S. HRG. 113–303 TESTIMONY ON SEXUAL ASSAULTS IN THE MILITARY HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON PERSONNEL OF THE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION MARCH 13, 2013 Printed for the use of the Committee on Armed Services ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov/ U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 88–340 PDF WASHINGTON : 2014 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Nov 24 2008 09:13 Jun 19, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 Z:\DOCS\88340.TXT JUNE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES CARL LEVIN, Michigan, Chairman JACK REED, Rhode Island JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma BILL NELSON, Florida JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama MARK UDALL, Colorado SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia KAY R. HAGAN, North Carolina ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire DEB FISCHER, Nebraska KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, New York LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut DAVID VITTER, Louisiana JOE DONNELLY, Indiana ROY BLUNT, Missouri MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii MIKE LEE, Utah TIM KAINE, Virginia TED CRUZ, Texas ANGUS KING, Maine PETER K. LEVINE, Staff Director JOHN A. BONSELL, Minority Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON PERSONNEL KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, New York, Chairman KAY R. HAGAN, North Carolina LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii MIKE LEE, Utah TIM KAINE, Virginia SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia ANGUS KING, Maine ROY BLUNT, Missouri (II) VerDate Nov 24 2008 09:13 Jun 19, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 Z:\DOCS\88340.TXT JUNE C O N T E N T S CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES TESTIMONY ON SEXUAL ASSAULTS IN THE MILITARY MARCH 13, 2013 Page Boxer, Senator Barbara, a U.S. Senator from the State of California ................ 5 Bhagwati, Ms. Anu, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Service Women’s Action Network ..................................................................................................... 8 McCoy, Ms. Brigette, former Specialist, U.S. Army ............................................. 11 Havrilla, Ms. Rebekah, former Sergeant, U.S. Army ........................................... 15 Lewis, Mr. Brian K., former Petty Officer Third Class, U.S. Navy, Advocacy Board Member, Protect Our Defenders .............................................................. 18 Kenney, RADM Frederick J., Jr., USCG, Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Coast Guard ................................................................................................. 44 Harding, Lt. Gen. Richard C., JAGC, USAF, Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Air Force ................................................................................................ 49 Chipman, LTG Dana K., JAGC, USA, Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Army ...................................................................................................................... 52 Taylor, Hon. Robert S., Acting General Counsel of the Department of Defense 61 DeRenzi, VADM Nanette M., JAGC, USN, Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Navy .............................................................................................................. 66 Ary, Maj. Gen. Vaughn A., USMC, Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant of the Marine Corps ............................................................................................. 71 Patton, MG Gary S., USA, Director, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office ..................................................................................................................... 86 ANNEX A: Prepared Statement by Ms. Nancy J. Parrish, President of Protect our Defenders ....................................................................................................... 141 ANNEX B: Prepared Statement by Ms. Lisa Maatz, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations of the American Association of University Women .................................................................................................................. 154 ANNEX C: Prepared Statement by Mr. Ben Klay ................................................ 157 ANNEX D: Prepared Statement by Aviano Air Base Sexual Assault Victim .... 162 ANNEX E: Prepared Statement by The American Civil Liberties Union .......... 166 ANNEX F: Prepared Statement by The American Legion Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission .......................................................................... 171 (III) VerDate Nov 24 2008 09:13 Jun 19, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 Z:\DOCS\88340.TXT JUNE VerDate Nov 24 2008 09:13 Jun 19, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 Z:\DOCS\88340.TXT JUNE TESTIMONY ON SEXUAL ASSAULTS IN THE MILITARY WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2013 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON PERSONNEL, COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:09 a.m. in room SH–216, Hart Senate Office Building, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Committee members present: Senators Gillibrand, Blumenthal, Hirono, Kaine, King, Graham, Ayotte, and Blunt. Other committee members present: Senators Levin, McCaskill, Shaheen, Donnelly, and Inhofe. Committee staff members present: Leah C. Brewer, nominations and hearings clerk; and Barry C. Walker, security officer. Majority staff members present: Jonathan D. Clark, counsel; Gabriella E. Fahrer, counsel; Gerald J. Leeling, general counsel; and Peter K. Levine, staff director. Minority staff members present: Steven M. Barney, minority counsel; and John A. Bonsell, minority staff director. Staff assistants present: Jennifer R. Knowles, Kathleen A. Kulenkampff, John L. Principato, and Bradley S. Watson. Committee members’ assistants present: Jason Rauch, assistant to Senator McCaskill; Christopher Cannon, assistant to Senator Hagan; Chad Kreikemeier, assistant to Senator Shaheen; Elana Broitman and Brooke Jamison, assistants to Senator Gillibrand; Ethan Saxon, assistant to Senator Blumenthal; Marta McClellan Ross, assistant to Senator Donnelly; Nick Ikeda, assistant to Sen- ator Hirono; Karen Courington, assistant to Senator Kaine; Steve Smith, assistant to Senator King; Todd Harmer, assistant to Sen- ator Chambliss; Brad Bowman, assistant to Senator Ayotte; Craig Abele and Alice James, assistants to Senator Graham; and Charles Prosch, assistant to Senator Blunt. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, CHAIRMAN Senator GILLIBRAND. Thank you all for joining us. It is an honor and a privilege to chair this hearing of the Per- sonnel Subcommittee this morning. I want to thank the ranking member of the subcommittee, Senator Lindsey Grahahm, for his support and for working with me to move this hearing forward as quickly as possible. (1) VerDate Nov 24 2008 09:13 Jun 19, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 Z:\DOCS\88340.TXT JUNE 2 I know that all of our colleagues on the Armed Services Com- mittee share our deep commitment to improving the quality of life of the men and women who serve in our All-Volunteer Force on Ac- tive Duty, the National Guard, and Reserves, their families, mili- tary retirees, and Department of Defense (DOD) personnel. That is why this hearing today is so important to me personally and to thousands of servicemembers and their families across this country. The issue of sexual violence in the military is not new. It has been allowed to go in the shadows for far too long. The scourge of sexual violence in the military should be intolerable and infuriating to all of us. Our best, brightest, and bravest join our Armed Forces for all the right reasons: to serve our country, to protect our free- dom, and to keep America safe. The U.S. military is the best in the world and the overwhelm- ingly, vast majority of our brave men and women serving in uni- form do so honorably and bravely, but there is also no doubt that we have men and women in uniform who are committing acts of sexual violence and should no longer be allowed to serve. Too often, women and men have found themselves in the fight of their lives not in the theater of war but in their own ranks, among their own brothers and sisters and ranking officers in an environment that enables sexual assault. After an assault occurs—an estimated 19,000 sexual assaults happened in 2011 alone according to DOD’s own estimates—some of these victims have to fight all over again with every ounce of their being just to have their voice heard, their assailant brought to any measure of justice, and then to fight for the disability claims they deserve to be fulfilled. Congress would be derelict in its duty of oversight if we just shrugged our shoulders at these 19,000 sons and daughters, hus- bands and wives, mothers and fathers and did nothing. We simply must do better by them. When brave men and women volunteer to serve in our military, they know the risks involved, but sexual assault at the hands of a fellow servicemember should never be one of them because not only does sexual assault cause unconscionable harm to the victim, but sexual assault is also reported to be the leading cause of post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among women veterans. Sexual assault in the military also destabilizes our military,