What Trust Used to Mean

You were trained to trust a chain of command, to believe that reporting, following protocol, and doing things the right way would be met with protection and accountability. For many women veterans, that trust met a gap somewhere — a report that went nowhere, a culture that looked away, an institution that protected itself before it protected you.

Before your service, or early in it, what did trusting an institution or chain of command feel like? What does trust feel like now?

In the journal this prompt has 8 lines. Here, take as many as you need.