Eugene soldier who refused to go to Iraq is charged.

Byline: Susan Palmer The Register-Guard

The Army charged former Eugene resident Spc. Suzanne Swift on Wednesday with refusing to deploy for a second tour of duty in Iraq this year.

Swift, 22, who is stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash., faces two charges: "missing movement" and being absent without leave.

She first served with the 66th Military Police company as a driver and gunner in places such as Karbala, Iraq, from February 2004 to February 2005. But just days before her unit was scheduled to redeploy to Iraq in January, she decided not to go and remained in Oregon until she was arrested by Eugene police on June 14 and returned to Fort Lewis.

Swift said she couldn't face returning to Iraq because of sexual harassment and sexual abuse by three sergeants who supervised her. Her story has attracted national attention.

Fort Lewis officials recently finished an investigation of her allegations, substantiating one instance of sexual harassment at Fort Lewis but finding no evidence to support her allegations of harassment or abuse while in Iraq.

Swift faces a range of potential punishments, from an administrative action such as a letter of reprimand or administrative discharge up to a court-martial.

Missing movement carries a potential sentence of two years in a military prison. She faces up to five years in prison for going AWOL. Fort officials are reviewing her file to determine how to proceed with the charges.

Their investigation of her allegations was conducted by a colonel stationed at Fort Lewis who was not part of Swift's chain of command. It was an administrative investigation rather than a criminal investigation, Army spokeswoman Sgt. Maj. Yolanda Choates said, because Swift didn't allege that any crimes had occurred.

"She alleged sexual harassment," Choates said.

Swift has said publicly that she was sexually harassed by two sergeants, one who supervised her while she was stationed in Iraq and the other when she returned to Fort Lewis.

She also alleged that she was coerced into a sexual relationship with her Iraq squad leader.

Choates said Swift told the investigator that the relationship was consensual. "She never said she was coerced," Choates said. "She said she made a bad decision."

Sexual harassment is against the law, but it's an administrative violation rather than a criminal violation, she said.

Under the U.S. Code of Military Justice, it's a crime for a married soldier to have sex with someone other than his or her spouse. There also are rules against fraternization between soldiers and their supervisors.

The Register-Guard obtained a copy of the Army's investigative report under a Freedom of Information Act request. To protect the privacy of the individuals interviewed, officials blacked out their names.

The report includes a 1 1/2 -page single-spaced typewritten statement Swift gave the investigator, who also included a paraphrased version of his conversation with her.

Swift said she reported the sexual harassment to an equal opportunity representative - a soldier specially trained to handle such complaints - but nothing was done about it.

Here's how Swift described the coerced sex:

"We got to Iraq in March 04. The first day we got there, my squad leader Sgt. [name blacked out] pulled me off to the side and started hitting on me. I was very intimidated by him and did not say `No.' We had sex that night and about once a week after that. He would come into my room and we would have sex, after a few months of this he started to talk about the stuff we would do together when we got back to the states. I told him I was not interested in doing anything when we got back. After that he stopped coming to my room and started putting me down at work in front of other people."

The report includes interviews with 22 other people, two of them enlisted soldiers junior to Swift. Of the rest, 13 were sergeants, six were officers and one was a nonmilitary person responding to questions about the Army's sexual harassment training.

Of those interviewed, 13 knew Swift and nine either didn't know her well or didn't know her at all. Two were the sergeants she accused, both of whom denied they had harassed her or had sex with her.

The colonel conducting the inquiry was asked to evaluate and report on the command climate of the 54th and 66th Military Police companies in which Swift served, whether Swift was subject to harassment and maltreatment between January 2004 and January 2006, and, if her allegations were substantiated, what actions the chain of command took to address the misconduct.

The report confirmed one of Swift's claims that she had been sexually harassed. In that incident, which occurred at Fort Lewis after she returned from Iraq, her platoon sergeant received a letter of reprimand and was transferred to a different unit.

The investigator didn't support Swift's Iraq allegations, despite the fact that he found her testimony convincing.

"Based on [blacked out] and [blacked out] statements, however, I do believe there was an improper relationship between [blacked out] and [blacked out]. ... Although Spc. [blacked out] emotional testimony was convincing, there is nothing to substantiate the sexual harassment allegations against Sgt. [blacked out]," he wrote.

He described a positive command climate in which soldiers were exposed to official policy and regular training on preventing sexual harassment. They also knew they could talk with soldiers trained to handle such complaints, he wrote.

The equal opportunity representative told the investigator that he initiated his contact with Swift, and she declined to file a complaint.

"Spc. Swift made an informed decision not make an EO (equal opportunity) complaint while she was in Iraq," Choates said. "She knew what the process was. She didn't want to use it."

Two other soldiers interviewed in the report described sexual harassment or abuse they had experienced.

"There was really no talk among the other females of the unit about sexual harassment, although some males made sexual references all day," one sergeant wrote.

Swift couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday and her mother, Sara Rich, declined to comment. Swift's attorney, Keith Scherer, didn't return phone calls Wednesday but had previously characterized the Army's investigation as a substandard effort.

"It was bureaucratic, solely focused on explaining away why the Army didn't take action while she was in Iraq," he said previously.

The case is an interesting dilemma for the Army, said Kathleen Duignan, executive director of the National Institute of Military Justice, a nonprofit organization working to improve public understanding of the military justice system.

The Army has to balance responding to a soldier's going AWOL with appropriately investigating sexual harassment and abuse charges.

"In the end, whether her allegations are substantiated or not, the situation unfolded to a point where unit readiness was compromised," she said.

MIXED VIEWS ON SUZANNE SWIFT Conflicting perspectives of Swift emerge from the Army's investigative report, one positive, one negative. Here's what soldiers who worked with her had to say about her. The report blacks out their names so they are listed by their military rank.

Sergeant and former squad leader: "In my opinion she could not have been a better soldier. She was trustworthy and when given a mission, she would do it."

Sergeant she accused of sexual coercion: "When given a task, she might do it, she might not. She had no sense of urgency, and I would have to micromanage her at times."

Sergeant in charge of responding to sexual harassment complaints: "During her first couple of months at the unit she began to develop a reputation. ... I don't have knowledge of anyone in particular but several soldiers assigned to the company has made comments about her sexual behavior in the barracks."

Major and former 66th Military Police company commander: "Spc. [blacked out, but the comment refers to Swift] performed well as a MP gunner and driver in platoons that saw a great deal of hostile action. She performed well in engagements with the enemy."