PRESS RELEASE: Former Generals Announce Support for Fundamental Reform to Military Justice System
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2013 Contact: Brian Purchia, ,brian@protectourdefenders.com
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FORMER GENERALS ANNOUNCE SUPPORT FOR FUNDAMENTAL REFORM TO MILITARY JUSTICE SYSTEM
Politico reports three former generals, including Protect Our Defenders Advisory Board member who was the first female to reach three-star general rank in the U.S. Army, current Assistant Secretary of Defense support Military Justice Improvement Act, which would be the first step toward creating an independent and impartial military justice system for our troops.
Washington DC – Today, Politico is reporting that three former United States Generals have come out in support of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-NY) Military Justice Improvement Act (MJIA). The legislation has widespread bipartisan backing, with 46 senators publicly supporting the bill, including Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY).
One of those supporting the MJIA is former Lieutenant General, Claudia Kennedy. General Kennedy was the first female to reach the rank of three-star general in the United States Army. She retired after 32 years of military service and now serves on the Advisory Board of Protect Our Defenders.
Along with Lt. General Kennedy, two other generals, former Brigadier Generals Loree Sutton and Dave McGinnis have come out in support of Senator Gillibrand’s legislation. The common sense reform would move the decisions to prosecute rape and sexual assault cases out of an often-biased chain of command, and into the hands of independent prosecutors.
Brig. General Sutton is the founding director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. The Centers’ mission is to “improve the lives of our nation’s service members, families and veterans by advancing excellence in psychological health and traumatic brain injury prevention and care.”
Brig. General Dave McGinnis served in the New York National Guard and is a former Senior Fellow of the National Guard Association of the United States. He now serves as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs.
In a letter to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, General Kennedy wrote:
“Having served in leadership positions in the US Army, I have concluded that if military leadership hasn’t fixed the problem in my lifetime, it’s not going to be fixed without a change to the status quo. The imbalance of power and authority held by commanders in dealing with sexual assaults must be corrected. There has to be independent oversight over what is happening in these cases.
Until leadership is held accountable, this won’t be corrected. To hold leadership accountable means there must be independence and transparency in the system. Permitting professionally trained prosecutors rather than commanding officers to decide whether to take sexual assault cases to trial is a measured first step toward such accountability.”
According to the Pentagon’s 2012 SAPRO report, 25% of victims indicated the offender is someone in their chain of command. Fifty percent of female victims stated they did not report the crime because they believed nothing would be done. Of those few who did report – 60% were retaliated against.
Along with former commanders and veterans coming out in support of fundamental changes to the military justice system, momentum continues to grow in Congress for fundamental reform – with the country watching the ongoing sexual assault scandal at the Naval Academy unfold. Military sexual assault survivors continue to meet with and call on their Senators to support fundamental reform, sharing their stories, as part of Protect Our Defenders’ “Educate Your State” initiative.
Find out more about the “Educate Your State” initiative here.
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Politico: Gillibrand gains support for chain of command changes
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/kirsten-gillibrand-pentagon-sexual-assault-bill-97180.html
New York Times: Intrusive Grilling in Rape Case Raises Alarm on Military Hearings
RH Reality Check: Gillibrand’s Drive Challenges Senate Power Brokers on Military Sexual Assault Remedy
Washington Post: The military must better serve victims of sexual assault
San Antonio Express-News: The system on assaults is still broken
Wall Street Journal: Pentagon Unveils Changes on Handling Sexual Assault
http://online.wsj.com/article/
Politico: DOD rolls out new sexual assault policies
http://www.politico.com/story/
Connecticut Post: Legislation supported to pull sex-assault cases from chain of command
http://www.ctpost.com/local/
Miami Herald: Senators differ on role for military brass in sexual assault case
http://www.miamiherald.com/
New York Times: Pentagon Finishing Rules to Curb Sexual Assaults
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/
About Protect Our Defenders: Protect Our Defenders is a human rights organization. We seek to honor, support and give voice to the brave women and men in uniform who have been sexually assaulted while serving their country, and re-victimized by the military adjudication system – a system that often blames the victim and fails to prosecute the perpetrator. Learn more about Protect Our Defenders at www.protectourdefenders.com or on Facebook at http://facebook.com/
Protect Our Defenders partners with Attorney Susan Burke, Burke PLLC to advance lawsuits filed against the DoD and service academies for repeatedly ignoring rape, sexual assault and harassment, failing to prosecute perpetrators and retaliating against the victim. Former Generals Announce Support for Fundamental Reform to Military Justice System
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