Support from SuzanneSwift.org

In her first tour of duty in Iraq, Army Spc. Suzanne Swift was subjected to sexual harassment from one superior officer and coercion by another into a sexual affair. Rather than face that kind of degradation again, Spc. Swift refused to return for a second deployment to Iraq. The response from a military that should have moved to protect her was an arrest on AWOL charges, followed by a court-martial and being stripped of rank.

Suzanne's trials made an activist of her mother, Sara Rich, who has spoken widely on sexual harassment, abuse, and rape in the military in a way that her soldier daughter could not. She established a website dedicated to her daughter's struggle with a hostile military bureacracy, SuzanneSwift.org.

Sara came across the petition for LaVena Johnson and volunteered to help by writing about it on Suzanne's website. She said also that Suzanne knew of LaVena's story and wanted to do something to help.

Sara and Suzanne have been gracious beyond words in embracing LaVena and her family in this way. To the extent that I can speak for LaVena's parents, I would like to convey their thanks.