(Photo credit: Gary Raynaldo ©Diplomatic Times) Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby briefs reporters at the Pentagon in Washington DC Apr. 7, 2021
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
WASHINGTON – PENTAGON – The U.S. Department of Defense under President Biden is continuing the tradition of observing April as “Sexual Assault Awareness Month” — that was first declared in 2009 by President Barack Obama. However, efforts inside the DOD and the Pentagon to eliminate sexual assault in the ranks isn’t limited to just a month — it’ll be a full-time effort until the problem is gone, the Pentagon press secretary said this week.
“April may be Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Month, but for Secretary Austin, it’s something he focuses on every day. It is something he has repeatedly, continually talked about and stressed. So, it’s everyday here at the Pentagon.”
-said Press Secretary John F. Kirby, during a briefing at the Pentagon Wednesday Apr. 7, 2021
PENTAGON Vows To Prevent Sexual Assault in U.S. Military After Disturbing Video
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III briefs the press from the Pentagon Briefing Room, Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 2021. (DoD Photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jack Sanders).
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin said in February that sexual assault will not tolerated in the U.S. Military and that concrete steps are being taken to prevent it. Austin announced the establishment of an independent review commission on sexual assault. According to the IRC’s charter, the commission will focus on evaluating military policies, programs and processes related to sexual assault.
“I take this issue of sexual assault very, very seriously. And I know that the service chiefs and the service secretaries do as well though.”
-U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin said.
U.S. Marine Posts Video Alleging Sexual Harassment
A screenshot from a Marine’s viral TikTok video. TikTok/@gwotthot
The Defense Secretary addressed the issue of sexual harassment one day after a female U.S. Marine posted a video online TikTok Thursday angrily accusing a general of intervening to stop the ouster of another Marine she accused of sexual assault and exposing once again the lack of military oversight and accountability such cases. The woman alleges that a general intervened in the case to allow her assailant to remain in the Marines. Last year, the Pentagon reported a 3% increase in sexual assaults in 2019.
“And this is exactly why F…ing females in the military F…ing killing themselves,” the distraught woman said through tears in the video. “This is exactly why nobody F…ing takes this seriously.”
“I found the video deeply disturbing and I’ve asked my staff for additional information”
-Secretary Austin said in response after viewing it.
Pentagon Commission on Sexual Assault has 90-days to conduct its work
(Photo credit: DOD) Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III directed the creation of a 13-person independent review commission charged with looking into sexual assaults in the U.S. military. The IRC kicked off its 90-day investigation March 24, 2021, with an online meeting among the highly qualified experts who will lead the commission’s four lines of effort.
Col. Josh Bookout, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division Commander and Command Sgt. Maj. Thinh Huynh, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division Command Sergeant Major add a flag with the words, “You Are Not Alone” to the brigade flag pole to kick off the annual Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii on April 1, 2021. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Alan Brutus)
The Commission on Sexual Assault, chaired by Lynn Rosenthal, has 90-days to conduct its work before reporting back to Austin and the president. It has just recently entered the third week of its efforts.
“Just today [Rosenthal] conducted the second of what will be three engagements, virtual engagements, with … sexual assault survivors and advisory groups associated with victims and survivors, as well as military service organizations,” Kirby said. “She wanted to introduce them to the highly qualified experts that she has enlisted to join the commission.”
Eliminating sexual assault in the ranks, Kirby said, is something the department is working on full-time, not just for a month each year.
“It is something we’re pressing on every single day,” the Pentagon Press Secretary added. “It is still a problem in the ranks, it’s still a serious threat to the men and women who serve in the United States military, and I think you’ll see Secretary Austin continue to keep the pressure on the entire time he’s in office.”
