Fort Lewis soldier who went AWOL recommended for court-martial

October 4, 2006

The Associated Press

FORT LEWIS — A soldier who said she was sexually harassed by noncommissioned officers and refused to return to Iraq will face a military trial.

Fort Lewis' commander, Lt. Gen. James Dubik, referred Army Spc. Suzanne Swift's case to a special court-martial, Army officials said today.

A special court-martial means an Article 32 hearing, the military's form of a grand jury is not required and the maximum punishment is 12 months confinement.

Swift, 22, of Eugene, Ore., was charged Sept. 27 with missing movement and being absent without leave after she refused to return to Iraq and alleged her supervisor there coerced her into a sexual relationship.

Swift, a military police officer with the 42nd Military Police Brigade, served in Iraq from February 2004 to February 2005.

Her unit was sent back in January 2006, but she refused to go and stayed away for roughly five months.

Swift was arrested at her home in Eugene in June. She claimed she had been harassed or abused by three noncommissioned officers - two in Iraq and one at Fort Lewis.

No date had yet been set for the court-martial, Fort Lewis spokesman Joe Hitt said today.

Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company