Sexual assault in the National Guard

From this report on a recent congressional hearing:

At the heart of [Rep. Jackie] Speier’s concerns is the process by which the Guard investigates allegations of assault and harassment. Any allegations are first referred to local law enforcement, [Gen. Daniel R.] Hokanson told lawmakers. Then, if the local authorities decline to pursue the case, the state’s adjutant general can request that the Bureau’s Office of Complex Investigations conduct an investigation.

The OCI, however, is “not a criminal investigative organization,” Brig. Gen. Charles M. Walker, director of the office, told the subcommittee. “We provide administrative investigations as a backstop so the victims and the National Guard will have an opportunity to address sexual violence against its members and to remove those within our ranks who may be perpetrators, in administrative contexts.”

OCI investigations are also complicated by the fact that different states have different military laws outside the Uniform Code of Military Justice, creating a web of different standards to consider.

“Because there are changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, each of the states that have a state code of military justice may or may not make changes as quickly as those adjust,” Hokanson said. “And so we really rely on our OCI as they go out to investigate to really look at the State Code of Military Justice and how it applies.”

Could Congress impose a uniform state code of military justice that kept pace with changes to the UCMJ automatically? Links to the state codes can be found here on the National Institute of Military Justice website.