Senators Say They Won't Wait 9 Years for Pentagon to Make Planned Sexual Assault Reforms

SFC Casey O'Mally that short a timeline? We've been trying fix this issue for decades.
How long is enough? Centuries?

SFC Michael Hasbun - And did the DoD have a comprehensive report in their hands for decades? Have they been sitting on this latest report doing nothing? No. The DoD got the report and IMMEDIATELY staffed it to find ways to meet as many of the recommendations as possible.

But staffing the report to see what it actually SAYS and then find ways to achieve the recommendations takes... you guessed it... time.

I have to guess that at this point in your career, you have spent at least a little bit of time on a staff, so you are familiar with, and have even participated in MDMP. When DoD gets a report this big and sprawling, it will be staffed out to different teams, then each of those teams will MDMP their piece. They will do COA development and analysis individually, then go back to the boss to pitch their ideas. And will invariably be sent back with guidance for refinement. Taking anything less than a month (and that is if they pretty much drop everything and focus on JUST this, which is not a good idea for the Pentagon) is an obvious failure to plan.

So now that it has been fully staffed, DoD has published their plan to accomplish the recommendations. But these recommendations will include renovating / upgrading pretty much every barracks, dorm, and berth in the entire DoD. Which means contracting. Developing a contract putting it out for a bid and selecting a bid takes.... time. And then once the contract(s) are awarded, the contractors have to actually do the work. Which takes.... time. Of course, we can skip the contracting process and just go to no-bid contracts which takes... money. No-bid contracts almost invariably cost more, because the pricing is not competitive. And even then, it still takes time to write and award the contract, and time for the contractor to do the work. They can, of course, be sped up with.... more money.

These recommendations also require a metric shit-ton of updates to policy, including writing new policy. Which takes time. I had the privilege of working in a strategic plans office once. I arrived as the 5-year strategic plan was in its final stages, and shepherded it through publication. Once the 5-year strategic plan was published, ONE MONTH LATER, we were starting work on the NEXT 5-year strategic plan. Policy takes time. Multiple stakeholders means multiple inputs means conflicts of recommendation and conflicts of authority. You can't just write a new regulation or DoDI and *poof* everything is fixed. Because every single policy, regulation, DoDI, and manual that references the subject *also* has to be updated. Each policy has to be checked against what is out there to prevent conflicting guidance. Which takes a lot of time - especially for comprehensive changes like this.

These recommendations include creation of new units, which requires staffing and vetting. Which takes time. It also will require building or acquiring physical space for the HQ and offices - see above for renovations, but double the problems because we aren't modifying, we are starting from scratch. It also will require changes to MTOEs, TDAs, and whatever the sister services call their version of those. Which again, takes time. Many of the people involved in this new investigative and prosecutorial unit will have to PCS to wherever it is located, which takes time.

Rating chains, reporting chains, and chains of command will need to be updated and altered. Administrative paperwork, such as change of rater NCOERs, clearing, FLIPLs, Change of Command Inventory, etc. will need to be completed.


All of this stuff takes time. Yes, some of it - such as PCS and the admin paperwork that goes with it - can probably be accomplished within six months without TOO much upheaval. But even that costs money - the military pays for a PCS, and PCSing out of cycle costs extra money. Almost all of it can be STARTED within six months - contracts can be written and out for bid, locations for new HQs can be identified, jobs can be posted on USAJOBs, etc.

But even coming CLOSE to having it all complete within six months is going to cost astronomical amounts of money - and even then it won't be complete. And much of what is complete will likely by poorly done. (You don't want to build a permanent building in *too much* of a hurry.)


Yes, it has been discussed for decades. But *this plan* is only a couple of months old.

SFC Casey O'Mally - Sexual misconduct has been an issue in the military since 1775. Let's not pretend this report was the first time they became aware of the issue.

SFC Michael Hasbun - I am not pretending any such thing. The DoD has known this was an issue, which is why they commissioned the report in the first place. They have been taking active steps to address the problem. But doing something and doing the RIGHT things are too separate things entirely. Doing the RIGHT thing usually takes more time and effort. Additionally, we are discussing the way forward. When looking at the way ahead, HOW we got where we are - and how long it took us to get there - is COMPLETELY irrelevant. What matters is where we are, and where we need to go. So the fact that sexual assault has been around forever doesn't matter. The fact that the DoD has known about it forever doesn't matter. What matters is that they now have a plan, can implement the plan, and are moving forward with it. We can discuss the timelines for implementation, sure. But when discussing the timelines, they START at "now," not 1775.

I am in no way saying the DoD should not act - and act expeditiously!. I am saying that expecting completion in 6 months is ridiculous. For the types of comprehensive reforms being called for (and, apparently, approved by the Service Secretaries and Chiefs), 6 to 9 years is perfectly reasonable if the goal is to try to make these changes within existing budgets. As buildings come due for retrograde, they are retrograded with the new standards. As people PCS, they PCS to the new locations. As locations build new structures, they build them for this new unit. Etc. All of those things already happen on a rotating schedule, and can be accommodated within existing budget parameters and guidelines.

Now, if Congress wants to throw money at the problem to get it fixed quicker, then DoD can probably have everything complete - to standard - within 3 years. But it will still take a full three years to do EVERYTHING they want to do. Remember, we still have to maintain a fighting force while this is going on. Things like ships at sea will have to be rotated through port for retrofit. We can't just call the entire fleet back all at once.

Comprehensive problems require comprehensive solutions. Comprehensive solutions take time and money. Wishing it weren't true won't make it so.

SFC Randy Hellenbrand Agreed...