i would now like to introduce elle helmer. >> good morning. my name is elle helmer. i'm speaking to you as a rape survivor and an advocate for reform and justice. before i begin, i'd like to thank susan for giving us the ability to change. for giving reform a chance as well. amy and kirby who were the producers behind "the invisible war" for giving us a voice and for raising awareness. jonathan, my fiance. i'd like to thank the service members who are in active duty and protecting us right now. in no way do i bear any bitterness towards the military as a whole. what we do is very noble, but there are some very disturbing things happening within the ranks that need to be addressed there are some very disturbing thing happening within the ranks that need to be addressed and need to be changed and it needs to happen now. as i mentioned i was the official marine corps spokesperson for marine barracks washington from the years 2005 to 2006. during that time, i was also the uniform victim advocate for that command which just to show you the unpreparedness and lackadaisical

in addition, the marine corps, quote, lost helmer's rape kit. the lieutenant complained to the major's superior, although that marine officer admitted to the ncis investigation was woefully inadequate and removed the major from his command position. he refused to press charges or take any further steps to punish the rapist. instead, he told lieutenant helmer you're from colorado, you're tough. you need to pick yourself up and dust yourself off. he then remarked, quote, i can't babysit you-all the time. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from american samoa, mr. faleomavaega. for five minutes. mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, to my colleagues here in this great chamber of the people's house, the house of representatives, i know of no other place in the world, only in america that a man whose father was a devout muslim from kenyan africa, who was married to a white woman from the great state of kansas, and with all due respect to our birther friends, this man was born in the great state of hawaii, thi

the right thing by any victim of sexual assault. >> reporter: officials strongly dispute clay and helmer'sions. clay's alleged assailant was acquitted of rape but convicted of adultery. both women say they were accused of misconduct. >> it felt like it was me on trial. they said i welcomed the sexual harassment by wearing make-up and shorts. >> the retaliation i experienced was horrible and ongoing. >> nbc news has obtained this hurt feelings report. intended as satire, it mocks marines who file complaints, listing such reasons as, i am a cry baby. >> this is disgusting. and that's what's wrong here. >> marine officials told nbc news the officer who posted that report was disciplined, the issue isn't going away. an upcoming documentary called the invisible war exposes more about military assaulted. and that's news 4 at 4:00. news 4 at 5:00 starts right now. >>> first she got off with a warning for extreme speeding on the beltway. but now a local council woman is slapped with a hefty fine and points on her license. good evening, welcome to a busy tuesday evening. >> it was reckless driving,

. >> reporter: today, helmer, clay and six other women are filing a lawsuit over sexual assaults. now estimated by the pentagon at 19,000 a year. department officials vow a crackdown. >> we own this problem, we need to fix this problem. the majority of your commanders out there absolutely want to do the right thing by any victim of sexual assault. >> reporter: at marine barracks washington, the showcase of the core, officials strongly dispute the allegations. both women say they were accused of misconduct including fraternizing with fellow officers. >> it felt like it was me on trial. i welcomed the sexual harassment by wearing make-up and shorts. >> the retaliation i experienced was horrible and ongoing. >> reporter: nbc news has obtained this report posted on the facebook page of the marine barracks protocol officer last november. it mocks marines who file complaints, listing such reasons as, i am a cry baby. >> this is disgusting. and that's what's wrong here. >> marine officials told us the officer who posted that report was disciplined for poor judgment. the issue isn't going

. -- ed helmer. >> good morning. my name is elle helmer. i am speaking to you as a rape survivor and an advocate for reform of justice. before i begin, i would like to thank susan for giving us the ability to change. forgiving reform a chance as well. amy, where the producers behind the invisible war. jonathan, my fiancee. i would also like to thank the service members who are on active duty and protecting us right now. in no way do i dare any bitterness towards the military as a whole. what we do is very noble. but there are some very disturbing things happening within the ranks that need to be addressed and need to be changed. it has to happen now. as i mentioned, i was the official marine corps spokesperson from the years 2005 to 2006. during that time, i was also a victim advocate. which, just to show you the unpreparedness and lack of approach, i received a letter appointing me as the uniform victim advocate, meaning for the command, i'll be the person responsible to handle and a delegate resources for anyone else would been a victim o

once you've come forward for help, you're out. >> ariana klay and elle helmer, thank you.good morning, soledad. just ahead, looking beyond the numbers of super tuesday, mitt romney wins on paper. two challengers claim their own victory. can the republicans unify behind one man? barack obama issues a challenge to the men who want to succeed him. he says republicans pushing for war against iran need to explain exactly what that means to the american people so what would some type of military action mean to america? we'll have answers for you. >>> and railing against intolerance, kirk cameron, one-time tv star, full-time christian said he was the victim after speaking out against same-sex marriage. his side of the story coming up. he has many gay friends that are on his side. >> we'll see about that, won't we? all right. carol costello, i thank you. >>> still ahead on "starting point," tomorrow foreman will talk about the virtual convention floor. christine romans will join us and we have brett o'donnell's play list. little billy joel. you have a he redeemed yourself, brett.

the subject of the military sexual assault including clay and helmer's allegations will get more attention in "the invisible war" which has the pentagon on edge. >> michael isikoff with important reporting. thank you so much. >> now a check of the rest of the top stories of the morning. natalie, good morning to you. >> good morning. the u.s. and israel are presenting a united front against a nuclear iran. in key meeting at the white house benjamin netanyahu and president obama pushed for diplomacy first in dealing with a hostile iran. >> mccain is calling for the u.s. to step up and lead air strikes against the regime in syria. this as the top u.s. commander in the middle east is warning congress that syria amassed a larnl cache of of chemical and biological weapons. this is one of the most specific descriptions of the weapons capabilities. patricia heaton is apologizing for slamming sandra fluke on twitter. she was blasted by rush limbaugh as a, quote, prostitute for testifying that birth control should be subsidized. heaton tweeted, hey, gtown gall, please let us also pay for your starbu

conductas mÁs saludables, para hablarnos de es tenemos vÍa skype a nuestro colaborador el doctor helmertamos hablando de dos cÁnceres que en estados unidos son un poco raro pero entre los hispanos es relativamente frecuente. >> el cÁncer de cuello Útero, en mujeres que se puede prevenir con la inyecciÓn que las niÑas deben recibir desde los 9 aÑos y el cÁncer hi cambiÍgado que es consecuencia de la hepatitis b se podrÍa evitar en el futuro. >> doctor huerta estaba leyendo el estudio y llama la atenciÓn que seÑala como factor influyente la diferencia de ingresos, los mÁs pobres estan expuestos a factores de riesgo ¿es cierto?. >> es muy cierto y lameablemente cierto que en el paÍs mÁs poderoso del mundo existan casi 50 millones de personas sin acceso mÉdico, al no tener acceso mÉdico natalia, la gente espera y como el cÁncer es silencioso... y no da sÍntoma cuando estÁ empezando. >> la gente dice ay! dios mÍo no puede ser nada, no siento nada. >> y cuando van al doctor porque tienen una emergencia y descubren que tienen avanzado y no hay que hacer y la mortalidad aumenta, por eso se dice

last week i told the story of marine lieutenant ellie helmer who reported repeated sexual harassment with no avail. the marine corps did absolutely nothing in response to the harassment. she was later raped by another superior whose behavior went unpunished. her command ultimately told her, quote, you're tough. you need to pick yourself up and dust yourself off. i can't baby-sit you all of the time. quote, no justice was served. mary, blake and ellie paint a picture of a military culture that treats sexual assault can acceptance, a -- and the military refutes this. yet, evidence suggests just the reverse. the, quote, hurt feelings reports that stands beside me is an example of how rape and sexual assault has been trivialized and how a victim was mocked in the military. it was supposed to be say tire, the quote, report, was posted on the facebook page of a female captain in charge of the marine barracks protocol office just a few months ago. it mocks fellow marines who file sexual assault complaints with a list of, quote, reasons for filing this report, which include options such as,

the entire subject of a military sexual assault including clay and helmer's allegations will get more attention in an upcoming documentary "the invisible war" in an upcoming documentary that has the pentagon on edge. >> all right. michael isikoff with some important reporting. thank you so much. >>> let's get a check of the rest of the top stories. natalie standing by with those. >> good morning, everyone. the u.s. and israel are presenting a united front in key meetings at the white house. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu pushed for diplomacy first in dealing with iran. >>> john mccain is taking a hawkish stance against syria calling for the u.s. to step up milita militarily and lead air strikes against their president. this is the top u.s. commander in the middle east and is warning congress that syria has a large cash of chemical and buy logical weapons. this marks one of the explicit descriptions of the weapons capability that z u.s. has offered to date. >>> everybody loves raymond patricia heaton is apologizing. heaton sweeted to fluke, hey gal, please let us pay for you