WASHINGTON — A growing debate over the ability of the armed services to investigate sexual assault and harassment provides a backdrop of controversy to President Joe Biden’s commencement address this week at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. It comes amid a high-profile case at the academy.
Legislation is being drafted in both chambers of Congress that would put an independent body in charge of investigations into military sex crimes. This would bring changes to all branches of the armed services.
Coast Guard leadership had been under scrutiny for more than 18 months after the December 2019 release of a congressional report about mishandling of assault and harassment complaints. The service and its elite rescue swimmer program were also the focus of a yearlong series of stories, “Silenced No More” in 2020 by the Miami Herald and McClatchy.
