Enhanced protections for prospective members and new members of the Armed Forces during entry-level processing and training

(a)

Defining inappropriate and prohibited relationships, communication, conduct, and contact between certain members

(1)

Policy required

The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall establish and maintain a policy to uniformly define and prescribe, for the persons described in paragraph (2), what constitutes an inappropriate and prohibited relationship, communication, conduct, or contact, including when such an action is consensual, between a member of the Armed Forces described in paragraph (2)(A) and a prospective member or member of the Armed Forces described in paragraph (2)(B). (2)

Covered members

The policy required by paragraph (1) shall apply to— (A)a member of the Armed Forces who is superior in rank to, exercises authority or control over, or supervises a person described in subparagraph (B) during the entry-level processing or training of the person; and (B)a prospective member of the Armed Forces or a member of the Armed Forces undergoing entry-level processing or training. (3)

Inclusion of certain members required

The members of the Armed Forces covered by paragraph (2)(A) shall include, at a minimum, military personnel assigned or attached to duty— (A)for the purpose of recruiting or assessing persons for enlistment or appointment as a commissioned officer, warrant officer, or enlisted member of the Armed Forces; (B)at a Military Entrance Processing Station; or (C)at an entry-level training facility or school of an Armed Force. (b)

Effect of violations

A member of the Armed Forces who violates the policy established pursuant to subsection (a) shall be subject to prosecution under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. (c)

Processing for administrative separation

(1)

In general

(A)The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall require the processing for administrative separation of any member of the Armed Forces described in subsection (a)(2)(A) in response to the first substantiated violation by the member of the policy established pursuant to subsection (a), when the member is not otherwise punitively discharged or dismissed from the Armed Forces for that violation. (B)The Secretary of each military department shall revise regulations applicable to the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretary as necessary to ensure compliance with the requirement under subparagraph (A). (2)

Required elements

(A)In imposing the requirement under paragraph (1), the Secretaries shall ensure that any separation decision regarding a member of the Armed Forces is based on the full facts of the case and that due process procedures are provided under existing law or regulations or additionally prescribed, as considered necessary by the Secretaries, pursuant to subsection (f). (B)The requirement imposed by paragraph (1) shall not be interpreted to limit or alter the authority of the Secretary of a military department and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating to process members of the Armed Forces for administrative separation— (i)for reasons other than a substantiated violation of the policy established pursuant to subsection (a); or (ii)under other provisions of law or regulation. (3)

Substantiated violation

For purposes of paragraph (1), a violation by a member of the Armed Forces described in subsection (a)(2)(A) of the policy established pursuant to subsection (a) shall be treated as substantiated if— (A)there has been a court-martial conviction for violation of the policy, but the adjudged sentence does not include discharge or dismissal; or (B)a nonjudicial punishment authority under section 815 of title 10, United States Code (article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice) has determined that a member has committed an offense in violation of the policy and imposed nonjudicial punishment upon the member. (d)

Proposed Uniform Code of Military Justice punitive article

Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives— (1)a proposed amendment to chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice) to create an additional article under subchapter X of such chapter regarding violations of the policy required by subsection (a); and (2)the conforming changes to part IV, punitive articles, in the Manual for Courts-Martial that will be necessary upon adoption of such article. (e)

Definitions

In this section: (1)The term entry-level processing or training, with respect to a member of the Armed forces, means the period beginning on the date on which the member became a member of the Armed Forces and ending on the date on which the member physically arrives at that member’s first duty assignment following completion of initial entry training (or its equivalent), as defined by the Secretary of the military department concerned or the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating. (2)The term prospective member of the Armed Forces means a person who has had a face-to-face meeting with a member of the Armed Forces assigned or attached to duty described in subsection (a)(3)(A) regarding becoming a member of the Armed Forces, regardless of whether the person eventually becomes a member of the Armed Forces. (f)

Regulations

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section. The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that, to the extent practicable, the regulations are uniform for each armed force under the jurisdiction of that Secretary.