American Military News by Brian Hallenbeck - The Day June 12, 2024
A whistleblower who alleges officials orchestrated lies to victims of rapes and sexual assaults at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy has gone public on the eve of the Coast Guard commandant’s appearance before a U.S. Senate panel looking into the service’s cover-up of an internal review of the sexual misconduct cases.
On Sunday, Shannon Norenberg, who served for 11 years as the academy’s sexual assault response coordinator, announced online that she has resigned after learning the Coast Guard had used her to lie to victims as part of its cover-up of “Operation Fouled Anchor.”
Norenberg’s statement was posted on the website of Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy Ltd., a nonprofit organization.
“The Coast Guard lied to me,” wrote Norenberg, who resigned May 20. “Worse than that, they used me to lie to victims, used me to silence victims, and used me in a coordinated effort to discourage victims of sexual assault at the Academy from speaking to Congress about their assaults and about the Coast Guard’s investigation of their cases.”
The academy referred a request for comment Tuesday to Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C., which had not responded by the end of the day.
Norenberg, 54, who was unavailable Monday, will attend a hearing the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations is holding Tuesday, titled “Coast Guard Oversight: Sexual Assault and Harassment,” according to her attorney, Ryan Melogy. She has spoken to the panel members’ staff and has indicated she’s willing to testify in public, Melogy wrote in an email.
More:
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2024/06/whistleblower-alleges-coast-guard-officials-lied-to-cover-up-operation-fouled-anchor/
