Less than a minute after the Utah National Guard announced it was partnering with University of Utah law professor Amos Guiora to curtail abusive behavior, his cellphone began ringing with troops calling to share their stories.
A child of Holocaust survivors, Guiora has dedicated his career to documenting instances where individuals and institutions have enabled acts of violence to occur. As a former judge advocate in the Israeli Defense Forces, Guiora says he’s familiar with military settings and how they can allow an “ecosystem of abuse” to thrive.
While instances of sexual assault are not new in the Utah National Guard, discussions about how the guard approaches them came to a head last year when its top commander, then-Maj. Gen. Michael Turley, was dismissed after an Army investigation ended with a “substantiated finding” of an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate.
“When senior leaders have prohibited relationships, that does impact things like sexual assault, the environment,” said Brig. Gen. Joseph Green, who was recently promoted to assistant adjutant general and has overseen a task force to reduce abusive behavior in the guard.
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