On March 28, the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel held a hearing on the active guard, reserve, and civilian personnel programs in the upcoming FY2013 Defense Authorization bill (as-yet-unnumbered).
In his opening statement, Chair Jim Webb (D-VA) addressed women’s issues in the military, saying, “Taking care of our military and civilian personnel and their families is the priority for this subcommittee, and there are a number of military and civilian personnel policy issues on our radar this year…The Defense Department has just released a proposed policy change that will open more than 14,000 positions to women at the conclusion of the congressionally required notification period in a few months. We are encouraged that the services are continuing to explore the possibility of opening additional specialties and positions to women.” He continued, “Sexual assault prevention and response remains a priority for this subcommittee. Last year, we enacted a number of legislative provisions to assist victims of sexual assault. Secretary [of Defense Leon] Panetta has announced that he will have additional proposals this year, some of which will require legislation. We stand ready to work with him on this very important issue that concerns us all.”
Jo Ann Rooney, acting under secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, said, “The department has recently completed a review of how we assign women in the service. As requested by the Congress, the department, in coordination with the military departments, reviewed laws, policies, and regulations, including our co-location policy, to determine if any changes were needed to ensure female members have an equitable opportunity to compete and excel in the armed forces. We took a hard look at the current restrictions on women, and recommended changes within the report to Congress. Pending expiration of the congressionally required notification period, the department will implement a change…that eliminates gender-based assignment restrictions to units and positions that are doctrinally required to physically co-locate and remain with direct ground combat units that are closed to women. These recommendations will open over 14,000 positions to women, including six army occupational specialties. The department is not stopping with the policy changes set forth in the report. The services will continue to evaluate these recommendations to inform future policy revisions in addition to developing gender-neutral standards for physically demanding occupations. Secretary Panetta directed the secretaries of the military departments and chiefs of military services to report their progress on the development of gender-neutral standards, assessment of newly opened positions and recommendations for any further positions that can be opened, six months after implementing these changes.”
Ms. Rooney continued, addressing the issue of sexual assault, “[T]his department has a zero tolerance policy against sexual assault and this is a leadership issue first and foremost…In this past year alone, we have made significant strides. We recently published a revised directive expanding our support to assault victims to include military spouses and adult military dependents, the department’s civilians stationed abroad, and the department’s U.S. citizen contractors in combat areas. In addition, two new policies address expedited transfers and the retention of law enforcement records for 50 years. To ensure national standards for victim services, we are establishing a sexual assault advocate certification program and we established the Department of Defense (DoD) Safe Helpline, which provides anonymous and confidential, 24/7 hotline and texting support to victims anywhere in the world.” She added, “Because sexual assault cases are some of the toughest cases to investigate and to prosecute, the department has committed funding through FY2017 to provide sexual assault specific training for judge advocates and criminal investigators and we are assessing the sexual assault prevention and response training for commanding officers and senior enlisted leaders.”
Ms. Rooney also discussed programs that support military families and their children, saying, “Despite difficult economic circumstances necessitating budget reductions across all levels of government, the department remains committed to providing military families with support programs and resources that empower them to address the unique challenges of military life…The Family Advocacy Program (FAP) addresses physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect involving active component military personnel and family members either as victims or abusers. We evaluate the effectiveness of FAP through rates of child abuse and neglect and spouse/intimate partner abuse and outcome measures for prevention and treatment. Through ten years of high stresses on our families due to wartime deployments, our rates of such family maltreatment have remained relatively stable; however, we continue to monitor this carefully. For two consecutive years, 85 percent of those who participated in our New Parent Support Program for at least six months had no substantiated child abuse or neglect the following year, and 90 percent of substantiated spouse abusers who completed FAP treatment had no substantiated spouse abuse the following year.” She continued, discussing child care, “The department continues to expand child care capacity that supports reserve component families while the service member is deployed, geographically dispersed active duty military families, and service members living in areas in the continental United States where on-installation military child care is unavailable. Ongoing efforts are focused on ensuring the availability of child care options that meet quality standards, including health and safety standards and standards for developmentally appropriate practices.”
Robert F. Hale, under secretary of Defense (Comptroller), David L. McGinnis, acting assistant secretary of Defense (Reserve Affairs), and Jonathon Woodson, assistant secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) and director of TRICARE Management Activity, also testified.
