Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld tapped a high-level Pentagon health-policy expert Thursday to steer a new task force investigating how the military responds to sexual-assault cases.
Ellen Embrey, deputy assistant secretary of defense for force health protection and readiness, will head a panel expected to be staffed by representatives from each military branch, Pentagon officials said.
Last week, Rumsfeld ordered a 90-day investigation into the military’s handling of sexual assault cases after The Denver Post reported that dozens of women soldiers returning from combat have sought assistance from victim-advocacy organizations for attacks committed by fellow service members. The women cited poor health treatment and flawed investigations.
In a separate move Thursday, U.S. Air Force officials pledged to send a team of investigators to Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, to examine how the pilot training center deals with sexual assault complaints, according to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.
The Post reported Wednesday that, in a year’s span, two dozen women stationed at Sheppard had sought counseling from a civilian crisis center for sexual assaults by other service members. Hutchison then pressed Air Force Secretary James Roche to launch an investigation and, in a followup conversation yesterday, Roche promised to dispatch representatives from his branch’s inspector general office.
“I am pleased with Secretary’s immediate response, and I think it is the right thing to do,” Hutchison said. “I will stay in touch with the Air Force as this inquiry moves on.” Sheppard officials did respond to requests for comment.
But the leader of a New York City-based veteran-rights group said the military’s investigations should be viewed cautiously.
“The problem with these investigations is that they’re conducted from within,” said Tod Ensign, director of Citizen Soldier. “The military is a self-interested group dealing with its own command structure. Historically, they have closed ranks and investigated themselves with very little results.”
Real reforms, Ensign said, will only come from a serious independent inquiry. Congress is conducting its own investigation.
Pentagon officials declined to reveal details about the new task force, except to say it will include members from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, inspector general and legal offices.
Embrey, a civilian, has worked in the federal government for more than 26 years, largely in policy roles. For the last three years, she has served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for force health protection and readiness. Embrey has been instrumental in authoring and revising a variety of DOD policies covering health and deployment issues. Last year, she testified during a congressional hearing that her department was revamping procedures to ensure better health screening for troops being deployed after a General Accounting Office investigation found weaknesses in her department’s practices.
She was not available for comment, according to the Pentagon.
Rumsfeld launched an internal investigation last week in response to members of Congress who said they were concerned about Post reports of assault among women troops overseas. The Senate Armed Services Commitee plans to hold public hearings into the problems but details have not been disclosed.
Miles Moffeit can be reached at 303-820-1415 or mmoffeit@denverpost.com Amy Herdy at 303-820-1752 or aherdy@denverpost.com.
