Military sexual assault: Time for Congress to intervene?
When Amy Marsh decided to report a sexual assault at the hands of one of her husband鈥檚 colleagues to Air Force officials, she was 鈥渧ery optimistic鈥� that some good would come of it.
鈥淲e absolutely loved the Air Force,鈥� says Ms. Marsh. At the time of the assault, her husband was a first lieutenant stationed at Travis Air Force Base in California. Plus, it was 2018, after all 鈥� the Pentagon was many years into solemn promises and nearly $1 billion in programs to stamp out assault within its ranks.听
After hearing all the details, the base chaplain, too, urged the couple to report the crime. 鈥淗e told my husband, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e an officer in the U.S. Air Force 鈥� it鈥檚 your duty to be a leader in this way.鈥� My husband and I both felt it was our duty to do the right thing,鈥� Ms. Marsh says, adding, upon reflection, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think back then we realized how hard it would be.鈥澨�
Why We Wrote This
The military is defined by a hierarchical chain of command. Some inside and outside the ranks wonder if, on the issue of sexual assault, this has become a stumbling block to progress.
Her husband鈥檚 commander ultimately decided against a court-martial for Ms. Marsh鈥檚 alleged assailant, instead allowing him to retire after knocking him down one rank. At the same time, the command questioned whether Ms. Marsh, who was honest about the fact that she was drunk at the time, had consumed enough alcohol to be truly incapacitated during the party where she says the rape took place.听
But one of the biggest problems, Ms. Marsh believes, was that her assailant 鈥� who denied that anything at all had happened 鈥� was a charismatic, well-liked guy and her husband was new to the team, and to the commander. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know any other situation,鈥� she says, 鈥渨here your boss is also your judge.鈥�
In the military, commanders decide whether sexual assault charges against their troops should move forward, but a bill proposed by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, with wide bipartisan support, would remove commanders from this process, putting the authority with independent military prosecutors. The senator first proposed legislation on this issue in 2013, to no avail, but the increase in assaults may be changing minds.听
鈥淪exual assault in our听military听is an epidemic and it鈥檚 clear that the current system is not working for survivors. Despite repeated efforts to protect our women and men in uniform rates of harassment and assault continue to rise while prosecutions decline. Congress has a solemn responsibility to protect our service members, and right now we have more work to do,鈥澨齭aid Senator Gillibrand in a , characterizing the bill as听鈥渃ommonsense steps to deliver justice for survivors of serious crimes and prevent sexual assault in our armed forces.鈥�
This year, Senator Gillibrand鈥檚 bill has gained upward of 60 co-sponsors, including Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Joni Ernst of Iowa, a sexual assault survivor herself. A retired lieutenant colonel in the Iowa National Guard, Senator Ernst initially opposed the measure but has since changed her mind after reflecting, she said, upon her own experience as well as the future of her daughter, who attended West Point.
A growing and underreported problem
Pentagon officials have vehemently opposed such changes to military sexual assault prosecution in the past, saying it would erode commanders鈥� primary responsibility 鈥� namely to ensure good order and discipline in their ranks. Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, argued precisely this in his 2019 Senate confirmation hearing, for example.听
But despite the Pentagon鈥檚 best efforts, reports of sexual assault in the U.S. military have long been on the rise. According to Department of Defense surveys, some 20,500 service members were sexually assaulted in 2018, a rate that jumped almost 40% over 2016 figures. For women, these figures were at the highest levels since 2006.
At the same time, more than three-quarters of all 2018 victims say they did not report the crime. This is in large part, analysts say, because for those who do pursue charges, 4% of cases result in a court-martial, and 0.8% of offenders are convicted of a nonconsensual sex offense, .
As these dismal reports have flowed into Congress annually, lawmakers have become a bit less deferential to military leaders鈥� pleas for good faith and patience. They are now weary of the argument, made by Pentagon officials for years, that upticks in reports of sexual assault are actually a good thing, since they show troops are comfortable coming forward.听
At the same time, commanders, too, are beginning to acknowledge that something must change.听
鈥淚 was adamantly opposed to that for years,鈥� General Milley and CNN last month, referring to removing command authority for sexual assault. 鈥淏ut I haven鈥檛 seen the needle move.鈥� Speaking of the need to stamp out the crime, he added, 鈥淲e have to. We must.鈥�
It鈥檚 a sentiment that was beginning to take hold back 2015, when then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, though opposed to Senator Gillibrand鈥檚 efforts, said he could imagine a different path if there was no improvement. 鈥淚f we haven鈥檛 been able to demonstrate we鈥檙e making a difference, you know, then we deserve to be held to the scrutiny and standard.鈥澨�
A 鈥渘o confidence鈥� vote
In addition to sexual assault, Senator Gillibrand鈥檚 bill also removes commanders鈥� ability to prosecute other major crimes, including murder, manslaughter, and child pornography.听But there are holdouts.听鈥淐ommanders are in the best position to determine the morale and discipline needs of their units, and how a particular criminal offense might impact that,鈥� says retired Maj. Gen. Charles Dunlap, who served as the Air Force鈥檚 deputy judge advocate general and is now the executive director of the Center on Law, Ethics, and National Security at Duke University. 鈥淭he proposal essentially diminishes the role of the most important person in military society: the commander.鈥澨�
What鈥檚 more, Senator Gillibrand鈥檚 bill, he adds, amounts to a vote of 鈥渘o confidence鈥� in them.
When it comes to sexual assault, that鈥檚听exactly what it is, says retired Col. Don Christensen, chief prosecutor for the Air Force from 2010 to 2014 and now president of Protect Our Defenders, an advocacy organization. 鈥淭his says to the military, 鈥榊ou failed on this, and you鈥檝e been given time to change and you didn鈥檛, so now you really have to 鈥� the way you鈥檙e thinking, the way you treat people.鈥澨�
An independent panel convened by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is on the verge of going public with its own recommendations to take authority for sexual assault prosecutions away from commanders as well, in an effort, analysts say, to restore the faith that many service members have lost in the system.
Secretary Austin, who retired from the Army as a four-star general, has indicated that 鈥渁ll options are on the table.鈥�
鈥淲e must commit ourselves to eliminating these attacks on our own people. I know you have worked this problem for many years,鈥� he wrote in a recent memo to the force. 鈥淲e simply must admit the hard truth: We must do more.鈥澨�
Amy Marsh says that as she reflects on her family鈥檚 experience in the wake of her sexual assault, 鈥淭here are so many times when I wish I hadn鈥檛 reported.鈥�
Her husband was ultimately reprimanded for fraternization, because he had enlisted troops over to his house, and Ms. Marsh鈥檚 credibility was called into question when commanders learned that the couple were in marriage counseling before the assault. 鈥淚 thought that meant we鈥檙e committed to a strong relationship,鈥� she says.听
The whole episode has essentially ended her husband鈥檚 military career. 鈥淭his has destroyed any chance of him being promoted, so he鈥檚 going to have to leave the Air Force. It鈥檚 so frustrating because if I hadn鈥檛 reported, none of this would鈥檝e happened.鈥澨�
Still, 鈥淚 feel very hopeful that this bill will pass, and that it will prevent retaliation against future victims who come forward,鈥� she says, adding, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want anyone to have to go through what we went through.鈥�
