Making a Difference!

Heroes Remember

Making a Difference!

Transcript

That’s actually where my sexual assault happened was in Bosnia on tour. It was a police office, a military police officer from another nation and that was very difficult. I can talk about it in a detached way now, not so much it was me. So it’s almost like I am telling someone else’s story now but that sort of works better for me. So the incident happened. I remember I went over to Charlie’s Bar to see if anybody was around. That was the name of the gathering area. And a couple of my friends were there but not many and I was looking around for someone to talk to and really who I was looking for was the provost marshal which is basically the police chief over there and that’s what the Canadians call it. So I went and I found the provost marshal and I told him what had happened and he of course was outraged and believed me immediately. I didn’t have any of the questioning or disbelief you hear from other people. I was very lucky. And then he went and got the American sheriff who was his boss who would be like the head of the police chiefs. So he went and found the sheriff and so we talked it out and then I went to bed for the night. First thing in the morning they got me because I knew the fellow from going to the gym but I had never spoken to him, he didn’t speak English. So they brought out almost like a mug shot book and I went through it and I pointed the guy out and his chief was there who called me everything that you could imagine calling me but the jist of it was that I had asked for it and and I was a liar. So the sheriff and the provost marshal were outraged that he would absolutely say this and they supported me one hundred percent and asked me what I wanted done. Did I want to go home? Did I want to have, what did I want? And I asked for a couple things. I want him out of theatre. I want a notice on his file that he can never work with other countries again because he obviously doesn’t know how to comport himself around other countries and I want to stay here, this is my tour. I am not giving up. So by noon that day he was on a plane. He was sent to his home country and his file said he would never work again with the common countries. So that was my win! And I thought that was my win until I went back to my room and my door started knocking. And it was the other nine, eleven, I don’t remember now, girls who he had assaulted who didn’t feel they had the power to speak up. A couple of them were cleaners and they were supporting three, four, five families on their income. They were terrified they would lose their jobs. We had a couple of American young girls who people thought of as promiscuous and didn’t feel that they had the power and they asked me and I will never forget the question, “How did you ever stand up?” And I said, “Because it never once crossed my mind that it was my fault.” Like I know a lot of people get lost in that and all I could think is how dare he? Not oh I shouldn’t have walked through the parking lot at night and I remember thinking as well that had I not been on the camp for the night and locked up my weapon I would have taken it out and shot him. But I didn’t have it on me. He had his, I did not have mine and yes I remember thinking that but I felt so bad for those girls who felt powerless and I thought from then on I am not going to be powerless. I am not going to let that win.

Description

Lt. Colonel Crew speaks about a very dark incident of sexual assault but how she handled the situation in a positive manner and helped make a difference to others who experienced the same horrific encounter.

Rhonda Crew

Rhonda Crew was born August 25, 1970 in Moncton, New Brunswick. Crew first joined the reserves as a 17-year-old, becoming one of the first women in an infantry regiment, the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders Regiment of Cornwall, Ont. Then, after going to nursing school and working in the civilian world for a few years, she rejoined the military in 1997. Almost immediately, she was serving as a flight nurse on helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Crew accepted deployments to Bosnia 1999 and Afghanistan in 2007, holding rank of Lt. Colonel Nursing Officer and still serving today in the capacity of Canadian Armed Forces Nursing Officer. Stricken with PTSD during her time in military, Crew finds a positive approach in dealing with the effects and has recently been chosen as part of Team Canada for Invictus 2018! Rhonda and husband Duane, also a CAF Veteran now reside in Stittsville, Ontario.

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