American dependants I met. I had wonderful experiences out in town, interacting with the locals. They were warm, kind and friendly towards me and my family! They put up with so much due to Americans being stationed there, it's wonderful there are so many who were kind to us.