I am asking these questions because im trying to find out you know do we have seen that sexualharassment leads in many cases to Sexual Assault. And so we have to be cognizant of trying to handle these things and these issues and to put it on peoples herds so we dont promote them and move them and let them know that well i got away with it in this case. Sometimes its a sort of situation. So my next question is about the air force commanders conduct in Climate Assessment. The g8 report in september of 2011 told us that this was consistently done. How is this done in the air force in the fiscal year 23 mda that climate reports have to be done . There are two reasons why people dont like to do them we learned when commanders are resistant in conducting them and the command lacks an equal opportunity at pfizer. So what are you doing about this because we know if we had Climate Assessment some of this harassing kind of a situation might have bent put forward. What are you doing now . The gentleladys time has expired. I would like to put in the record mr. Chairman. Mr. Turner . Thank you mr. Chairman. Appreciate you holding this hearing and the other hearings you have also held in your attention on the legislative side to addressing the Sexual Assault issue. You have been a leader on this and ive appreciatedo andhe cochair of the prevention caucus. You have been a great advocate as we have worked with the senate on these provisions. Gentlemen we know why t penshere we come to this time where we say how in the military could there have been such a systematic right down of leadership and not no . We know why and it is absolutely yn issue of culture. To pass legislation but until we break the culture that allows the en make these changes from the seats in congress. They have to come from the seats that you have in the leadership there you have and i t thank you because i believe you have turned to this issue or go but i want to focus on the issue of culture to really identify why thethis issue first of culture. By marine who came forward with the allegation of rape and was subsequently murdered by the accused and had been revictimized by the system in my office provided assistance to her and we all know her story from the movie the invisible war in in the marie lawton by case and want to read a letter i got back from them range. After shed been viciously murdered writer accused we contacted the marines have asked them how could you not know that she was at risk for a Violent Crime for a violent action or assault and they actually wrote back this letter to me, which i have here from the tenet general crem which marine corps staff. Asked him this question. Does the rape accusation in nearly contained threats and this is the letter i got back. Lauterbach never alleged any violence or threat of violence in neither sexual encounter so first i have a question that is relatively simple. Have you ever heard of a nonviolent rape . Gen rice . No. General welsh . No congressmen i have not. I appreciate that because that is the answer ive gotten from every hearing and that is basically part of the culture understanding that this is a crime and its violence and i want to tell you another story. Ive a question for either. We were at the marine commandants house sitting around his dining room table my cochair nick tsongas was there and he can incorporate the story. We are wrapping a discussion on the issue culture and the need to change the culture in the department of defense and we were all done. We had all identified issues that needed to be addressed in the morning, dons wife said before everyone leaves you need to hear this and she turned to a senior female officer who was sitting around the table and said to her, could you tell them what you told me earlier . If you are subject to a Sexual Assault would you report its . And she said no. As the marine senior female officers sitting at the commandant, dons table and she said no. I would like to address that issue with both of you because clearly that is the culture. The concern is the fear of coming forward but the fact that they would be subject to revictimization and their career would be subject to a disadvantage and as we hear all the stories of the victims they basic issue we have is their concern or fear of coming forward. I want to ask both of you. You have to see the culture of the military that part of the problem of what happens in this case and the number of cases you have is the fear of people who are fit dems. I want to ask you to discuss that. The fear of the victims and how you change that culture. The second thing as and general welsh he madeacomment that i kind of cringed at because i hear this and the military and its a term that goes partly to some of the disconnect of the view of this. You said we have to stop bad behavior. Its not bad behavior. Its a crime and i think the people around it the nonvictims they dont feel comfortable because they have a similar fear and we only have 30 seconds of you could comment on that. The bad behavior was referring to is the behavior before a crime is committed by people who officially commit a crime and we dont stop the adverse behavior. Of the potential perpetrators. The key to solving this problem, every time i talk to an air force officer the first question i ask about this issue is why on what was undoubtedly the worst day of the victims life did they not turn to us for help . We stand beside them in combat areas and we go to war with them and protect each others lives. We talk about this constantly. We are missing something fundamental in the humantohuman interaction that will allow them to feel safe enough to come to us and report and lets put our arms around them and help us through that horrible event in their lives. You are right congressman that is at the heart of the problem. Gentlemen if you make that your priority we will be able to go a long way in being able able to address this. Ms. Tsongas. Yes congressman turner has alluded to the fear factor for pairing i think you know there are many of us on this committee to take this issue very seriously and many who have worked so hard to address it and move you all a heads. So i thank you both for the efforts you have put forth to address sexual misconduct. Its a crime that continues to shock us with regularity. But i asked her if there was prevalent as i was beginning to learn and she said man, i am more afraid of my own soldiers than the enemy. So that is still this is a very challenging situation and the cultural change is to change not just among officers, but enlisted Service Members who make up 80 of the force. So as he talked about what youre doing and started not to talk, how do you change culture across the 80 . What are you doing that that level to encourage everyone to embrace the effort to are currently engaged and because if you dont and are successful, we will be coming back again and again and again. You will tell us story, but we continue to hear very shocking situations u. S. A. Will not occur again. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to comment on this. They never said it will not occur again. We cant accept this. We all know that. Human behavior as you well know because youre actively involved in this every single day is difficult to change. I dont believe the entire air force has a culture of Sexual Assault. I believe their unit, places over time as people change in personalities take over the retreat pocket. Thats what happened that this investigation. I dont believe everybody in the United States air force accepts a culture of Sexual Assault. We have officers come and see us come the civilians who have daughters who are working sidebyside with arafat around the world. Theyre not going to tolerate a culture of Sexual Assault. What do you do change the culture not the Wing Commander . Whatever specific steps specific steps you can take to begin to address that quite server simple things. Increase the battle rhythm in addressing this issue. This is a sheet that shows that to descend on every level of supervision for january to march march 2013. Pasting fake videos for this youth air force, commander conferences, fourstar sessions, comanches sessions at every level. It says that the unit level. Every chief insider gets together to discuss this issue. Its commanders close to the squadron level. Roll call at the flag level and its in every training, every pme quarters. Commander is getting the discussion going and keeping it going not just for a short period of time, but so it becomes part of who we are. How do you institutionalize once youre no longer the air force chief of staff . How to make sure that continues click and meet with the Response Team on the air staff because you have two drivers have multiple levels. If im out of town, my bases or runs as verse there Lieutenant GeneralDarrell Johnson are experts in this area. We created to reduce that where you bring in something new, something we havent tried. Some idea somewhere else remember congress, an advocacy group, university or service that tried some thing between a Demographic Group and the logic of implementing only create a battle with them. Were implementing new ideas, assessing how well they work. We continued the ones that seem to be making a difference. Its got to become part of the fabric of how we operate. We talk about it, communicate regularly, come up with the purchase to increase effectiveness. We had to do the same thing on the command site. Gemma ladies time expired. Mr. Kaufman. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you both for coming here today to testify on the problems of Sexual Assault in air force basic training at Lackland Air Force base. One question i have come the general rice, one of the conclusions that it is was to reduce the train time, the number of weeks at Lackland Air Force base, is that correct . It was a recommendation in the investigation, the 46 recommendation i said i would deal with in a different forum. Were looking at the look of basic military training at the length of the training will be determined by training they need to accomplish and not specifically on addressing this issue. Let me just tell you obviously training is inadequate because you have a culture of the United States air force that allows these pervasive assaults to occur by your senior enlisted person now during basic training the purpose of basic training or entrylevel period of training in many branches of service, and ive been through two. Army or inquiries to indoctrinate the soldier and airman, marine or soldier into customs and courtesies into the rows associated with the code of military justice equally. So obviously some in his messina not training. So you need to reinforce the training, not reduce the training they need to come out of their come of the men and women in uniform served in the United States air force with a solid understanding of what the values of the United States air force are because obviously those senior enlisted that perpetrated these crimes were not sufficiently indoctrinated as to the values that the United States air force. Would you like to respond . Yes, sir. I completely agree that what makes this so egregious and military training is exactly the reason you stated, which is this is the place where we have to inculcate the basic alleys of our service on our newest air force. When we violate the trust that we have to do that in that responsibility is difficult to describe the damage that happens to individuals and assets in the dictation. I agree 100 . Everything you write, theres an element of training to this, but at the end of the day we have people who knew well what the rules and policies were, who knew well the difference between right and wrong and decided to make a wrong choice. So part of that i can address this. It has to do people size of what they perceive as wrong and what is right and how i get it that is partially training. But i think ive had to think more broadly about how i affect calculus about actions that theyre going to take. If i would look at this not just a major state respect is, having people make the right decision because its the right decision, but a recognition that some people will not be dissuaded regardless of the training i have peered out that you had to make a calculation of the consequences of their actions are going to be negative enough, so as much as i concentrate on the training piece of this, im also focusing on they detect, deter and hold accountable piece because i know there are people i have to do that with. I would accrue to him a critical that is that i think its important that those entering the service have the moral foundation. The people that dont have a foundation can put into the tapestry to the world. At the end of the day, everything will be a calculus issue described as to the risk and reward for my conduct versus whats morally the right thing to do. I do want to stress that discipline comes from that entrylevel training. Of course i think no doubt it has to be reinforced at all times. Thank you for your testimony today. I yield back. Determines time expired. Thank you for your testimony. I probably represent san antonio, texas, home of Lackland Air Force base. I think when their skin the site is, and is essentially two things that must happen. We need to make sure justice is swiftly served and learn from our mistakes and implement policies to change practices. In regard to that, do we know, have investigated whether any of this occurred at any basic training units and military branches . Was heard to be believed in the last three years there is something specific to that environment it didnt happen somewhere else at a different time. Can he speak to the scope of the investigation and whether there has been an indication of problems anywhere else . I do know and i wont speak for services, but each one of them is the direction of defense committees their military training equivalent program and has reviewed the report we have written on it and looked at the issues we have found as they apply to their system. So i know that there has been a review done by the other services. I cannot speak to what they found as a result of their reviews. Congressman also come the secretary of defense early in process as general rice to come forward and give him an update unwittingly signing. As a result of the initial update, secretary ordered an assessment of military training for other services that is ongoing and will be delivered shortly. I dont have a delivery date, but the next couple. Anything learned from this license are shared. Part of the effort initiated mentioned before and will communicate with the other Services Training programs and make connections for reaching interaction, not after something ugly occurs. We hope to share all this at the other services that have been fully briefed on the findings and recommendations. All of that orchestrated to the secretary of defense Sexual Assault prevention office. Finally, have you seen an effect on recruiting and what has been the effect on morale of the soldiers . No impact that i can tell in this looked on recruiting. Fortunately, we are still able to attract the best and brightest young men and women better nation has to offer and will continue to work on that. In terms of morale, this has been a significant, emotional event for people responsible for the Training Program at lackland. In general, the reaction of other instructors and supervisors when this first started to break was fun that their belief was this was a few bad apples. This does not represent any significant number of mp eyes. I think today they understand although it is 4 of the population, 40 is a much larger number than anyone would have suspect did existed. So theyve had to both recognize that this is in fact a real problem. They have to recognize they have a significant part to play in addressing the problem. I think theyve embraced the changes, many of them, which have run against the tradition of the way weve done things in the past. Part of what we are doing, and where area. This is an ongoing process, is to work to have them understand that they have to take control of this issue. If were going to be fully successful, they have to be part of the solution and this is an ongoing process of transformation that were well on our way towards, but im not in any way ready to declare victory. Thank you, general. I yield back. Thank you. Mr. Runyon. Thank you, chairman. Kind of getting through talking about culture environment, compared to your first Weather Service says, how much of it have either of you ran the numbers for seen the numbers . , near people comfortable in a situation and created about consider changeover in Holding People accountable more often than not . General rice, d. C. Were going with that . Let me answer the question. If i dont answer fully, please reask it. I agree having people especially in an environment that can be as challenging as basic military training for too long a period of time exposes them to the issues and challenges that can be corrosive over time. We have to Pay Attention to how long we allow someone to serve in these positions that is part of the solution as we move forward. Theyre going to restrict the last time you can serve as an error, for example, to three years. It used to be four years. We are going to divide the duty day and half feature not having contact during that entire duty day with trainees. Its a way of getting up this issue of exposure over time that we believe can be very corrosive, both in terms of an individual and development of a culture. Culture sometimes is used in a negative way. Every group of people, whether two, 200 or 2000 is the way human beings react to each other. Most aspects are very positive. How we relate to each other, reinforce each other. Theres lots of elements of culture i want to have as part of basic training amongst trainees and trainers said they can reinforce the positive elements of what they have to have a part of this environment. You have to be careful with that cultur