Daily US Times: In his first directive since taking office, the US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has given his senior leaders two weeks to send him reports on sexual assault prevention programs in the military, and an assessment of what has worked and what has not.
Austin’s memo went out Saturday. The memo fulfills a commitment he made last week during confirmation hearings.
He had vowed to immediately address the problems of sexual harassment and assault in the ranks.
“This is a leadership issue. We will lead,” Austin said in his two-page memo.
Senator after senator demanded to know what Austin planned to do to adress the problem, which military and defence leaders have grappled with for years. According to reports, reports of sexual assaults have steadily gone up since 2006, including a 13% jump in 2018 and a 3% increase in 2019. Last year’s data is not yet available.
The 2018 increase in sexual assault fueled congressional anger over the issue, and lawmakers have repeatedly called for action, including changes in the Code of Military Justice.
During Austin’s last week’s confirmation hearing, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. said: “You do agree that we can’t keep doing the same thing that we’ve been doing for the past decade?”
“Do I have your commitment to be relentless on this issue until we can end the scourge of sexual violence in the military?” the Senator added.
The Defense chief agreed, telling the senators, “This starts with me and you can count on me getting after this on Day One.”
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