Pentagon official backs sexual assault policy recommendations

[The Straight Story]

Pentagon official backs sexual assault policy recommendations

By Daniel Pulliam
[e-mail]

Sexual assault policy recommendations from a committee advising the Defense Department were generally accepted by a top military leader Friday as the Pentagon moves closer to reforming policies that many have described as outdated.

David Chu, undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness, said the recommendations were substantive, and many should be implemented through the Pentagon's Joint Task Force on Sexual Assault Prevention and Response by the end of the year.

The recommendations from the Defense Department Advisory Committee on Women in the Services included codifying the zero tolerance policy on sexual assault in a department directive, similar to the Army's policy released in April. The committee also strongly advocated that a clear definition of sexual assault be incorporated into the Uniformed Code of Military Justice and disseminated by the task force.

The panel is not recommending the adoption of a civilian definition of sexual assault, rather, they want the definition of sexual assault used in training to be enforced consistently through the UCMJ. Chu said the approach is interesting because "there's a lot of pressure to conform to civil code."

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1204/121004p1.htm

[Guarionex]

1. I'm confused...

is this a good thing or bad thing?

If they are cracking down on sexual assault inside the armed forces...GOOD.

But, am I missing something here?

[The Straight Story]

2. Any step in the right direction is good

The question is, could it be better or was it comprhensive enough to achieve the goal? I just put it out there are general news from govexec.com