A new CNN report describes culture of sexual harassment and assault within the New Hampshire National Guard. Data from the spring of 2023 showed that New Hampshire had the highest rate of reported sexual assault than any other state in the country. Guard members told CNN that whistleblowers also received retaliation, while leaders failed to hold perpetrators accountable.
CNN National Security Producer Haley Britzky, who led the investigation, spoke with NHPR Morning Edition host Rick Ganley about the findings.
Transcript
Editor’s note: This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity
Your reporting describes what you call “a culture where sexual harassment and assault have been allowed to flourish,” and “ where survivors have often been neglected as leaders fail to enforce any real means of accountability.” Can you tell us more about what you found?
In speaking with these current and former service members of the New Hampshire Guard, many of them saying that this behavior existed for years, that this was not really anything new to them.
I think we see that illustrated in this investigation about a lieutenant colonel who was sent down to the border, who has recently pled guilty to sexual harassment and other offenses. In that investigation report, many of these service members are telling investigators that he bragged about getting away with investigations in the past. So I think [that] really illustrates just how long this was going on for and the broken trust that existed there with service members and faith in their leadership and taking this seriously.
What were the allegations against Lt. Col. Mark Patterson?
The allegations ran everything from sexual harassment, intimidating women. The report said that he'd sent inappropriate pictures to women underneath his command. Women saying that he followed them, stalked them around while they were deployed, that he'd take pictures of women without their knowledge and share them with others, pressuring them to come to his hotel room. It really ran the gamut here, the kind of behavior he was engaging in with women under his command.
But there were also allegations of intimidation and bullying and belittling other people within his command, not just women. And so it really just spoke to the sort of behavior that he engaged in there and, again, repeatedly telling service members that he'd beaten past investigations of this. So [he] kind of gave these service members this idea that he was invincible and would not be held to account for the things that he was doing.
(Editor’s note: CNN reached out to Patterson’s civilian attorney for comment on its reporting conclusion that Patterson made woman feel “targeted, groomed, and threatened.” His attorney told CNN his client “felt that the female subordinates under his command were being friendly to him and thus he reciprocated. He erred in letting the level of familiarity go too far.”)
How do other units in the National Guard across the country compare to New Hampshire's when it comes to this culture that you describe?
So many people that I spoke with did make a point to say that this is not necessarily unique just to the New Hampshire National Guard and that there are these systemic issues that exist within the National Guard more broadly that allow for this kind of behavior to continue. But we did obtain data specific to the spring of 2023 that showed that New Hampshire had the highest rate of reported sexual assault than any other state in the country. They had a rate of 5.29 cases per 1,000 service members. The next highest was Wyoming, with 2.91 per 1,000 service members. So [it] really shows in that area just how high the New Hampshire's rate of sexual assault was.
But like I said, multiple people [told] me that these sort of issues exist in other National Guard units because of some of these more systemic issues, being that there's not a very effective investigating agency within the National Guard. And there's also a lot of gray area here as to who really oversees these units, whether that's the governor of the state or the National Guard Bureau and the Pentagon back in Washington. And so I think it leads [to] this gap that sources said makes it difficult to know who really is responsible for enforcing regulations, ensuring that this behavior doesn't happen.
How are state and federal officials responding to this investigation?
I have not seen a whole lot of response just yet, to be honest with you. We know that there is legislation being proposed in the Senate by Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, who has been reached out to about these issues already. She's raising some legislation that could potentially address some of these concerns, particularly when it comes to the investigating agency within the National Guard that sources just said is toothless, just not really effective. And so some of her legislation would address that, in particular.
The New Hampshire National Guard [said] that they take all allegations of sexual assault seriously, that significant work has been done to improve the climate and culture of these units. But other than that, not seeing a whole lot of response just yet to this.
(Editor’s note: In a statement, Governor Chris Sununu’s office told CNN that governor and NH National Guard leadership take allegations of sexual assault seriously:
“When they were raised over a year ago, Governor Sununu in conjunction with NHNG leadership, took quick action and conducted a third-party external review to ensure a workplace environment where there is zero tolerance for sexual assault or harassment.”)
Haley, are you getting any other response from people who have personal experience with the Guard? Are they reaching out to you at all?
Yes, I've heard from several people within the National Guard, providing their own personal experiences, their own stories and perspectives on this. So it's certainly something we want to continue following, definitely want to see where this legislation in the Senate goes, what kind of change can come from this. But certainly [I] have been hearing from others that they have similar experiences, whether in New Hampshire or elsewhere.
