In a contentious hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday, senators from both parties made clear they were fed up with years of sex-crime scandals despite repeated declarations from military leaders of “zero tolerance” for sexual abuse.
Drawing a wide arc from the Navy’s Tailhook disaster in 1991, when aviators assaulted 90 people during a convention gone wild, to more recent embarrassments such as last month’s arrest of the Air Force’s top sexual-assault prevention officer on charges of sexual battery, legislators pressed the chiefs to finally crack down.
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Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., grew heated in questioning military leaders during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday.
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“What’s different this time? What’s different this time, if we have a history of this repeating itself and nothing ever being done?” demanded Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). “It’s almost intolerable that we can continue on this current path.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters Tuesday that he hopes that the Senate Armed Services Committee will move quickly to decide how to reshape how the military handles sexual assault cases.
“The situation of sexual exploitation in the armed services is beyond the pale,” Reid said. “Something has to be done about it, it cannot continue. And I’m looking at every one of these bills that has been suggested and we’re going to have to do something.”
The uniformed chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, flanked by dozens of junior officers, fielded hours of uncomfortable and withering questions during the hearing.
The chiefs acknowledged Tuesday that they had neglected the spread of sexual abuse in the ranks and said they were amenable to legislative changes that would take a harder line against sex offenders and provide more support to victims.
But they drew the line at one bill, co-sponsored by one-fifth of the Senate, that would strip commanders of their legal power to oversee major criminal cases and give that authority to uniformed prosecutors instead. Such a change, they argued, would undermine the foundation of military culture by questioning the judgment of unit commanders.
“Without equivocation, I believe maintaining the central role of the commander in our military justice system is absolutely critical,” said Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army’s chief of staff. “Removing commanders, making commanders less responsible, less accountable, will not work. It will hamper the delivery of justice to the people we most want to help.”
The nearly eight-hour-long hearing was filled with strong rhetoric and combustible moments.
Sen. John McCain told a story about a woman whose daughter wants to join the military, and asked him whether he could give his unqualified support for doing so.
"I could not," McCain said. "I cannot overstate my disgust and disappointment over continued reports of sexual misconduct in our military. We've been talking about the issue for years, and talk is insufficient."
Questioning whether commanders have the legal judgment necessary to handle sexual assault cases, Rep. Claire McCaskill cited a letter from Lt. Gen. Craig A. Franklin explaining why he overturned a sexual-assault conviction for a star fighter pilot.
Drawing a wide arc from the Navy’s Tailhook disaster in 1991, when aviators assaulted 90 people during a convention gone wild, to more recent embarrassments such as last month’s arrest of the Air Force’s top sexual-assault prevention officer on charges of sexual battery, legislators pressed the chiefs to finally crack down.
Video
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., grew heated in questioning military leaders during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday.
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“What’s different this time? What’s different this time, if we have a history of this repeating itself and nothing ever being done?” demanded Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). “It’s almost intolerable that we can continue on this current path.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters Tuesday that he hopes that the Senate Armed Services Committee will move quickly to decide how to reshape how the military handles sexual assault cases.
“The situation of sexual exploitation in the armed services is beyond the pale,” Reid said. “Something has to be done about it, it cannot continue. And I’m looking at every one of these bills that has been suggested and we’re going to have to do something.”
The uniformed chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, flanked by dozens of junior officers, fielded hours of uncomfortable and withering questions during the hearing.
The chiefs acknowledged Tuesday that they had neglected the spread of sexual abuse in the ranks and said they were amenable to legislative changes that would take a harder line against sex offenders and provide more support to victims.
But they drew the line at one bill, co-sponsored by one-fifth of the Senate, that would strip commanders of their legal power to oversee major criminal cases and give that authority to uniformed prosecutors instead. Such a change, they argued, would undermine the foundation of military culture by questioning the judgment of unit commanders.
“Without equivocation, I believe maintaining the central role of the commander in our military justice system is absolutely critical,” said Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army’s chief of staff. “Removing commanders, making commanders less responsible, less accountable, will not work. It will hamper the delivery of justice to the people we most want to help.”
The nearly eight-hour-long hearing was filled with strong rhetoric and combustible moments.
Sen. John McCain told a story about a woman whose daughter wants to join the military, and asked him whether he could give his unqualified support for doing so.
"I could not," McCain said. "I cannot overstate my disgust and disappointment over continued reports of sexual misconduct in our military. We've been talking about the issue for years, and talk is insufficient."
Questioning whether commanders have the legal judgment necessary to handle sexual assault cases, Rep. Claire McCaskill cited a letter from Lt. Gen. Craig A. Franklin explaining why he overturned a sexual-assault conviction for a star fighter pilot.