CNN — When a military police battalion from the New Hampshire National Guard arrived at the US southern border in October 2022, the unit’s commander Lt. Col. Mark Patterson immediately began making soldiers uncomfortable.
In one instance, Patterson sent a junior female officer a picture of a sexually themed “Beer Garden Babe” costume suggesting she wear it to the battalion’s upcoming Halloween party. In another, he told a female colleague that he’d gotten an erection while thinking of her during a massage.
Some of the women felt that Patterson often followed them, including around their hotel and to a local gym. He would also take photos of them without their knowledge and share them with others along with comments about their bodies. Patterson repeatedly ordered women in the battalion to come to his hotel room, texted them at all hours, and spoke at length about wanting a relationship with a younger woman.
If they complained about his behavior, Patterson would threaten to make their deployment miserable.
Patterson’s conduct was detailed in a 50-page report from March 2023 obtained by CNN laying out the findings of an Army investigation, which eventually led to Patterson being charged and convicted in a military court-martial for his actions at the border, including sexually harassing four women in his battalion over several months.
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Article URL : https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/13/politics/how-the-new-hampshire-national-guard-failed-to-protect-women/index.html