Fort Carson soldiers trade in their camo for jeans

Soldiers are trading in their green camouflage for blue jeans.

“We’re not just wearing civilian clothes today to wear them, there’s a reason,” said one soldier.

The troops explain wearing jeans is a message that stems from a group of women taking a stand in the 1990s.

“Denim Day is a day that came about from a case in Italy. A young lady was raped, and the man had a guilty verdict, but it was later overturned,” said Tracie Carolina, a Fort Carson soldier.

“Because her jeans were tight, they said it was consensual, because she had to help him. The next day, the women came out and put on jeans and said they are not going to tolerate this. As a woman that’s empowering,” said Fort Carson soldier Cora Lee Dresher.

Soldiers are known to be tough and strong, both mentally and physically, but troops say that’s no excuse for sexual assault to go unreported.

“Because I’m in the military, I see that there is a problem and we’re finally bringing a change to it,” said Dresher.

This month, the Denim Day organization is counting all the ways sexual assault gets excused.

To read those, and to learn more about the mission, just head to their website, http://denimdayinfo.org/