Rep. Judy Chu Calls for End Of Hazing in Military

New military hazing rules could be part of annual defense bill
Military Times
By Leo Shane III
March 1, 2016

Rep. Judy Chu wants the military to finally get serious about ending hazing in the ranks.

Lance Cpl. Harry Lew, 21, killed himself April 3, 2011, in Afghanistan after being hazed by fellow Marines, according to an investigation. His aunt, Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., wants anti-hazing legislation to be in the next defense authorization bill.

(Photo: Courtesy of Allen Lew)

The California Democrat, whose nephew committed suicide in Afghanistan five years ago after a hazing episode by fellow Marines, on Tuesday petitioned House defense leaders to include new anti-hazing initiatives in the upcoming defense authorization bill debate, saying that Pentagon leaders simply have not done enough to address the issue despite years of focus from Congress.

Her renewed criticism stems from a Government Accountability Office report released last month which found poor oversight and enforcement of those initiatives, and still-scattered data on the frequency of such crimes in the ranks.

“Today we have an independent analysis that found that the Defense Department’s anti-hazing policies are not being implemented, training is unclear and tracking systems are highly divergent and underdeveloped,” she told members of the House Armed Services Committee. “DoD is not aware to the extent of which hazing policies have been implemented.”
read more here

Pentagon Has No Clue How Often Hazing Happens?

Military hazing is often horrifying — and the Pentagon has no idea how often it happens
Washington Post
Checkpoint
Dan Lamothe
February 12, 2106

The GAO released the investigation’s findings this week, reporting that the services have no uniform way of tracking the practice and unclear definitions of what constitutes hazing in the first place.

Five years ago, 21-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Harry Lew kept falling asleep while on guard duty in Afghanistan, a major gaffe for any infantryman in combat. His sergeant told two other Marines in his unit that “peers correct peers,” and so Lew was punched, kicked and forced to do pushups, crunches and other exercises in the middle of the night while wearing body armor, according to a Marine Corps investigation of the incident. Soon after, Lew turned his gun on himself and ended his life.

Lew’s suicide jump-started a debate: What constitutes hazing in the military, and what should the Pentagon do to crack down on the practice?

Lew’s case generated significant interest in Washington in part because of his aunt: Rep. Judy Chu (D.-Calif.). She pressed successfully for an independent investigation by the Government Accountability Office, saying that the stories of her nephew and other victims of hazing — generally described as abusive behavior meant to correct a mistake or earn one’s way into a group — showed the military clearly needed to make improvements.

When surveyed, however, more than a third of male Marines (14 of 39) and and nearly half of female Marines (eight of 17) said they had experienced hazing during their military career. About a quarter of male sailors (10 of 40) and female sailors (four of 15) reported the same, the GAO reported.
read more here

“My Mom Deserves to Know the Truth.”