People pay respects at a mural of Vanessa Guillen, a soldier based at nearby Fort Hood on July 6, 2020 in Austin, Texas.

People pay respects at a mural of Vanessa Guillen, a soldier based at nearby Fort Hood on July 6, 2020 in Austin, Texas. Photo by Sergio Flores/Getty Images

Biden Orders New Review of Sexual Assault Policies in Military

Combatant commanders are to send plans and best practices within two weeks.

On President Joe Biden’s orders, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on his first full day in office directed the Pentagon to send him their best plans and practices to address one of the most pervasive and lingering problems for U.S. troops: sexual assault and harassment within the armed forces. But whether the Biden administration will remove sexual-assault trials from defendants’ chains of command, as many advocates want, remains unclear. 

In a memo released on Saturday, Austin declared that service members cannot defend the United States “if we also have to battle enemies within the ranks.” Although Biden had asked for the report within 90 days, his new defense secretary said, “I do not want to wait 90 days to take action.”

On Monday morning, Austin told a meeting of senior leaders, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that this was a priority, according to Pentagon press secretary John Kirby. “This is a scourge in the military that we have not been able to get our hands around,” Kirby told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell after Austin’s lunch meeting with Biden at the White House with Vice President Kamala Harris and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley.

Responding to rising public and congressional pressure about sexual assault and harassment, Pentagon leaders have spent millions on education and awareness campaigns, yet struggled to make much headway. Several Senate leaders have criticized the Pentagon for putting culture above justice by refusing to removing sexual assault investigations and trials from the traditional military justice system that can require victims’ complaints to be handled within their own chains of command.

In his memo, Austin wrote, “I know this has been a focus for you and the department’s leadership. I know you have worked this problem for many years. I tried to tackle it myself when I, too, commanded. We simply must admit the hard truth: we must do more. All of us.” 

The memo was addressed to the military’s 11 combatant commanders, who sit one notch below him on the chain of command, plus the Defense Department’s civilian agency and field office directors. The secretary ordered them to send to his office within two weeks their sexual assault and harassment plans and accountability measures from the past year that appear to be working. 

“Include in your report the consideration of any novel approaches to any of these areas you believe might prove fruitful,” he wrote. 

From 2012 to mid-2019, according to the DOD’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, defense secretaries launched more than 50 initiatives against sexual assault. Congress has inserted more than 150 related provisions into DOD-related legislation. Changes have been made to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and thousands of service members and DOD employees have been trained as sexual assault response coordinators and investigators. 

The issue is so pervasive that Austin mentioned in his opening statement of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. 

“We also owe our people a working environment free of discrimination, hate and harassment. If confirmed, I will fight hard to stamp out sexual assault, to rid our ranks of racists and extremists, and to create a climate where everyone fit and willing has the opportunity to serve this country with dignity,” he said at the Jan. 19 hearing. 

Several committee members pressed Austin on the issue. 

“Every secretary of defense from the last 25 years has said there is zero tolerance for sexual assault in the military, but every time they say there is zero we don’t seem to improve at all. In fact, last year the Defense Department announced a record number of assaults recorded by or against service members and the lowest conviction rate for their assailants on record,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., a leader on the issue. Sixty-four percent of those in the military who reported crimes, she said, received blowback for it often within their own chain of command, a percentage that had gone unchanged since 2016. She called it a “total lack of progress or accountability within the military justice system.”

Austin said he took the issue “seriously and personally…We have to go after the culture, we have to go after the climate. This is a leadership issue. This is a readiness issue.” But he did not commit to change the UCMJ, calling only for better investigations and prosecutions. “You can count on me to get after this on day one.”

Gillibrand noted that in April 2020, Biden pledged to do “much more than a commission” when during a campaign fundraiser he told the advocacy group Protect Our Defenders that he agreed with the idea of moving serious felonies out of the chain of command for prosecution. “Yes, yes, yes,” he said, Gillibrand told Austin. 

Replied Austin: “I would like to work with the chain of command and very rapidly assess what things that there are that need to be fixed and addressed.” 

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, also said it was time to stop prosecuting sexual crimes within defendants’ chains of command. “It is very clear that the reforms that the Department of Defense has instituted are not nearly good enough and much more action is needed,” she said. 

Austin’s latest effort is being coordinated through the Pentagon’s office of the undersecretary of personnel and readiness.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.