[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 5, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E980-E981]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HAZING IN THE U.S. MILITARY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 5, 2012

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to remind my colleagues 
about the ongoing problem of hazing in the United States military. 
Hazing, particularly racially motivated hazing, undermines our 
military.
  Multiple suicides in 2011 by service members of color after suffering 
hazing drew increased attention to this problem. These incidents 
involved dehumanizing service members through racist taunting, 
harassment and physical assault.
  Private Danny Chen, 19, a Chinese American, took his own life in 
Kandahar, Afghanistan in October 2011 after being hazed. Investigators 
found that he had been physically assaulted and taunted with racial 
slurs. Eight soldiers were charged with dereliction of duty, assault 
and involuntary manslaughter in the death of Private Chen.
  In his annual holiday message on December 23, 2011, U.S. Defense 
Secretary Leon Panetta condemned hazing in the military. He later 
directed military commanders to review hazing policies and ensure 
compliance.
  At the outset of this year, our colleagues in the Congressional Tri-
Caucus called for public hearings and hosted a forum on the issue. In 
March, the Armed Services Committees' Subcommittee on Military 
Personnel hosted a hearing on this subject and heard testimonies from 
U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard 
representatives. Those testifying all agreed that hazing is wrong and 
should not be tolerated.
  However, the hearing also highlighted the need for greater 
transparency and regular oversight in order to ensure real, measurable 
success in combating hazing within the ranks of our military. 
Thankfully, a portion of the National Defense Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 2013 calls for annual reports by the U.S. Secretaries of 
Defense and Homeland Security as well as a report by the Comptroller 
General, which will create help define hazing as well as create 
systematic means by which data about hazing can be collected and 
tracked.
  As a result of these reports, we will have the common language, 
tools, data and communication needed to better prevent hazing in our 
military. By learning from our failure to protect Private Chen and 
other victims, we also hope to honor their memory.
  Mr. Speaker, we owe an immense debt to our brave members of our 
military who risk their lives for our national security. I join my 
colleagues in their steadfast effort to make sure that Congress does 
its due diligence to ensure that hazing has no place in our armed 
services.

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