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Review of Sexual Misconduct by Basic Training Instructors at Lackland Air Force Base

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Review of Sexual Misconduct by Basic Training Instructors at Lackland Air Force Base i [H.A.S.C. No. 113–2] A REVIEW OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT BY BASIC TRAINING INSTRUCTORS AT LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION HEARING HELD JANUARY 23, 2013 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 79–490 WASHINGTON : 2013 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, http://bookstore.gpo.gov. For more information, contact the GPO Customer Contact Center, U.S. Government Printing Office. Phone 202–512–1800, or 866–512–1800 (toll-free). E-mail, [email protected]. COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS HOWARD P. ‘‘BUCK’’ MCKEON, California, Chairman MAC THORNBERRY, Texas ADAM SMITH, Washington WALTER B. JONES, North Carolina LORETTA SANCHEZ, California J. RANDY FORBES, Virginia MIKE MCINTYRE, North Carolina JEFF MILLER, Florida ROBERT A. BRADY, Pennsylvania JOE WILSON, South Carolina ROBERT E. ANDREWS, New Jersey FRANK A. LOBIONDO, New Jersey SUSAN A. DAVIS, California ROB BISHOP, Utah JAMES R. LANGEVIN, Rhode Island MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio RICK LARSEN, Washington JOHN KLINE, Minnesota JIM COOPER, Tennessee MIKE ROGERS, Alabama MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO, Guam TRENT FRANKS, Arizona JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut BILL SHUSTER, Pennsylvania DAVID LOEBSACK, Iowa K. MICHAEL CONAWAY, Texas NIKI TSONGAS, Massachusetts DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado JOHN GARAMENDI, California ROBERT J. WITTMAN, Virginia HENRY C. ‘‘HANK’’ JOHNSON, JR., Georgia DUNCAN HUNTER, California COLLEEN W. HANABUSA, Hawaii JOHN FLEMING, Louisiana JACKIE SPEIER, California MIKE COFFMAN, Colorado RON BARBER, Arizona E. SCOTT RIGELL, Virginia ANDRE´ CARSON, Indiana CHRISTOPHER P. GIBSON, New York CAROL SHEA-PORTER, New Hampshire VICKY HARTZLER, Missouri DANIEL B. MAFFEI, New York JOSEPH J. HECK, Nevada DEREK KILMER, Washington JON RUNYAN, New Jersey JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas AUSTIN SCOTT, Georgia TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois STEVEN M. PALAZZO, Mississippi SCOTT H. PETERS, California MARTHA ROBY, Alabama WILLIAM L. ENYART, Illinois MO BROOKS, Alabama PETE P. GALLEGO, Texas RICHARD B. NUGENT, Florida MARC A. VEASEY, Texas KRISTI L. NOEM, South Dakota PAUL COOK, California JIM BRIDENSTINE, Oklahoma BRAD R. WENSTRUP, Ohio JACKIE WALORSKI, Indiana ROBERT L. SIMMONS II, Staff Director JEANETTE JAMES, Professional Staff Member DEBRA WADA, Professional Staff Member JAMES WEISS, Research Assistant (II) C O N T E N T S CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF HEARINGS 2013 Page HEARING: Wednesday, January 23, 2013, A Review of Sexual Misconduct by Basic Training Instructors at Lackland Air Force Base ............................................. 1 APPENDIX: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 ................................................................................ 53 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2013 A REVIEW OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT BY BASIC TRAINING INSTRUCTORS AT LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS McKeon, Hon. Howard P. ‘‘Buck,’’ a Representative from California, Chair- man, Committee on Armed Services .................................................................. 1 Smith, Hon. Adam, a Representative from Washington, Ranking Member, Committee on Armed Services ............................................................................ 2 WITNESSES Lisak, Dr. David, Ph.D., Forensic Consultant ....................................................... 36 McNally, CMSgt Cindy, USAF (Ret.), Service Women’s Action Network ........... 38 Norris, TSgt Jennifer, USAF (Ret.), Protect Our Defenders ................................ 40 Rice, Gen Edward A., Jr., USAF, Commander, Air Education and Training Command, U.S. Air Force .................................................................................... 4 Welsh, Gen Mark A., III, USAF, Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force .......................... 4 APPENDIX PREPARED STATEMENTS: Lisak, Dr. David ............................................................................................... 74 McKeon, Hon. Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ .................................................................... 57 McNally, CMSgt Cindy .................................................................................... 139 Norris, TSgt Jennifer ....................................................................................... 146 Smith, Hon. Adam ............................................................................................ 59 Welsh, Gen Mark A., III, joint with Gen Edward A. Rice, Jr. ...................... 61 DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD: Letter from Hon. Jackie Speier to Gen Edward A. Rice, Jr., Dated November 16, 2012 ....................................................................................... 188 Statement of Elaine Donnelly, President, Center for Military Readiness ... 181 WITNESS RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS ASKED DURING THE HEARING: Mrs. Davis ......................................................................................................... 191 Mr. Enyart ........................................................................................................ 191 Ms. Sanchez ...................................................................................................... 191 QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY MEMBERS POST HEARING: Mr. Smith .......................................................................................................... 195 (III) IV Page QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY MEMBERS POST HEARING—Continued Ms. Speier ......................................................................................................... 201 Ms. Tsongas ...................................................................................................... 200 A REVIEW OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT BY BASIC TRAIN- ING INSTRUCTORS AT LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES, Washington, DC, Wednesday, January 23, 2013. The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:00 a.m., in room 2118, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon (chairman of the committee) presiding. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. HOWARD P. ‘‘BUCK’’ MCKEON, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM CALIFORNIA, CHAIRMAN, COM- MITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. Good morning. Thank you for joining us for our first hearing of the 113th Con- gress. I think it is appropriate that we begin our oversight with a subject that this committee has been vigilant in addressing for many years. At the same time, I find it extremely disturbing that despite the collective work of Congress, the Department of Defense, the military services, and the dedicated groups who advocate on the part of victims of this heinous crime, sexual assault and sexual misconduct, remains a problem within our arms forces. Today we meet to receive testimony on sexual misconduct by basic training instructors at Lackland Air Force Base. The events at Lackland are the most recent example of sexual assaults that have plagued our military for far too long. This tragic example where 32 instructors have either been found guilty, have been charged with, or are still being investigated for crimes against 59 trainees, begs the question: How could this have happened? How could the system and in particular, the leadership, have failed to protect the men and women who serve our Nation from sexual predators who also wear the uniform? While I applaud the Air Force for pursuing indepth investiga- tions to find answers to these questions, I am particularly dis- turbed to learn that there was significant delay reporting the alle- gations to the proper authorities when they first came to light. Equally troubling is that no action was taken by local leadership when the reporting delay was uncovered. This to me, is unaccept- able. I look forward to hearing from General Welsh and General Rice how the Air Force has addressed these issues to eliminate the pos- sibility that sexual misconduct goes undetected in the future. Make no mistake, Congress shares the responsibility for pre- venting sexual assault within the military and assuring victims that their cases will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. (1) 2 Over the past 5 years, Republicans and Democrats have joined forces to put real reforms in place. We have ensured that victims of sexual assault are taken seriously, provided medical care and support, and that cases are investigated and prosecuted. Last year Congress passed reforms on how the military tracks sexual assaults in order to paint a reliable picture of just how big the problem is. We also established a commission to take a critical look at the Uniform Code of Military Justice and make rec- ommendations for reform to make certain that the military justice system can successfully prosecute sexual assault. However, legisla- tion is not the only answer. Commanders at every level and at every Service must make eliminating sexual assault and all forms of sexual misconduct from their commands the highest of priorities. Senior leaders at all lev- els must hold commanders accountable for aggressively pursuing allegations of sexual misconduct. We will accept nothing less. I understand that the Air Force has already made several changes to improve the safety and effectiveness of basic training. I would like to hear from our second panel if the reforms and safe- guards recently put in place are sufficient. I have no doubt that there is more to be done. My visit to Lackland in September re- newed my belief that the young men and women who volunteer to join our Armed Forces are the finest in the Nation. These young men and women have earned the
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