Transcripts For CSPAN2 Defense Dept. Officials Testify On JROTC Sexual Abuse Allegations 20221117

Are built to keep you ahead. Mediacom suppoing cspan as a Public Service along with these other tevision providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. Thursday a hearing looks at national secury threats tohe u. S. Homeland security secretary mayorkas is joined by Christopher Wray and National Counterterrorism director christine abizaidiving testimony to the goverental affairs committee. Live coverage starts at 10 15 m. On cspan three. You can also watch on the mobile video app cspan now or online on cspan. Org. Defense Department Officials testified on junior rotc sexual abuse allegations before the House Oversight subcommittee. Lawmakers began an investigation after the New York Times published an article showing a pattern of sexual abuse among students who participated in junior rotc programs. The subcommittee will come to order without objection the shares authorized to declare recess. At this time the church recognizes himself for an Opening Statement. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here. Today the subcommittee on security will examine the department of defense and military Service Administration and oversight of the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps program on jrotc. As established by congress, the purpose of rotc is to instill in the Nations High School students, quote, the values of citizenship, service in the United States and personal responsibility as well as a sense of accomplishment, close. In furtherance of that, the jrotc officers, excuse me, paoffers participating studentsr cadets and military learning environment that includes coursework andut leadership, civics, ethics, history, health and stem as well as Service Specific land navigation, aviation history and aerospace science. Thee program also provides cades an important opportunity to visit military installations offcampus and participate in other Extracurricular Activities with students. And as the chairman of the subcommittee on National Security i believe that to the program is instrumental in developing our young people who may be inspired to civilian Public Service and that is precisely what the program must be subject to oversight and operate within maximum transparency and accountability. For the benefit, the health and safety of every cadet. Regrettably, that is not they current case. Int july, 2022, an extensive nw york times investigation concluded that within the past five years, jrotc instructors have been criminally charged with Sexual Misconduct at a rate that is far higher than the rate of civilian high school teachers. The investigation also found that many other instructors have been accused of misconduct but never charged. Our own subcommittee investigation has further revealed that the extent within the jrotc is even more disturbing than previously reported. In a moment we will hear testimony from the dod and the military services about the actions theyhe are taking to ensure that the safety and wellbeing of jrotc cadets is in place. I look forward to hearing more about how they are working to improve the vetting and certification, how allegations are reported and handled and how the military Services Conduct oversight of the respective Jrotc Programs. Like to conclude by framing todays hearing with a broad strategic context. The United States military defined its volunteer fighting force in the world is currently grappling with an unprecedentedg recruitment and retention challenge. This is driven at least in part a lack of trust among the nations young men and women and their families. Of the United States military will protect them from unnecessary physical and psychological harm both at home, during training and when they are deployed. Many of the young men and women who join have the most noble aspirations of serving the country either in military or civilian service. So whenrv they do, when they donned their military uniform even as High School Students they are entitled to protections as we would wish for our own sons and daughters. At the department of defense and congress continue to address the current readiness and recruitment challenges it is vital we restore and maintain the publics faith in military service. We need to demonstrate to those that are eager to serve the country that we do not take their health and safety lightly. It is imperative that we honor the sacred commitment of our cadets by ensuring that they are being educated in a military culture and environment that prioritizes their wellbeing and is reflective of the service on behalf of the nation. I want to thank the witnesses for their willingness to testify and i will now yield to the distinguished Ranking Member from wisconsin for his Opening Statement. Thank you, chairman lynch. Before i get started i would ask unanimous consent to have mr. Fallon on the subcommittee for thehe purposes of questions. Without objections ordered. I would also like to thank the witnesses forou appearing today. This is a very important issue and its a proper topic for oversight. We have the greatest military in the m world primarily because of the men and women who serve. They often grow up wanting to serve their country and joined the junior reserve officer Training Corps in high school or in college to prepare. Of these programs are for training and Education Leadership skills necessary for the military. Jrotc operates in every state and has more than 3500 programs. Approximately 53690 cadets are enrolled. The programs are vital to the success for the military. Unfortunately recent reporting regarding sexual abuse misconduct is very concerning. The New York Times found 33 jrotc instructors in the past fiveha years have been criminaly charged with Sexual Misconduct involving students. Isthis is shameful. Its at a far higher rate offensively in high school teachers. Seven were flagged for allegations previously but allowed tosl keep teaching and over the past five years theres been 60 allegations of Sexual Misconduct against the rotc with 58 of the 60 substantiated. Almost 50 r received an initial suspension of certification to protect our youngce men and womn that wish to serve in uniform. Im interested s in asking eachf you not only what your plans are to protect the cadets of the future but if there are any identifiable patterns across these allegations, location, demographics, age and gender, to help inform whether reforms can to provide the largest return and protect the cadets. To result in substantial change from each of you again, mr. Chairman i think you for holding this hearing and i will yield back. I think the gentle man. Again, we have several members who are not on the Oversight Committee but have done remarkable work in this area. Without objection, the member from texas, congresswoman garcia is recognized for the purposes of questioning the witnesses and without objection the member from pennsylvania, congresswoman houlgahan for the purpose of questioning the witnesses. Thank you. I will now introduce the witnesses. First we will hear from mr. Thomas constable. Also i did not realize we are graced with the presence of the full Committee Chairwoman ms. Maloney and the gentleman from new york is recognized for an Opening Statement. Welcome. All of the witnesses and to you, mr. Chairman and Ranking Member for holding this important hearing and for your many years of leadership advocating for the health and safety of everyone who proudly and bravely wears our nations uniform. The junior reserves programs or the jrotc provides High School Students with an important opportunity to strengthen their leadership and interpersonal skills, improved physical fitness and pursue their education all while immersing themselves inn military culture. Every year thousands of cadets graduated for jrotc go on to pursue a career of military service. This program is crucial for the future off the military, so i ws deeply disturbed byde the report in the New York Times this summer finding that the dozens of jrotc instructors have sexually assaulted their students, abused them and harasseded them. That is why chairman lynch and i wrote the department of defense and the military services in august seeking information about how the military service is conducting their Jrotc Programs andhe what changes are needed to protect cadets from predatory instructors. Weve learned, what we have learned from the department is truly alarming. The New York Times identified 33 jrotc instructors whod been accused of sexually assaulting theirex students in the last fie years. But our investigation as the chair man noted shows that the problem is far worse than what was even reported. We found the Defense Department has received at least 60 allegations of sexual abuse, harassment or other misconduct in the past five years, 58 of which were substantiated following a Law Enforcement investigation. The Department Also told us that the military services did not always conduct annual in person evaluations of their programs for jrotc. Or the army conduct socalled assistance on a yearly basis for individual programs in need of additional attention. Otherwise it only inspects one third of its units each year. Meanwhile, the air force completes in person assessments every three years while the army and marines perform such examinations every other year. I want to be clear the vast majority of jrotc instructors are decent and trustworthy members or former members of our Armed Services and continue to serve thein country honorably by teaching and mentoring the next generation of leaders for the military but our investigation has exposednv a lack of pentagon oversight appears to have enabled the predatory behavior of some of the jrotc instructors. Any allegation of Sexual Assault, abuse or harassment is one too many and needs to be addressed. These are future leaders and military. We need to respect them and treat them. I hope todays hearing will eliminateea some of the lapses that have contributed to sexual abuse by the jrotc instructors and im confident the Oversight Committee led by this subcommittee would continue to work on a bipartisan way with mr. Grossman and others to ensurere the safety and wellbeg of our nations cadets. I think the chair man for holding this hearing and look forward to the testimony and your ideas of how to make sure this never happens again and how the distinguished military goes forward in a way that protects our young cadets. I will yield back. The gentle lady yields back and i just want to say this is one of the final hearings we will have and i do not want to miss the opportunity to say thank you. Ive served with you for over 20 years on this committee and i can think of no one who is been more productive or persistent under the rubric of oversight in investigating and correcting some of the wrongs that we have seen during our time in this congress and i just want to thank you for your leadership on a so many issues over the past 20 years. I know you have been a prolific lawmaker. I can think of few members in this congress that have produced as much legislation as you have, madam chair. Youve both been energetic and heroic on championing issues on behalflf of people who are powerless and in this case, High School Students who may feel that they are at a power disadvantage so i just want to take this opportunity to say thank you for your work on behalf of the p peoples 12th district in congress. I want to congratulate you on an illustrative and highly productive career. Youve been an example for all ofof us so thank you very much. Thank you for your leadership and everyone here working on this issue, youve shown great dedication, effectiveness and leadership and i am honored to be supporting your efforts today. Now i will introduce the witnesses. First wee will hear from mr. Thomas constable, the acting assistant secretary of defense forr manpower and reserve affais of the department of defense. The position directs the departments overall manpowerll policies including forced training and education. Mr. Constable served for more than 20 years on the United States army as an active duty soldier before retiring from serviced in 2008. And next we will hear from the actingho assistant secretary for the army of manpowerpo reserve affairs. In this role, ms. Bourcicot manages Manpower Personnel and reserve Component Affairs for the United States army and provides advice to the secretary of the oversight of Human Resources training and force structure as well as other importantad readiness matters. Previously served as an officer in the United States air force from 2000 to 2010 and has held several other roles in the department of defense. Nwe will then hear from mr. Hogue. In his role mr. Hogue is responsible for the overall supervision andsp oversight of e navys manpower and reserveer Component Affairs including the development of programsve and policy related to military personnel and naval education. Mr. Hogue has a career as a member o of the Senior Executive service with the navy and marine corps including previously serving as a senior Legal Advisor to the commandant of the marine corps. Finally, we will hear from mr. Wagoner the assistantm secretary for the United States air force. In his role he provides overall supervision for the matters related to the air force manpower militaryto and civilian personnel and reserve components. Mr. Wagoner has also previously served in multiple civilian rules of the Defense Department including as former chiefpl of staff. Mr. Constable, mr. Hogue and mre rise so we can swear you in. You are recognized for an oral summation of your testimony. Good morning chairman lynch, Ranking Member andng madam chair by surprise and distinguished memberss of the subcommittee thank you for the opportunity to testify today to discuss the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps Program Better known as jrotc. Every officer holds a special position of trust and responsibility. No officer will violated the trust would avoid responsibility for any of their actions. Those are not my words, those are the opening to the officers creed. Its required learning for all officers and the creed we try to live by and all we do in the department of defense and sometimes we fail. When we do its our obligation toal take stock of the process o ensure we are doing all we can to set conditions for the members. Today that includes the retirees who are honored to continue to wear the uniform as instructors and that includes the High School Students who heard the call early in life and joined the program. The department of defense has an unwavering commitment to the safety and a wellbeing of all jrotc participants and to holding personnel accountable for any misconduct. We do this in coordination with the schools, the military department and the department of education. To that end, the office has been coordinating closely with the military departments to conduct a complete review of the governing policies. And the procedures across the services in order to prevent sexualve harassment and to hold the personnel appropriately accountable when there is misconduct or abuse to ensure the victims receive the help they need in response to Sexual Misconduct. We must never allow anyone that represents the department of defense to directly orhe indirectly break faith of their communities. Over 3400 schools across 50 states and territories have invested in hosting jrotc hiring 7500 to teach jrotc to be demographically diverse population of over half a Million Students who elect and pursue the course annually. We owe it to the students and communities to offer appropriately screened and trained candidates for employment in the schools as stjrotc instructors and hold individuals accountable when there is misconduct. To say that any case of instructor misconduct is unacceptable is an understatement. Jrotc should be the shining example of duty, honor, country within the schools we serve. This issue has the highest attention across the highestst levels of the department of leadership. To ensure that we have effective oversight and administration of the Jrotc Program the moral obligation to protect those in our care and hold accountable the standards ofd military retirees that are privileged to where the nations uniform as jrotc instructors. We are committed to doing right by our students by providing the support and resources necessary to supplement the development andd prosperity of the nation ad its future leaders. Thank you for your time and opportunity this morning. I look forward to your questions. Thank you. The chair recognizes ms. Bourcicot you are recognized for a presentation of your testimony. Y. Thank you. Chairman lynch, Ranking Member, members of the subcommittee thank you on behalf of the men and women of the United States army. I would like to start byrm statg that i share your outrage with the mistreatment of junior rotc cadets and i understand while this is an important topic to discuss today. Getting my first opportunities, learning about discipline, health and wellness and most important what it means to be a citizen of the United States of america. I im grateful for my instructors, lieutenant colonel, colonel spencer and sergeant who helped mold me into a cadet and air force officer and for laying the foundation today as the acting secretary. I want to emphasize that the Senior Leaders require personnel who have the trust. My team andd i are prepared to work transparently with you to improve the program and prevent breaks and that the trust from happening again in the future. The top priority is to include those participating in jrotc activities. Sexual harassment and Sexual Assault have no base in the army. We take the instructor misconduct very seriously. Given our longstanding commitment to providing a Beneficial Program for students and our emphasis on preventing harmful behaviors, jrotc instructors are particularly egregious because the faith and confidence at the army, parents, students and the nation placed in those teachers and we will not tolerate it. From the secretary and chief of staff and the cadet and instructors in the program we lead and follow by our army values. The United States army cadet commander overseas its proactive in its approach to streaming the candidates and Training Instructors to provide a Safe Learning environment for the cadets. Instructors found unsuitable activities or behavior contrary to the army values. The decertified permanently and removed from the classrooms. Six years ago, the cadet command included the tier one background check training, fbi background check screening in accordance with the director. This screening is the cornerstone of the vetting process and enhances the local School District screening process. With that said we can and will hego further to prevent and punh the instructor misconduct. The army is working in coordination with others in the department of defense to improve oversight at the Jrotc Program, to increase the chance of the new incidents from occurring. Again to ensure the continued success of the program. As the chairwoman maloney said, the overwhelming majorityas of e army jrotc in its 160 year the u. S. Army has the oldest Jrotc Program in the United States. Providing services to thosect in eighth through 12th grade it is an Exemplary Program for the youth. In the past five years its 1. 2 million participants contributed 14. 6 million hours ofty community service. Just onemp example is the cadets from myers, florida who leded campus cleanup following hurricane en. Ian. Research shows the cadets have a higher attendance rate, Higher High School Graduation rate and inhigher grade point average thn their peers. We are proud of the work and appreciate the value in enabling americas youth. Chairman lynch, Ranking Member land members of the subcommitt, thank you for the opportunity and im happy to take your questions. You are now recognized for five minutes. My apologies. Chairwoman maloney, Ranking Member grossman and distinguished members of the subcommittee. I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the actions the department of the navy has taken response to the report of Sexual Misconduct. I want to convey on the Senior Department of the military t leadership that we take every instance of alleged Sexual Misconduct very seriously and are taking immediate action to improve thehe program to do everything within our power to avoid any future misconduct. Ctacross the nation with roughly 100,000 participating students, they teach life skills and colleges and employers highly value and respect, but they are typically not taught instructors help cultivate skills inside and outside the classroom. We need positive leaders, mentors, teachers and role models to help prepare them to make good decisions in life and productive citizens of the nation. The department is taking action to update policy and training to ensure the instructors do not betray that trust. While the vast majority of the instructors perform an exemplary way the programs have had 23 incidences of Sexual Misconduct involving cadets in the last five years. And in every case we took immediate corrective actions. Although the instructors are employees of the individual school systems, the department understands and takes very seriously the conduct directly affects students into the Services Relationship with the American People. We are striving to ensure all instructor conduct is appropriate, positive building trust, host schools and the American People. It is sometimes difficult for the department to know the nature of the misconduct and the results of every investigation. Weor are committed to working wh our partners and local authorities to improve the assessment and to the response processes. We welcome additional oversight and are committed to improving policies to partner more closely with the host schools to ensure that the cadets are safe. We will be steadfast in protecting the cadets, the nations next c generation of leaders. Thank you for the opportunity to appear today and i look forward to answering your questions. Recognized for five minutes. Chairman lynch, Ranking Member, distinguished members of congress, thank you for the continued support and for the opportunity to testify today on the status of the department of the air force Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps program. Air force jr lucy is a statutorily mandated the Citizenship Program, one that supports the development of americas youth by building a character, leadership skills and a commitment to national service. To instill a sense of pride and professionalism. The responsibility with the air and space forces. Like you, i am outraged by the misconduct within jrotc. Even one incident is too many and its unacceptable. The instructor core represents the department of defense and they are expected to be role models and partner schools, trusted adults and mentors. We have a special obligation to ensure that they safeguard the lives of the young women and men entrusted to their care. Thee Sexual Misconduct highlighted by the New York Times are to the evos and institutionall core values. Given the incidence of misconduct identified in our own review it is clear the departmentt of the air force mut do more to prevent this type of misconduct from occurring at any of ourur units. To improve these efforts we are currently reviewing oversight, committing resources to ensure Proper Staffing levels, and enhancing screenings and revamping initially at recurring training. Finally we are taking steps to attract more representative of the female cadets in our program. Our goal was to reduce the number of Sexual Assaults, harassment and other incidents of exploitation 20. And to that end, i am committed to improving oversight and enhancing program resources. In closing, im very thankful and i want to emphasize this to be the upstanding staff that continue to work h hard day in d day out giving their best this program in order to motivate and inspire our next generation of leaders. Their efforts truly change lives and grow a stronger air and space force. As previously stated, even one incident is too many and we owe the cadets a program all associated with the jrotc can learn, grow and thrive. Aggressively taking action to focus on the safety and wellbeing of theng cadets and wanted to ensure the congress and thee American People know that we take these responsibilities seriously. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today and i look forward to your questions. The chair would like to offer the motion for unanimous consent that we enter into the record a new yorkk times article that s the subject of this hearing dated july 9, 2022. Without objection, so ordered. The chair recognizes himself for questions. Ive had the opportunity to serve my district for more than 20 years. Our highest priority across the board for all of our members both sides off the oil has been the health and safety for our sons and daughters in uniform. We take that responsibility extremely seriously that we must have the commitment to protect those that serve and sacrifice on behalf of our freedom. There can be no higher responsibility. Sospon the subject of todays hearing which is the sexual abuse andas harassment of jrotc cadets which in most cases our children. I think it might be helpful to hear from our witnesses where thees gaps are. One would be the preparation of our instructors, jrotc instructors and are we instructing them in a fashion, and it is apparently at great variance from state to state and School District to School District whether certifications are necessary or teacher training is necessary, whether the degree to which we require and engage and understand in what thehe responsibilities are. Theres also an organizational gap between the jrotc end of the military and School Districts and a lack of clarity in terms of the lines of responsibility. I think its a case by case basis, depending on the understanding between the jrotc end of the particular School District. I understand that is not uniform. En then theres the reporting issue as the New York Times pointed out theres the question of the reporting of abuse and whether or not that is seriously followed up. From the production of retribution because many of them said they felt trapped and that they were jeopardizing the potential benefits of the fouryear program if they indeed reported their abuse to a superior. Theres also the chain of command aspect that overhangs this whole situation. Theres a question about the removal of, and this is repeatedly brought out in the article the removal of instructors because a number of these individuals eventually convicted had records of prior abuse but havent been taken out of the process and then support from the victims as well to make sure that following any allegations they are reinforcedi and supported and helped. Let me start with you, mr. Constable. In those areas could you indicate where you think we might renew our efforts to strengthen some of those vulnerabilities . Thank you, mr. Chair man. We look at this across the board just as described, inconsistency is probably a characteristic that is fair to apply and i as e look across the population of cases in front of us and the Program Overall we see 3400 ydifferent schools. Where we are headed is pushings towards policies that would standardize such things. Standardization is the word Going Forward for the department of education to bridge some ofge those gaps where we dont have access into the schoolrooms. Personal data for children is a very sensitive issue anyhow. So there are different rules and policies that we dont have access to. If we cant get there still we will be there to work with the committee to see what will be done d Going Forward. The lack of clarity within the schools is very understandable. Again these are primarily different from the environment of a military unit where the Service Members serve. These are High School Students living the High School Students life and when elected throughout the day the junior rotc program. In that context, the schools offeredm to them resources for immediate reporting and local access to Law Enforcement et cetera. To makeea sure they are meeting the requirements. We willl look to standardized again not just about the orprocedure that includes everybody from the school all the way up to us and the department of education. To define the specific details of the case. Thank you. Ive exhaustedve my time. Now the Ranking Member. S statistics show its worse than a regular school and theres maybe not the appropriate alarm here ton the testimony. Why are you worse than an average School District that hires teachers . Why are we so far behind even that a standard . I cant speak with any familiarity with in districts concerning teachers but we are very alarmed at every instance that is reported in the article or that we have become aware of otherwise. Would you besh afraid to put yor kid in a Jrotc Program in a regular school . I visited some of our units last week in preparation of the hearing to make sure i have some understanding of what the conditions looked like and i had this conversation with two principles in both cases the principles said to me in 23 instances out of 100,000 of course thats not good but in our particular county we have many more allegations against teachers. I didnt do anything to hunt down those numbers but that was the response i got at the local level. There are way more teachers thanng jrotc i didnt attempt to get any further clarification are they criminally referred or did you discover Something Like this to say move to another state or whatever . When we receive the information from the schools its from those that we received the information. We suspend the certification of those involved and cooperate with the investigation of the incident. The investigations are conducted locally and are under local Law Enforcement supervision. We are not directly responsible for those investigations. However, if the matter is not resolved to our satisfaction it is likely certification would remain. How many have been criminally charged . 23 belong to the departmentt of o the navy and recollection s 11. I could get a better number for you. How many of yours were criminally charged . We had the instances that were substantiated and decertified and we have 12 thatr are pending. I will return to the committee to follow up about which ones were criminally charged. We should know that because obviously someone someone that would go on to molest children in other settings unless something is done, i want to start with some other questions. Are there any patterns regarding the demographics, age, gender of Sexual Misconduct allegations . We dont have today available those specifics on the demographics that we understood the question from the session and we are going to have f to gt backo to you with a better answr the nature of gathering the information isnf very sensitive. I would think you would have it in todays world. Led by local Law Enforcement and School Officials can you importance of the structure of doing it that way . Within the high school that even includes the jrotc instructor. When the allegations are made, the school is notified, the programs are notified a little differently for each of the services and so we are aware so they hold the certification but for the criminal allegation, thoseri are best dealt with by e local authorities. Thank you very much. I think the gentle man for yielding. During the work weve worked extensively with members with several other committees thereve been a number of women who stepped forward and have been champions and protecting members of the military from sexual abuse. One of those is ms. Wasserman schultzma of florida it was done heroic work in this area and is now recognized for five minutes. Thank you so much, mr. Chairman. I appreciate your kindness and thank you to you for having this really important succession and focus. Thousands of Public Schools across theho country yet instructors who oversee these impressionable young people have little oversight or trainingg ad i find this issue particularly concerning in my home state of florida as more programs than thany other state. In florida the jrotc was charged with Sexual Battery after driving one of the students home. And to compound the tragedy that the student was denied the trauma suffered for the military personnel testified that the Defense Department needs to both take a hard look at the Background Investigation process. What steps or changes have been made for the new instructors and have any of those changes been implemented . Am the services presently use different but similar Background Investigations for each of the instructors but they all go through a certification process. Going forward, the first recommendation iss to take a lok at how we do the certifications as Background Investigations to see if we cant standardized. Recommendations for the changes in thisr calendar year. This would be at the top of the list. And there it is. It doesnt really soundd like theres a tremendous amount o of urgency. You also said in your writter testimony of the army needs to improve its process for inspectors specifically you testified the Army Recognizes it as an underreported time with extra care in the vetting process for followon background checks is crucial. Alwhat improvements are the Army Planning to make . Congresswoman, we have already moved out as far as improving our vetting process. I would like to echo that we do share what to specifically have you done to improve the vetting process . Right a now we are working on ruling out our existing instructors that reminds them of their duty to students to uphold the armyts values. Im sorry, reclaiming my time. What part of that has anything to do with vetting . You realize that is not vetting, right . The army currently uses the fbi background check that is the highest level of checks for the instructors and if there is anything that appears that needs to go back for additional vetting before. Reclaiming my time because i ssonly have 24 seconds left. You stated the army started requiring all to undergo the Childcare National Agency Check and increase and usean it, quot, the cornerstone of the vetting process. In your testimony yout wrote the air force will not require jrotc to pass the agency checks and inquiries in april of 2023. Why are they pursuing this requirement . Congresswoman, thank yount fr the question. I just want to emphasize we are learning our best practices from some of the policies and procedures the army has put into place. We are aggressively moving forward to implement that check. It is on top of a 20 year history for all of the military retirees that in order to be certified, the eligible instructors it is part of our rereview. We also are making changes to address the vetting issues you articulated. We noticed the gap with of the new School Administrators who are not familiar with our memorandum of agreement. Atwe are expanding the training modules they are required to complete and we are putting in new processes and programs into the weeklong training process prior to them receiving ng ive heard nothing about additional vetting or background making sure we dont have people with a dangerous history responsible for supervising tools and its troubling they appear to flip through the vetting process and why they havent used this opportunity now that they revealed they should haved known already to make sure they have processes and procedures that are supervising our young people in the Jrotc Program. This is shocking. I appreciate the opportunity to shed light on this issue because we are endangering the military without making sure we have the vetting and to ensure we have people who are safe to be in these roles. Thank you for the indulgence, mr. Chairman. I yelled back. There is great disparity in terms of the vetting process. I did note in some of the Opening Statements the reference was made to the fbi had been adopted by one of the branches. However that must be made and i would embrace any effort the gentle lady from florida would have legislation to that end. Thank you mr. Chairman. There were allegations of misconduct and instructors of those 26 allegations, the instructors wereio decertified d before if so are their options to temporarily suspend and instructorss certification . Congresswoman, the army flags anyone under investigation which means they cant have any positive personnel action taken on their behalf while they are under investigation. They are immediately removed from the classroom pending that investigation. Does the army have options to removes instructors from the classroom . Is it entirely up to the school to do that . We have strong partnerships with our School Districts and we work with them to remove those under investigation from the classroom. Mr. Wegner, in your Opening Statement you said that the different School District background check requirements present a vulnerable to the end of the chair man just mentioned about the fbi vetting process and that the air force is adopting the Childcare National Agency Check and inquiries Background Investigations requirements for all air force jrotc instructors and applicants as a way to address this vulnerability. This background check system will it be utilized prior to an applicants placement in the school and how does the system differ from what the air force has used until now . Congresswoman, this process is now on top of the current vetting process. All air force instructors have a military records check which is a comprehensive review which an instructor was conclusively discharged honorably. We are now adopting this background check that is the Gold Standard which was referenced earlier in the fbi background check which is prior to any instructors eligibility and certification. Then once a certified and eligibleif instructors hired bya local school they undergo the local schools individual background check that is done in the same way they would perform for any other instructor. A followup, mr. Wegner. Does the air force have a mechanism in place where a student can report misconduct directly to the services and if so, how are students informed of that a option . They shined a light on some of the gaps in the program and as you identified while there is a website with information for people to reach out to the headquarters, what weve done is weve already taken steps to modify the parental consent form. The parents and the cadets assigned at the beginning of the year to include specific information on how to reach air force jrotc with any concerns. What about the navy . Excuse me, congresswoman its possible for the cadet to reach out to the Program Manager or to the program directly to make an allegation. However, i have to say the units i visited the principals are very clear they view investigations into allegations related to that misconduct as inside of the building issues with School Employees they feel ownership of and to some degree we have to rely on the report that is is to engage the processes with the certificate of instructors upon receiving allegations he added that moves up from the classrooms after whichti we work with the partner schools to ensure students are safe. For the other services, can students report directly . Every student through the local programs through higher hierarchical structure one of the policy directives we handed out Going Forward is to ensure they have all the necessary information to report these incidents and allegations directly. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I yelled back. The chair recognizes the gentle lady from california who is the chair of the house Armed Services committee, subcommittee on o military personnel and who erive worked with extensively n this issue. I was able to be a member of the congressional delegation that investigated the same issue in fortre hood texas, but she has been the leader on this issue in the United States congress. The gentle lady from california is recognized. Mr. Charan, thank you. Let me applaud you for holding thisfo hearing. I am not going to sugarcoat this. This is a scandal. Its one that each and every one of you need to take ownership of. Ne it is chilling to think after weve beenli addressing this ise for over ten years within the military where we know that cases exceed 20 to 30,000 a year and only 5,000 report and we know the chain of command has been part of the problem. To come and see this going on in our classrooms in high school is traumatizing to me to be quite honest. Youve known about this since 2017. Back to the New York Times article, we would know nothing about this. With the New York Times investigation to somehow inform you of what you should be doing. 2020, 2021 why didnt someone raise the alarm that we have a huge problem. These are a half a million kids and we spend a half a billion dollars. To somehow suggest that while its up to the schools and we have to lead local law let locaw enforcement handle this, thats frankly be yes. And i think there needs to be an absolute comprehensive review because let me tell you what happens. The air force base is a great example. There were 30 military training inspectors with of the 17, 18, 19yearolds that were sexually assaulting over 60 of their trainees. Because they wanted to just get out of the Training Program and move on. So, to start with, i think everyone of these individuals we been decertified, i think you need to go back in each of your services and determined by interviewing the students who were taught by that particular individual whether or not they were sexually harassed because we dont know the depth of this. Sixty cases i cant begin to think how many people were impacted. And youve got to take ownership of it. Beyond that, i think most of these people are former military, is that correct . Weve got 100 former military. Many off the same individuals were sexually harassing and assaulting in the military. Cases were swept under the rug. They were predators. So dont think that alone is going to provide any counsel or security to you or to the families. And in some respects i feel we should just shut down the program until you get it right. They will stay with them the rest of their lives. Youve known about this and have done nothing about it since 2017 that we know of. I want to know to what extent you can bring the socalled instructors who were former military have them reviewed, separated for unprofessional conduct and have the pensions stripped. That is i think what should happen. And if we could legally do that i hope the colleagues will think about ways of promoting that in the future congress. But this is beyond repugnant and youve got to take ownership. I yield back. The gentle lady yields back. The chairr recognizes the distinguished gentleman from texas for five minutes. Mr. Chairman, you are very grateful and i want to thank everyone for allowing me to be on the subcommittee today to discuss the matter of great importance to the National Security. I myself am a product of the university of the program and its inexperienced im incredibly grateful for. Its a program thats not surprising to me that the benefs so many about a halfat a million young men and women in the country almost 3500 units across the country and what the jrotc does is allow the introduction to military life and values and service and provides a structure and skill set and strong sense of duty and teamwork so its very important. Its unfortunate this Incredible Program has been besmirched by predators and make no mistake. Those that harmed the youth deserve nothingta but the full force of the law it is paramount to the Successful Program and im glad in thank you for having this hearing. We spent a lot of time examining issues of military so i want to take a different tact. It concerns me that only 1 of the adult populationon served in the military and the dod report is recently 77 of young men ad women between 16 to 20 are ineligible. They have no interest and desire and never considered serving. Across the board we are having trouble with recruiting. The army missed the recruiting goals and its expected to be even worse this year. They missed of the goals by 2,000. The air force might the activeduty goal by creative accounting with of the late entry and now they missed the reserve component entirely. At the critical juncture we are facing a pending crisis. Junior rotc is playing a Critical Role where people can have a positive interaction with the military service and thats why its under threat to so for the sake of student safety and both of which matters with National Security for oversight and transparency within the Junior Program its important because of the facts that we share as it relates to the recruitment and instructors needed to be held accountable and have the reputation of the services to be protected. What is each of the service is doing to create the positive interaction and engagement with a broad civilian population . Thank you and thank you for your service. It would be best if you will indulge me to allow them to speak to how each of them does it within the surface. I would like to start by saying we share your concern. We are taking this very, very seriously. We understand the effect this has on the services with large and the effect its having on thee recruitment. The rotc programs are a staple in the community and i mentioned how many millions of hours theyve undertaken in the service as a core part of the programs. It really does go ade long way o instill the citizenship and the duty to country. Theres a number of ways that they are encouraged in the army program. As far as the other branches is at the same or is there anything different that wasnt just articulated . If i could very similar im sure my colleague from the air force would also add can i add on f top of that we understand e challenge and we do take it very seriously although it may appear we do take it very seriously and we understand they were attempting to draw from this pool the future recruits and services with respect to how we ensure the safety at the school level if i understood you correctlyt each of our instructors receives how to engage at the local but my opinion this is one of the areas we need to focus a little bit more strongly to begin doing just that. How we maintain that distance and yet remain relatable to the teams is extremely important and we are attempting to. We are requiring the Activities Forum that will be assigned but taking a step back one of the things i want to emphasize, the air force reviews this not as a recruiting program but a Citizenship Program that helps the cadets and young people develop a sense of confidence and skills and understanding of discipline it might beli their only experience throughout most of their lives. The lens underscores why the program is absolutely so critical as the divide grows. Next year is the 50th anniversary of the all volunteer force and we are working aggressively to take steps to help narrow the Civil Military divide in the Successful Program where every student feels safe at the core of doing that. To work in this regard while she is a member of the house Armed Services committee she also brings the perspective of the cabinet so the chair recognizes the gentle, lady from pennsylvania for five minutes. Thank you. I appreciate that and thank you for the opportunity to waive. I want to associate myself with the comments. Serving in the air force i remember they were almost people who formally wore the uniform, so im very much confused by the fact they theoretically are people that have been vetted, who have a deep history of service and theoretically we should know about the background and so i would like to sort of put that over here and also struck by mr. Wagoner you were the only one who mentioned possibly some sort of emphasis on women and i think your words were female instructors so i wonder if you can drill down on the 20 of Service Members and increasing to about 30 to anticipate in the decade. Is there something there having . This is exactly some of the steps weve taken since the time showed. I looked at it and asked our folks at headquarters the 50 of the population of women weve got a growing number of upwards of 25 in the air force and yet the instructor core is 92 male. The female cadets are 40 female. Weve got the wrong balance and i think aligning that gender disparity better will have a Significant Impact on this program. One of the key questions and concerns of the committee is they feel like they have nowhere to turn. If we have 100 and the air force of the perpetrators were male. If i might be able to interrupt, what is this cadre were core and is it in existence or just the thought or idea . When the article came out one of the first questions i asked was tell me the program demographics. Tomorrow im flying down to the headquarters in Montgomery Alabama to work on a plan ive asked them to come up with ideas and im going to help them shape and open up. This will have immediate tangible impact on the safety of cadets in the program. As a best practice and something we should be implementing in places like coatesville high school, they ghare the majority minority andi think that it is important that we make sure for them being able to see themselves and the people leading that there were to be more emphasis on women who are helpingha in that leadership. What remains in my time, mr. Secretary, i would like to highlight some of the New York Times l article that spoke abot the training as near as i understand it is a Training Course and of that it has to do with supply and having also been a teacher ibo was a former High School Chemistry teacher and i can tell you theres a whole lot more to teaching than just what happens in yourmo lesson planni. What have you learned and is there anything that you are changing inin the weeks that you have been training to focus on boundaries and student relationships . Thank you,st congresswoman. Standardization is our watchword and the training each instructor must receive we want to make sure its the right amount of training and that its the right thing and clearly the logistics ofnd signing for textbooks is probably not paramount and we will ensure Going Forward that its comprehensive enough to addressur the issues. What remains in my time can you share with me a little bit of the approval process for instructors again conflicted by the fact is they largely are people who are serving or have served in your law firm previously. 100 people who served honorably and retired from the military. Each of the surfaces has the process by which a retiree applies for certification as an instructor. They go through the background check and requisite checks for the services and when they met the standards of their then certified as instructors that includes the training and they are offered aser candidates for schools to hire as a certified jrotc instructor. If you would indulge me pennsylvania where i come from for the oversight of the jrotc and should we be working for the department of education to ensure the better coordination of transparency . We owe the members of the committee the response to that. Working on this issue for some time, i went down to fort hood texas and very active on a case of a young woman who was a constituent it had been active on this issue. Ms. Garcia for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Chair man and thank you for allowing me to waive and for the record the rotc at one of the local high schools. We know that there are programs around the country and i think it is worth mentioning the to 70 of them are in the south in high poverty title i schools much like other high schools in my district so this has not just an impact on anyone that joins. The lack of action coming from the department of defense and all the military branches. Five years. The representative mentioned its been going on since 2017. Five years. But it wasnt until the New York Times article comes out. Quite frankly with no disrespect to anyone it doesnt appear to me to say youre outraged. Im just not feeling it. The article came out i think it was august or september and all that we can specifically mention is the childcare testing and may be increasing vetting. You said you had a short list. What does that mean . We are talking about young women potentially being assaulted and abused. I saw the list shared with me. It makes me even more concerned. Are you aware of the letter that we sent in september we sent you a list of about six or seven items. Will there be a database in the department of defense to make sure that they are no longer certified or handling the children involved and go through the list for the record. Have any. Of these items made te shortlist, and if so, when are we going to see real action, and i want to specifics. Congresswoman, thank you. Immediately following to take stock of the programs to review every one of the memorandum of agreement that outlined the terms of the instructors in each of the schools. Following up on that and having received your letter along with others, those are the topics within the working group across the department as we put together my shortlist but im saying is we are looking for the things we can do now versus the things we can do down the road working with of the education. Can you be specific. What is on the subject list that you have . The policy initiatives we look towards primarily when i say the shortlist for the standardization. To standardize the memorandums of agreement to ensure we have a process we can inspect against regularly and to act as a reminder of the obligation in the classroom. Is there anything in your list thats a directive to all for the uniformity in the background check and testing . It hasnt been reached whether they are going to doth that now. It is a recommendation that will go forward and right now about the sanctions the Background Investigation for these purposes we believe Going Forward the standard one will look like the childcare one but i think we want to make sure we are not leaving any aspects the other services might be using. It appears to me that the general guidelines if you will should there be some directives about what must be done to addresss this issue the in each branch doing their own thing it just seems to me every Service Person and member of the rotc should be treated equally and have the same access to the system and be able to talk to someone. It is disappointing to see that its taking a New York Times article after five years of these cases going on for you all to act on something and i would expect that we would get a report on what specific actions are being taken with firm timelines because otherwise weve seen they failed and it appears to me all the branches are failing and that is our pipeline. Your impacting the poverty area minority students and that is totally unacceptable. With that i will yield back. There was a need to harmonize with beyond that that in process do we have an enhanced vetting process that is suitable to all of our entities here . Is there a way to optimize and collect best practices that are recognized by the rotc sectors in each branch . Is there a way to provide the greatest level of protection . Not only from the vetting standpoint and also the education standpoint the accountability standpoint and educating the students so they know they are protected if they do need to come forward with allegations of abuse. All that needs to be addressed and put on a high timeline and if there is something we can work on in a bipartisan fashion any deliberate timeframe but we are looking for high deadlines to get the stuff implemented and adopted. Thank you for your testimony. I do have opening remarks i did not do in the interest of time i like to submit this for the record and also regarding oversight where some of these where ryan i had a complaint local high schools and that facility it was deplorable i thank you should be an oversight role for the department and the different choices. Without objection so ordered. The three major cities that eshave the most Jrotc Program is in those cities that i am aware that more than half of those programs are people of color, young cadets who come from families that are struggling economically and have a greater need for support and direction. We have to make sure we are cognizant of the fact and we appreciate the fact and that we structure our response in a way that is focused on that vulnerability that does Greater Service to those young people and families because weve all seen what can happen i do know with the arrival of the full committee and the chair will recognize if desired the gentle ladyad from new york for fiveminute. Whether or not you have sufficient funding or staff to have oversight im concerned we dont have the necessary resources in place to conduct oversight for the 3500 jrotc units operating across the country. You stated the air force employs nine Regional Directors who each oversee 97 jrotc units that does not ipsound like effective oversight. Sounds iq are understaffed. How many staff positions does the army currently have in place to oversee the 1700 Jrotc Programs . Chairwoman with your indulgence i will take it for the record. I know that there are eight brigades that report but im not sure the exact number. Can you provide the number for the navy quick. If i could i would like to take it for the record but in each structure we have Program Manager regional director and area manager and then then we do have the talent out there to do that. I will concede there are challenges. Funding contributes to the ability to bring in more staff no question. What impact do the inspections have on the air force ability to effectively identify a problems within the individual jrotc units . This is exactly one of the reasons we are currently undertaking a manpower study. The 97 one regional director is inadequate and we have to do better. We are looking to lower the number 30 one. Not every three years but annually. And as we put resources to the program we feel we will have better outcomes. Thats good news and we look forward to funding your efforts information provided by a dod shows the other military services are not consistently evaluating these units in accordance with dod instruction it only conducted inspections annually for approximately one third of the jrotc units and why is the army unable to evaluate with jrotc . We understand how important and valuable our oversight function is. We are looking to do better. I do have a schedule of inspecting units every third year and looking at ways we can improve our oversight. You have commitment we will provide the Committee Information to do better. It back to us what resources or personnel are needed to make those evaluations annually by required by dod instructions. So the sustained Jrotc Program is lacking i look forward to working with all of you and our republican colleagues to ensure that we provide the dod and military services with the necessary tools and funding you need to get the job done we cannot expect you to do the job if youre not funded. We look forward to working with you for more effective oversight. These are the future leaders of our military and we need to make sure they are not traumatized but positive experiences and their character and strength grows and is not attacked in any way. Thank you for what you do to keep us safe. We appreciate your military service. We are deeply grateful and i yield back. Enclosing thank you to the witnesses for their testimony. I appreciate the seriousness with which you take this issue and i am very grateful for the energy and attention that so many members on both sides of the aisle have put into this issue. This hearing has demonstrated that and that is the first step with dod and military services has a long way to go y to ensure the safety of all jrotc cadets. Is my expectation that we need to maintain contact and stay in touch with the subcommittee about the progress with the vetting and training process but the variant in the mo you they reach with the whole School Districts that also welcome the opportunity to work with all my colleagues who offer great suggestions and recommendations on where we go next. As part of the subcommittee effort to hold dod accountable for implementing these changes. With that thank you to the panelist for remarks and i look forward to working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle i do know the Ranking Members hand is waving so i will pause Closing Remarks to give him an opportunity to respond. I didnt want to bang the gavel. Thank you for coming today. To be honest i was disappointed in what you did not know. I was disappointed that i felt there was a lack of a sense of urgency. Sometimes with the governmentil we feel we have our job so we have our job and we just chug along and not do things right. This is a serious problem. We have a Sexual Assault problem much worse and a better and safer environment with jrotc and then them private schools i hope that urgency comes across with the other questions that have been given to you. In the state legislature i felt the same way that there is a lack of a sense of urgency that you should have known. For thank you for having the hearing mr. Chairman. Without objection all members of five legislative days toti submit questions which would be forwarded for their response f i asked the witnesses to please responders promptly as you are able if you receive a request. This hearing is adjourned. Thank you. [inaudible conversations]