Posted on Jan 27, 2022
Fiscal 2022 defense act reforms military prosecutions of sexual assault but keeps male-only draft registration
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As 2021 came to a close, President Joe Biden signed into law a $768.2 billion fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that transforms the way incidents of military sexual assault and harassment are investigated and prosecuted.
But dropped from the final bill (S. 1605), signed into law on Dec. 27, was a provision that would have required women to join men in registering for the selective service at age 18.
Congress must pass separate appropriations to fund the law, which authorizes national security spending totaling $740 billion for the Department of Defense (DOD) and $27.8 billion for the Department of Energy. A continuing resolution is funding DOD and other federal agencies through Feb. 18, 2022.
Reforming military sexual assault prosecutions
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith, D-Washington, said that even though this is the 61st consecutive time a president has signed an NDAA, the 2022 law contains “transformational” reforms to address military sexual assault, which DOD estimates is experienced by 6.2% of active-duty women and 0.7% of active-duty men.
“These reforms — which are supported by longstanding advocates for survivors of the sexual assault crisis in the military — will take the prosecution of all sex crimes in the military away from the control of the military commander,” Smith said in a statement. “Instead, qualified, independent, uniformed attorneys — ultimately overseen by the civilian Service secretaries — will have the sole authority for charging decisions and the responsibility to prosecute those charges.”
According to a summary issued by Smith, the reforms under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) include that:
Each Service Branch secretary establish an Office of Special Trial Counsel to prosecute sexual assault cases and related crimes and put in place a lead special trial counsel to independently report to the DOD secretary.
The counsel be independent from the chain of command of the survivor and the accused.
The counsel’s court-martial decisions in sexual assault and related cases be binding on a commander and convening authority.
“Military sexual assault survivors took on the world’s largest employer with the world’s largest budget and won a major victory,” said retired Col. Don Christensen, president of the advocacy group Protect Our Defenders, in a statement. “The provisions included in this year’s NDAA are the most transformative military justice reforms in our nation’s history. This is what happens when we champion survivors and ensure their voices are heard.”
The law adds sexual harassment as a punitive article under the UCMJ and requires such complaints to be independently investigated within specific timelines. DOD is also now required to track allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment or retaliation.
The 2022 NDAA raises service member and DOD workforce base pay by 2.7%, and provides for 12 weeks of parental leave for primary and secondary caregivers who need time for a birth, adoption or long-term foster placement.
Left out of the final version of the 2022 NDAA was an amendment to the Military Selective Service Act requiring females to register for the draft, which the nation has not had since 1973.
Learn more
Read the House committee summary of the NDAA 2022: https://rly.pt/3r4PJpT
But dropped from the final bill (S. 1605), signed into law on Dec. 27, was a provision that would have required women to join men in registering for the selective service at age 18.
Congress must pass separate appropriations to fund the law, which authorizes national security spending totaling $740 billion for the Department of Defense (DOD) and $27.8 billion for the Department of Energy. A continuing resolution is funding DOD and other federal agencies through Feb. 18, 2022.
Reforming military sexual assault prosecutions
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith, D-Washington, said that even though this is the 61st consecutive time a president has signed an NDAA, the 2022 law contains “transformational” reforms to address military sexual assault, which DOD estimates is experienced by 6.2% of active-duty women and 0.7% of active-duty men.
“These reforms — which are supported by longstanding advocates for survivors of the sexual assault crisis in the military — will take the prosecution of all sex crimes in the military away from the control of the military commander,” Smith said in a statement. “Instead, qualified, independent, uniformed attorneys — ultimately overseen by the civilian Service secretaries — will have the sole authority for charging decisions and the responsibility to prosecute those charges.”
According to a summary issued by Smith, the reforms under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) include that:
Each Service Branch secretary establish an Office of Special Trial Counsel to prosecute sexual assault cases and related crimes and put in place a lead special trial counsel to independently report to the DOD secretary.
The counsel be independent from the chain of command of the survivor and the accused.
The counsel’s court-martial decisions in sexual assault and related cases be binding on a commander and convening authority.
“Military sexual assault survivors took on the world’s largest employer with the world’s largest budget and won a major victory,” said retired Col. Don Christensen, president of the advocacy group Protect Our Defenders, in a statement. “The provisions included in this year’s NDAA are the most transformative military justice reforms in our nation’s history. This is what happens when we champion survivors and ensure their voices are heard.”
The law adds sexual harassment as a punitive article under the UCMJ and requires such complaints to be independently investigated within specific timelines. DOD is also now required to track allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment or retaliation.
The 2022 NDAA raises service member and DOD workforce base pay by 2.7%, and provides for 12 weeks of parental leave for primary and secondary caregivers who need time for a birth, adoption or long-term foster placement.
Left out of the final version of the 2022 NDAA was an amendment to the Military Selective Service Act requiring females to register for the draft, which the nation has not had since 1973.
Learn more
Read the House committee summary of the NDAA 2022: https://rly.pt/3r4PJpT
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Posted 4 y ago
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Getting tired of this- Feminists scream about equality and being able to do any man's job. Hell over 20+% of the services are women now, and thy are allowed in combat positions. If they can fight like a man, then why in the hell are they except for the draft? True it hasn't been used in50 years, but it is sitting there in case of an emergency
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CW4 Guy Butler
Don’t like it? Talk to these guys.
https://nypost.com/2021/07/25/republicans-oppose-making-women-register-for-draft/
https://nypost.com/2021/07/25/republicans-oppose-making-women-register-for-draft/
Republicans blast defense budget proposal requiring women to register for draft
Republicans are blasting a provision in the federal defense budget that would require women to register for the military draft.
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SPC (Join to see)
Economic decline does a play a part in stagnating birth rates. But drafting women just compounds the problem. Therefore my contention still stands. Drafting women is a bad idea.SFC (Verify To See)
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Suspended Profile
Would be great if we weren’t constantly lowering the standards to meet a desired outcome.
LTC Carlene Salazar
Whats good for the gander is good for the goose. This shouldn't even be an issue. The uniforms should also be identical, with shape and size adjustments as needed, to include hair cuts. It's MILITARY, not women's army or men's army or other service. Frankly, service of some kind or other should be required to vote.
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I never in my 20 years of service was worried about a sexual assault or sexual harassment allegation. The sexual predators and harassers should be given maximum punishment if the allegations are substantiated. I know Republicans especially were not in favor of having women in the draft.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/12/republicans-shouldnt-fear-making-a-moral-case-against-drafting-women/
https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/12/republicans-shouldnt-fear-making-a-moral-case-against-drafting-women/
Republicans Shouldn’t Fear Making a Moral Case against Drafting Women | National Review
Many Republicans are loath to admit that it is profoundly shameful to send our mothers and daughters to war.
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SFC Keith Gardner
And yet “our mothers and daughters” have been and are sent to war constantly. Side by side with “our fathers and sons”. It always boils my blood when pompous old congressmen — and women refer to service members as “our kids”. They’re young men and women that answer the call. There are women flying Apaches and fighter jets, commanding warships and MP brigades. They pack parachutes. They’re already serving in every combat support and combat service support MOS and units. They bleed just like men do and sometimes they die. They’ve been doing it in ever increasing numbers since WW II, Korea and Vietnam. Since the Cold War and GWOT they’ve broken almost every glass ceiling except for a few Infantry and SF positions.
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CSM Darieus ZaGara
I couldn’t agree more. I am still perplexed that the male and female standards for selected service and MOS assignments have not followed suit with a woman’s ability to now join any job description. If they can opt in, they should certainly be able to be assigned to any job upon entry, the same as men.
While I feel different personally, what’s fare is fare.
While I feel different personally, what’s fare is fare.
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