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 OfficersTraining 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 OfficersTraining CorpsProgram 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 reti