by ADC | Jan 2, 2024 | Congress/DoD, On Base
Four new Offices of Special Trial Counsel will now consider several serious crimes, removing those prosecutions from the military chain of command, DOD announced last week. The OSTCs are housed within the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. They report directly to...
by ADC | Aug 3, 2023 | Congress/DoD, Force Culture, On Base
President Biden made a change last week to how the Pentagon handles cases of sexual assaults. He signed an executive order that removes the handling of those cases from the military chain of command, putting them instead in the hands of independent military...
by ADC | Apr 28, 2022 | Congress/DoD, Force Culture, On Base
Last year’s defense authorization bill included a groundbreaking change to military justice that calls for sexual assault accusations to be handled outside the chain of command. But a bipartisan group on Capitol Hill has continued to fight to also remove sexual...
by ADC | Nov 4, 2021 | Congress/DoD, On Base
As DOD works to address the potential of racial extremism among military members, it can “learn from its past experiences trying to address sexual harassment and assault,” according to a new report from CNA. “DOD’s approach to sexual harassment and sexual assault...
by ADC | Oct 7, 2021 | Congress/DoD, Military Families, On Base
The Army is opening new centers that will centralize the service’s resources for victims of sexual assault and harassment, as Federal News Network reported. Victims will have access to the Fusion Directorate program outside their chain of command. “It is intended to...
by ADC | Sep 23, 2021 | Congress/DoD, Military Families, On Base
The Pentagon has announced the first wave of its efforts to “deal a fundamental blow” to the problem of sexual assault in the military. The plan will include hiring specialized workers such as prosecutors, victim advocates and response coordinators, Deputy Defense...
by ADC | Jun 23, 2021 | Congress/DoD, Military Families, On Base
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will recommend to President Joe Biden that the military remove commanders from investigating sexual assault claims, AP reported Tuesday night. DOD has long opposed such a change. “As I made clear on my first full day in office, this is a...
by ADC | May 23, 2021 | Congress/DoD, Military Families, On Base
Senate Armed Services Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.) announced Sunday he will include Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-N.Y.) military sexual assault reform in his committee’s markup of the defense authorization bill, The Hill reported. Gillibrand’s plan to remove sexual assault...
by ADC | May 16, 2021 | Congress/DoD, Military Families, On Base
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) is sponsoring the military sexual assault reform plan that is gaining steam in Congress and at the Pentagon. The bill removes such complaints from the chain of command. Turner, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, has been...