Wolfpack Wednesday #21: Military Sexual Trauma — The Wound the Military Did Not Want to Talk About
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WOLFPACK WEDNESDAY | ALPHA VI BATTALION | ISSUE #21
Content Warning: This post discusses Military Sexual Trauma. If you are in crisis, dial 988 and press 1 or contact the Veterans Crisis Line at VeteransCrisisLine.net.
Military Sexual Trauma: The Wound the Military Did Not Want to Talk About
No one fights alone. Remember the fallen. Support the living. Preserve the lessons. Strengthen the Pack.
This is one of the harder Wolfpack Wednesdays to write.
Not because the topic is new. Not because it is not relevant to this community. But because for a long time, Military Sexual Trauma was treated as something that should stay quiet inside the institution that failed to prevent it. And because the people who experienced it were often the same people trained to be strong, trained to push through, and trained to not ask for help.
The silence has cost lives. This week we break it.
What Military Sexual Trauma Is
Military Sexual Trauma, or MST, is the term the VA uses for sexual assault or repeated, threatening sexual harassment that occurred during military service. It affects both men and women, though it is underreported across all demographics and particularly underreported among male veterans due to stigma.
The VA estimates that approximately 1 in 4 women and 1 in 100 men who access VA healthcare report having experienced MST. Given how significantly these incidents are underreported, the actual numbers are believed to be considerably higher.
MST can lead to PTSD, depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, physical health problems, and significant disruption to military career and post-service life. Veterans who experienced MST during service are at higher risk for homelessness, relationship breakdown, and suicide.
What the VA Is Required to Provide
This is one of the most important things in this post and one of the least known.
Every veteran who experienced MST is entitled to free MST-related mental health treatment through the VA, regardless of their discharge status, regardless of whether they filed a report during service, and regardless of their service-connected disability rating. You do not need a service connection for MST to receive this care. You do not need documentation. You do not need to have reported it at the time.
The VA has MST Coordinators at every VA medical facility. Their job is specifically to help MST survivors navigate care and benefits. You can ask to speak with the MST Coordinator at your nearest VA without explaining more than you are comfortable explaining.
If you experienced MST and have not accessed VA care because you did not know you were entitled to it, please know that you are. The barrier is lower than most survivors realize.
For the People Around Them
If someone in your Pack discloses MST to you, the most important things you can do are listen without judgment, believe them, and not pressure them to report or take action they have not chosen. The decision about what to do belongs entirely to the person who experienced it.
What you can do is make sure they know that free VA care exists, that the MST Coordinator at their local VA is a resource, and that they are not alone. That is enough. That is significant.
Resources
- VA MST Support: mentalhealth.va.gov/msthome
- VA MST Coordinator Locator: mentalhealth.va.gov
- Safe Helpline (sexual assault support for military): 1-877-995-5247 | safehelpline.org
- Veterans Crisis Line: Dial 988 then press 1
No one fights alone. That includes the people carrying this.
Share this post. Someone in your network needed this information today and did not know where to find it.
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