Among them were soldiers who had established promising careers, passed the rigors of boot camp with honors and attained top security clearances. Victims often had no history of mental health problems. The mental health diagnoses can come with little or no psychological evaluation, and many are later disputed by doctors outside the military. The pattern of expulsions continues, defying policies to limit the psychiatric discharges and to ensure qualified doctors evaluate sex-assault victims. Through dozens of interviews with experts and victims, and a review of thousands of pages of military and medical documents, the newspaper found the problem to be pervasive and long-standing, with cases spanning three decades. Similar accounts from members in every branch of the military show that those who disclose sexual assault face commanders who often disregard their reports and send them to uniformed counselors, who subsequently find them to be mentally unfit for duty, according to a seven-month San Antonio Express-News investigation. Less than eight months after she reported the assault, Moore was diagnosed with a pre-existing psychiatric illness that she had never heard of: personality disorder. What followed is familiar to many victims of sexual assault and rape in the military, according to active and former troops, families, victims advocates and veterans groups. Less than a month later, she began to receive bad job reviews and went to a mental health counselor for support. "I said, 'I don't think that's the answer,' " Moore recalled. He said the sergeant who attacked her was preparing to transfer back home to his family, that it was better for everyone's career - hers included - to just move on. She reported the October 2002 assault to her first sergeant, but he instructed her to drop the complaint. From the hallway, her battle buddy called back. She fought back and screamed for help as he repeatedly tried to force her down onto the bed. He rushed at Moore from across the room and pulled her close, groping and fondling her.
"Knock it off," she told him, then turned and headed for the safety of her nearby room. Suddenly, he grabbed her between the legs. He tried to make small talk as he watched her work.
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