#Female Air Force officer says sexual harassment is ‘price of admission’ in military

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Vanessa Guillen, left, and Lt. Col. Betsy Schoeller
Fort Hood Press Center; U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Philip Speck

A female US Air Force lieutenant colonel is being dressed down by women and veterans alike for being unsympathetic to the sexual harassment that Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen endured before she was murdered.

“You guys are kidding, right? Sexual harassment is the price of admission for women into the good ole boy club,” Lt. Col. Betsy Schoeller, who serves in the Wisconsin Air Guard, posted on Facebook.

Schoeller’s comment, which has been deleted, was in response to a story about Guillen shared by another user, the Daily Mail reported.

Guillen went missing in late April and her remains were found two weeks ago in a Texas field. A male soldier suspected of bludgeoning her to death killed himself.

Before her disappearance, Guillen had told family and friends that she was being sexually harassed by a superior.

Women and veterans immediately pushed back on Schoeller, who is a senior lecturer at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. A petition on Change.org called on the school to fire her.

Many criticized Schoeller for blaming the victims instead of the harassers, the news outlet reported.

“This is like the whole ‘girls can’t wear revealing clothing because men can’t control their urges’ on a whole other level,” one woman wrote. “Gahhhh so many swear words are flying around my head.”

A veteran agreed.

“I spent literally half my career handling sexual assault/harassment charges for sailors,” the user wrote.

“Leaders like her not only encourage harassment, they protect predators. This is not a mentality she left with her uniform. She brought it with her.”