Marine has been investigated after widespread reports of allegations of sexual harassment

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A US Army general intervened personally on Saturday after a Navy was recently accused of sexually harassing multiple women online.

When Army Major General Johanna Clyborne saw several people on Twitter saying that a Marine had sent them sexually explicit and inappropriate photos and messages, she decided to intervene and asked people to contact her. ‘they knew the name of the Marine.

It’s not everyday that a two-star general gets involved when servicemen say they are being harassed on social media, but Clyborne said she didn’t think what she had done was unusual . She noted that Sgt. Army Maj. Michael A. Grinston will often ask people to send him a private message when he sees people talking on social media about the issues they are facing.

“We teach our military from day one – from the most junior person in our organization to the oldest – that if you see something, say something,” Clyborne told Task & Purpose. “We are responsible for the dignity, respect and safety of everyone. And what kind of leader would I be if I saw something that violated our values ​​and standards of conduct and exceeded it? “

Clyborne said it was the first time she had used social media to provide an order with information about possible misconduct. She declined to identify the Marine or her unit to avoid the perception that she was influencing actions her chain of command might take.

“I didn’t ask them what they were planning to do with it,” Clyborne said. “We don’t need two stars to call the lowest level of local command. But they are aware of it and I guess they will take the appropriate action. “

Twitter user @USEmCee was well known to the military community on Twitter before the allegations surfaced. The @USEmCee Twitter handle has since been deleted. On December 31, @USEmCee tweeted a cryptic apology but didn’t say exactly what he had done.

“Never send unsolicited photos and comments to anyone without explicit permission,” he tweeted, according to a screenshot taken by another user. “That’s exactly what I did and now they’re uncomfortable and I’ve lost the trust of a community that believed in me.”

“I’m not ‘good’,” he continued. “I am wrong and I want to say it publicly.”

He later added: “With it all said: I’m away until I get help.”

Task & Purpose spoke to two women who said @USEmCee harassed them on social media. They said he identified himself as a Marine. Task & Purpose withholds this person’s name because no military official would confirm their name.

After several people direct messages to Clyborne with information about the person who came through the @USEmCee Twitter account, she asked a member of her team to report it to her chain of command, said Clyborne, who serves as the assistant adjutant general for Minnesota. National Guard and as Deputy Commander of the General-Army National Guard for the US Army Cyber ​​Center of Excellence at Fort Gordon, Georgia.

Military officials have refused repeated requests by Task & Purpose to identify the person Clyborne had reported.

Training and Education Command spokesperson Captain Samuel Stephenson has confirmed that a Marine is being investigated in connection with the harassment allegations relayed by Clyborne. No information on the Navy was immediately available, Stephenson said.

“Due to the privacy rights afforded to military personnel in uniform and to maintain the integrity of the investigation, we cannot comment further or confirm the subject of the investigation at this time,” Stephenson said.

A woman who works as a government employee told Task & Purpose that @USEmCee allegedly manipulated her online, repeatedly asked her to get drunk on him, and ultimately sent her a graphic sex image.

The woman, who requested anonymity to protect her career, said @USEmCee introduced herself in a direct message after tweeting that she had been discriminated against. He initially offered her advice on how to file a report, but quickly focused their subsequent conversations on sexual innuendos, she said.

Then, on December 30, he allegedly sent her an unsolicited photo of his penis with a grim caption on Snapchat, the woman said. She provided Task & Purpose with a screenshot of a post in which @UsEmCee admitted to sending the photo, claiming he was trying to make her laugh.

The woman was one of several people who have come forward in recent days to claim that @USEmCee has sent them inappropriate images and messages. A female officer shared with Task & Purpose a 2020 post that @USEmCee sent her requesting a date while she was in college on a scholarship from the Reserve Officers Training Corps. The military frowns on the relationship between enlisted servicemen and officers as a potential fraternization that undermines good order and discipline.

Still, the officer, who asked not to be identified, said @USEmCee is allegedly having a conversation of a sexual nature with her on several occasions. She also noted that she was 20 at the time and that he was about 10 years older than her.

It is common for older, powerful men in the military to attempt to manipulate vulnerable women in order to gain their trust and ultimately have sex, the former Marine Sgt. Erin Kirk, co-founder of the Not In My Marine Corps advocacy group.

Several women sent the advocacy group photos and messages allegedly from @USEmCee that cross the threshold of sexual harassment, including several unsolicited photos of penises, Kirk said.

“Unsolicited cock photos are a form of sexual assault and harassment,” Kirk said. “It’s a modern form of blinking; and we have people who are in jail for this kind of behavior and who are registered sex offenders. Unsolicited cock pics are no joke. It’s not funny. It’s not sexy. It is not appreciated.

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