Op-Ed: The Coast Guard Museum Needs an Exhibit on SASH History

Last week, the Virginia State Bar Military and Veterans Law Section gave me an award for my pro bono advocacy work to help Coast Guard sexual harassment and sexual assault survivors. During my acceptance speech, I shared that I will not be keeping the award. Instead, I will be donating it to the Coast Guard museum for inclusion in a proposed exhibit on sexual harassment and sexual assault in the service.

History museums are supposed to tell the entire story, good and bad. The Coast Guard museum should tell the story of the valiant Coast Guard men and women who saved countless lives in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. They rescued families from rooftops that would have otherwise drowned. They did their jobs and they did so to the credit of the service.

But there is also a dark side to our service. It’s one laid bare in the 2020 Operation Fouled Anchor report, which highlights how Coast Guard leaders knew about the sexual assaults at the Coast Guard Academy for decades but did nothing. They created an unsafe environment and disenrolled the students who committed the crimes, with no accountability.

When I was serving in the Coast Guard in the late 1990s at Coast Guard headquarters, I was sexually harassed by senior male officers. It was a surreal environment where I had to inquire about their wives to stop them from asking me out on dates.

I was lucky. I was only harassed. Over the past three years since CNN reported on Operation Fouled Anchor, I’ve heard countless stories of blue on blue sexual assault and rape. At the November 2023 healing event, women went out of their way to tell me about their experiences with sexual assault. One woman openly described an assault by multiple Coast Guard Academy classmates.

We, Coast Guard veterans, don’t want the past to be repeated in the service or elsewhere. We don’t want current Coast Guard personnel to learn that silence is the norm - extending the problem for another thirty years, another generation of survivors. We want a safe environment, one that includes accountability for committing criminal acts.

An exhibit on sexual assault in the Coast Guard museum, curated by Coast Guard personnel and containing Coast Guard sexual harassment and sexual assault survivor donations, would show the world that our story matters. I’ve learned over the past three years about the struggles of survivors. Alcoholism. Depression. Failed marriages. Failed jobs. Suicide. Debilitating isolation. All because they voluntarily chose to join the Coast Guard, and then were abused by fellow Coasties.

Coast Guard sexual harassment and sexual assault survivors are important members of the Coast Guard community and our story should be included in the Coast Guard museum. I will be donating the award I received for helping Coast Guard sexual assault survivors and I encourage others to do the same. Coast Guard sexual assault is Coast Guard history. It is one that should be preserved and shared.

K. Denise Rucker Krepp is a Coast Guard veteran and former Maritime Administration Chief Counsel.

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.