Sexual violence inside the U.S. military is not an isolated tragedy—it is a system sustained by silence, intimidation, and retaliation. The story of Shannon Dill, whose partial story, ignited a war, where rigging became a tool used, to manufacture guilt, losing, and force confusion, death, and preemptive punishment. Like Vanessa Guillén, whose murder exposed the culture of cover-ups at Fort Hood, survivors, showed the world, how quickly the institution turns on its own, when a survivor dares to speak. Shannon Dill’s own experience, mirrors that pattern: from the first weeks of basic training, Shannon Dill became a target of harassment, experimentation, and deliberate psychological manipulation designed to erase her voice.
Retaliation began almost immediately. Drill sergeants and other trainees involved, made comments, “It’s going to be a battle”, and “Prison”, if she ever spoke out, knowing she would not stay silent, and because of it, she would face obstacles and challenges. These involved plans of getting her sexually assaulted, more than one time, that she experienced, and about setups already in motion. Inciting, you will “shut-up”, for things we are doing to you, and if you don’t we will do something else to you too; already planned ahead of time, to cover-up, the truth, about what they were going to do her, anyways. Requests to report harassment or to leave training were denied. Instead, she was forced into dangerous, humiliating situations that resulted in her being sexually assaulted, more than one time, attempted murder of her, more than one time, aggravated assaults, career sabotage, brain injuries, misdiagnosis, where many concluded, playing with her, and with sexual assault was humorous to them. These were not accidents; they were planned acts of violations to her antimony, domination, racism, and prejudice— it was punishment for being a Black, gay, and a woman who refused to stay silent.
Those sexually assaulting her, being Veteran Affairs workers, military officers, military supervisors, other military personnel, with outside help, to assault her too. Names of people who sexually assaulted her, Sharon Sherinian, a Veterans Affairs worker, Chaz Coleman, an enlisted soldier in the armed forces with her, Chris Berry, Shannon Dill’s supervisor at M.A.T.E.S., Ester Mae Utsey, an Army officer in her brigade; alongside, Sarah Reeves, and Shannon’s company commander at the time, Kenley Feazell, and countless others, all complicit together, in sexually assaulting Shannon Dill, while those that witnessed it, sat there and watched it, helped plan it, to humiliate Shannon, on reporting sexual assault. Going as far as forced intoxication and drugging of a soldier, against their will and consent.
As Shannon Dill’s career advanced, the same pattern followed her into units; such as, the 155th ABCT, 1108th Aviation Unit, and the 890th Armored Brigade. High-ranking personnel; such as her commander Walley, and Stanley her CSM in the 106th Batallion, made threats that if she filed a report, they would “set her up”, even witnessing and experiencing the commander “Hanging” her, in the unit’s facility, where other soldiers, stood by and watched. Shannon witnessed the use of technology, psychological tactics, coordinated rumors and retaliation, what can only describe as harassment, abuse, racism, bullying, and technological harassment—sounds, images, and signals used to torment and destabilize her. These actions were meant to manufacture confusion, intimidate a witness and soldier, and to make her testimony appear unreliable, while destroying her career and credibility.
To continue, they engineered outcomes, to make it seem as if Shannon, were responsible for acts, she did not choose. Individuals involved, playing with sexual assault. Nothing was mutual or chosen, it was arranged, by people, who wanted to assault her, and who planned to use their knowledge of it, against her, for silencing, harassment, degradation, and humiliation. All used to create the appearance of wrongdoing by her, as they victim-blamed, victim-shamed, and victimized her, to hide the truth, behind what was going on, and the hated evil behind it.
Through manipulation, coercion, omission, dishonesty, and forced proximity, they turned her into evidence, for their own narrative. Technology was used to amplify fear—intrusive thoughts, intrusive images, and repeated phrases like “silence” and “cheat code”, was a new form of warfare: digital, psychological, and deeply personal.
Reporting channels that should have offered protection; instead, acted as gatekeepers. Supervisors telling her, that she could not file complaints without their approval. Complaints vanished, reports ignored, and cover-ups became the basis behind the sinister plans, to ruin her life. With their plans already made, their corruption already there, and any words spoken from Shannon Dill, were to be used for their sick narrative, when Shannon had no memory, and could not recall anything; until, they let her, to control her, from things they plotted and planned against her. Evidence was ignored or altered. While she was redirected to facilities or to individuals, already connected to the same network of retaliation. Shannon being placed against her consent and will, around those who abused her before, as they got paid, to do things to her again. Those she served with, appeared humorous, wanting to make Shannon appear unstable, like she was a joke, all participating, and rewarded or promoted, while she was isolated and labeled, in their corruption.
Every tactic—false paperwork, retaliatory transfers, involuntary medical labeling, manipulation of her records, denied benefits, delayed reporting, failure to act on a report, witness tampering and intimidation—was meant to make Shannon Dill disappear. The military’s message was clear: if a survivor’s truth threatens the system, the system will erase the survivor. Using shame, degradation, humiliation, sexual assault, and technology, they tried to convince her, that speaking out would bring only more punishment.
What happened to Shannon Dill, as to countless other women and men in uniform, to me, reflects the same root: an institution that protects itself, before it protects its people. When retaliation becomes policy, justice dies in the paperwork. When technology and hierarchy are used to control survivors; instead of protect them, every service member is at risk.
Call for Accountability
- The Department of Defense Inspector General to open independent investigations into retaliation and psychological operations against service members.
- Congressional and Human-Rights Committees to expand oversight of military sexual-assault response systems.
- Civil-rights organizations and journalists to expose how technology is being used to silence survivors.
Survivors deserve safety, dignity, and the ability to speak without fear of being re-traumatized or criminalized. So, who do we blame, the victims and survivors, or those who setup the retaliation against them? Some victims and survivors, never recover from retaliation setup against them.
Sexual assault in the military is not just a crime against the individual—it is a crime against the values the uniform claims to uphold. I survived systemic retaliation that began in basic training and continued throughout my service. They tried to rewrite my story through humiliation and technological control, but I am writing it back. The truth deserves daylight, and survivors deserve justice.
1stDayFresh.com 