PEORIA – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, today urged the Department of Defense (DOD) to begin a comprehensive review of the treatment of women and persons of color in the military in light of the deeply disturbing murder of Army Specialist Vanessa Guillén at Fort Hood. In a letter to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, Durbin wrote that sexual assault and harassment remains a significant problem for service members, and that general and flag officer billets continue to be unrepresentative of not only the United States, but also the composition of service members as a whole.
“The Armed Forces have often been represented as an institution that is immune to questions of justice that impact our society as a whole, as the merit-based system of performance and promotions seeks to be blind to the identity of service members. There are ample reasons to question whether this claim stands up to scrutiny,” Durbin wrote. “While these individual efforts are each making a difference, only the leadership of the Department of Defense can initiate a serious, top-to-bottom review of how the Armed Forces can reach the ideals of equality, fairness, and justice, which we owe to all Americans who take the oath of service to our military. I urge you to seize this opportunity to initiate a broad review of the treatment of all women service members and service members of color, and recommend reforms to ensure the well-being and growth of all Americans in our Nation’s uniform.”
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