JUDY WOODRUFF: Today, the Pentagon announced the members of a commission
that will investigate sexual assault and harassment in the military.
In a moment, I will speak with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand,
who has been at the forefront of this issue.
But, first, Nick Schifrin reports how sexual assault and harassment infect the
military's most prominent divisions and what the leadership of that corps is trying to do about it.
NICK SCHIFRIN: The 18th Airborne Corps is one of the Army's premier forces and,
from Afghanistan to Iraq, portrays itself as flying through the air,
attacking through the night, always ready to fight.
But according to a document obtained by the "PBS NewsHour," the corps and its bases have also
been fighting some of the Army's highest levels of sexual assault and harassment.
STAFF. SGT SHAMEKA DUDLEY, U.S. Army: If we can't keep our soldiers safe,
how can you expect our soldiers to keep our country safe?
NICK SCHIFRIN: Staff Sergeant Shameka Dudley is a Russian linguist with a
Fort Bragg-based military intelligence brigade.
STAFF. SGT SHAMEKA DUDLEY: We can get the soldiers more engaged.
NICK SCHIFRIN: She recently presented her suggestions to combat sexual assault to her
commanders at an event they called Dragon's Lair, an unusual effort to hear soldiers' solutions.
Dudley says the problems begin with inadequate training.
STAFF. SGT SHAMEKA DUDLEY: It's always the same PowerPoint slides.
It's -- I have been in for 10 years. I can say I have probably been to 15 to 20
trainings. I will say, I have probably seen a total of four different slide decks. Like,
it's -- it's ridiculous.
MAN: Thirty-seven percent of our cases were NCOs and officers.
NICK SCHIFRIN: And the training sessions,
like this one, are held in a room with hundreds of soldiers.
STAFF. SGT SHAMEKA DUDLEY: How are you going to get 500 people to pay attention? You can't.
Half of them are on their phone. The other half is, like, talking with the person beside them.
And it's just, like, not getting through. And they're like, oh, we just got to do this training.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Dudley's solution? Training soldiers like they're sometimes trained for
combat, with virtual reality, where soldiers are immersed,
focused, and able to go through scenarios. Assault and harassment scenario training
could train soldiers how to act and respond.
STAFF. SGT SHAMEKA DUDLEY: Most kids already have, like, a virtual reality headset or some kind of
V.R. game. So, it's just like, why not just tap onto something that people are already using
to put soldiers in the shoes of another individual?
I want to do whatever I can to make a change for the Army, because I'm going
to be here for at least another 10 years. So, why not make a change while I'm here?
SGT. TAYLOR KNUEVEN, U.S. Army: I never had dealt with sexual assault in the Army before this.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Sergeant Taylor Knueven also presented her solutions,
born of personal experience.
SGT. TAYLOR KNUEVEN: I had not been sexually assaulted in the military
up until last year. And then, when that happened,
it totally changed my perspective on just how toxic the environment can be.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Knueven is assigned to the 101st First Airborne Division.
She says she was assaulted while at the U.S. border as part of President
Trump's military deployment by a soldier two ranks above her.
He then assaulted a female officer. But despite a recommendation to kick him out,
a panel known as a separation board decided to retain him.
SGT. TAYLOR KNUEVEN: I was sitting outside a separation board before I testified,
looking at a poster that says in big, bold letters, "Not in Our Army."
So, for them to retain him says yes in our Army. And I think,
for any of his soldiers or peers that were loyal to him during the process,
I think that they hear the same message, that, look, he got away with it, so it
does happen in our Army, and it's probably going to continue to happen in our Army.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Advocates have called for the military to reform the Uniform
Code of Military Justice, and change the separation boards.
SGT. TAYLOR KNUEVEN: The separation board
was comprised of three people, and they were all three males, all senior military leaders.
So, one, I thought, OK, maybe we shouldn't have senior military leaders that,
whether they intend to be biased or not, undoubtedly have some bias to protect their own.
NICK SCHIFRIN: In a statement, a spokesman for the 18th Airborne Corps,
which includes the storied 101st, 82nd Airborne, and 10th Mountain Division,
says it's already made changes and suggested them to the wider Army.
Separation boards will have members of the alleged victim's gender.
Sexual harassment/assault response and prevention officials will not report to
soldiers' direct commanders. And some training will now be virtual reality.
WOMAN: This is about accountability for perpetrators.
It is about justice and healing for survivors.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Today, the head of a new,
independent Pentagon commission examining solutions unveiled its members.
And on Capitol Hill, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand led a hearing with survivors and their advocates,
and said military justice, currently reserved for commanders, was in the wrong hands.
SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY), Presidential Candidate: Every general,
or commander, that has come in front of this body for the past
10 years has told us: We have got this, ma'am. We have got this.
Well, the truth is, they don't have it.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Knueven hopes the publicity, and the 18th Airborne Corps soliciting ideas
leads to real change, and isn't just a P.R. effort.
SGT. TAYLOR KNUEVEN: I want to know that it was more than just turning in their
homework assignment to their boss, that it was, no, we really do care.