***STATEMENT*** PROTECT OUR DEFENDERS APPLAUDS REP. SPEIER’S CALL FOR INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION OF RACIAL DISPARITIES IN MILITARY
Washington, DC – On the heels of Protect Our Defenders’ (POD) recently released report on “Racial Disparities in Military Justice, Part II” Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), Chair of the House Armed Services (HASC) Subcommittee on Military Personnel introduced an amendment in today’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) markup calling for an appointment of a special inspector general to investigate the presence of white supremacy, racial disparity, and the lack of promotion for service members of color.
This extraordinary step signals that Congress no longer has faith in the military to identify and address these issues based on their continued failure to do so. The amendment mandates tracking and making public data on racial disparities in justice and promotions.
“We applaud Rep. Speier’s call for an independent investigation. Given the military’s callous disregard of these issues, only an outside investigation can be trusted to truly uncover the extent of the military’s tolerance of racial hostility,” said Col. Don Christensen, (ret), former Chief Prosecutor of the USAF and President of POD. “Military leadership has known for decades of the appalling racial disparity in its justice system and the career barriers minority servicemembers face, yet has done nothing to address the problem. Even after POD released in 2017, its groundbreaking report showing Black service members were twice as likely to face disciplinary actions than their White counterparts, the military made no effort to find the causes or solutions for the disparity. Leadership has also been slow to react to the spreading scourge of white nationalism within its ranks that threatens not only unit cohesion but also the safety of the American public.”
Click here to read POD’s 2020 report summary with key findings: https://www.protectourdefenders.com/disparities-report/
Click here to read the full 2020 disparity report: https://www.protectourdefenders.com/downloads/POD_Disparity_Report_2020.pdf
