Few soldiers assigned to domestic violence care finish programs at Fort Bragg

Few soldiers assigned to domestic violence care finish programs

By Greg Barnes
Staff writer

Fort Bragg sometimes orders soldiers who commit domestic violence to deploy before they have finished court-mandated programs designed to correct their abusive behavior, court and military officials said.

There are two primary programs for abusive soldiers: The county operates the RESOLVE program, and Fort Bragg oversees the Marching to Change program. Judges refer soldiers to both, and a review committee at Fort Bragg sends soldiers to the on-post program, as well.

Numbers provided by Fort Bragg and the county show that less than half of the soldiers enrolled have completed either program. A variety of reasons are listed for the failure to finish, including deployments.

In Cumberland County, District Court judges often defer prosecution for soldiers who commit domestic violence, allowing the soldiers to clear their records if they abide by the terms of their probation. Many times, those terms include the completion of the RESOLVE or Marching to Change programs.

Debby Tucker, executive director of the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence, calls the numbers "very discouraging."

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Few soldiers assigned to domestic violence care finish programs