Navy secretary pulls sexual harassment investigative authority from unit commanders
Commanding officers must now escalate sexual harassment reports to higher-level commanders
BY ANDREW DYER
APRIL 22, 2022 5:27 PM PT
Unit commanders in the Navy and Marine Corps will no longer have investigative authority over sexual harassment allegations, according to a department-wide message sent Friday by Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro.
Effective immediately, the message says, commanding officers must escalate complaints to the next higher-level commander, who will then appoint an investigating officer. That investigator should be from outside the command and “shall not be familiar with the subject or the complainant,” the message says.
The interim policy includes a carve-out to allow an investigator from within the same command to investigate, however, if that next-level commander determines an outside investigation would “unreasonably interfere with the command’s ability to complete its mission.” Such a carve-out requires sign-off from at least a one-star admiral or general, the message says.
The change comes on the two-year anniversary of the murder of 20-year-old Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén, who complained about sexual harassment at Ft. Hood, Texas, before her killing.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/military/story/2022-04-22/navy-sexual-harassment-authority
