WASHINGTON D.C., DC — A U.S. House Subcommittee on Military Personnel received testimony Wednesday on the progress of policies that were established to address sexual assault in the military.
The Department of Defense established an Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military (IRC) in February 2021.
The IRC was directed to provide recommendations on how to improve the military's approach to how sexual assault is handled.
The commission released what it called a "tiered implementation roadmap in consultation with the uniformed and civilian leadership of the Department," on Sept. 22, 2021. Those policies can be reviewed here.
The response came in the wake of the death of Fort Hood soldier Spc. Vanessa Guillen.
Guillen was killed on post April 22, 2020. Her remains were found June 30 in Bell County near the Leon River.
According to a FBI criminal complaint, Spc. Aaron Robinson killed Guillen in an armory room on post.
He moved her body in a crate and with the help of his girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, dismembered her body and buried the remains.
Aguilar told investigators with the Texas Department of Public Safety Robinson killed Guillen because she saw a picture of Aguilar on his phone.
Aguilar said Robinson was worried he would get in trouble for violating the military's fraternization rules because Aguilar was married, according to the DPS report.
Guillen's family said she told them she was being sexually harassed but did not report it to her superiors for fear of retaliation.
An investigation revealed in April 2021 Guillen was sexually harassed, but not assaulted, by a superior noncommissioned officer in her unit. It was not by Robinson, according to the investigation.
President Joe Biden signed a bill in December, 2021 that included the "I Am Vanessa Guillen Act." It allows victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military to report incidents outside of their chain of command.
The hearing Wednesday included testimony from Under Secretary of Defense of Personnel Readiness Gilbert R. Cisneros Jr., Under Secretary of the Army Gabe Camarillo, Under Secretary of the Navy Erik Raven and Undersecretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones.
Watch the Hearing:
