Combating sexual assault within the military has been a key policy goal of the Biden administration. As his first directive, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a memorandum in January calling for top Pentagon officials and generals to fight the enemy within their ranks to eradicate the scourge. After she had informed a top general of widespread mishandling sexual assault cases, she was immediately suspended from duty.According to Justice William Rehnquist the military is its own society and anyone who speaks outside of this approved narrative are disowned, Braley Franck explained to The Intercept. Braley-Franck is a well-known whistleblower who brought the matter of sexual assault and abuses in command to the attention of the public, starting with the Senate Armed Services Committee. This led to a report by the Biden administration that recommended radical reforms of the military justice system. Braley-Franck was suspended for nearly two years from her position as an Army sexual assault prevention response victim advocate. Braley-Franck sees the decision to suspend her from her role as an Army sexual assault prevention and response victim advocate, by a general she was under, as clear evidence of retaliation. Tuesday will see her appear before a hearing regarding a grievance she had filed with the Army in order to resolve the matter.My case illustrates every aspect of why commanders are failing to perform their duties.She told The Intercept that Secretary Austin must be aware of commanders' willful blindness, retaliation and disregard for his reform commitment. My case illustrates every aspect of why the program is failing. Commanders' willful blindness and retaliation are in direct violation of his commitment to reform, she told The Intercept. Braley-Franck stated that her case shows that the military needs to make more changes if it wants to curb sexual misconduct. Austin did not receive a statement from the Department of Defense regarding the matter.Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stand together during an event at Washington's White House on March 8th, 2021. Biden pledged an all-hands-on deck effort to combat sexual assault within the military. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesSexual assault is a serious problem in the military. The disappearance and murder last year of Vanessa Guilln, 20, an Army Specialist at Fort Hood in Killeen Texas, sparked widespread debate about sexual misconduct within the armed forces. After Vanessa Guilln's death, an Army review revealed that Fort Hood's command climate regarding the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program (SHARP) was not effective. This was due to the permissive environment that allowed for sexual assault and harassment.Austin, a four-star former general, admitted in his January memo that military leaders have failed to address sexual assault. This problem has been a problem for years, I'm sure. It was something I tried to solve myself, and he shared his experience with senior military leaders. It is time to face the harsh truth. We need to do more. Biden supported Austin's endorsement of the Independent Review Commission on Military Sexual Assaults' recommendations to remove investigation and prosecution of sexual assaults from the chain command and to create highly-specialized units to deal with such cases. Biden thanked everyone who was part of the IRC for their tireless efforts to provide thoughtful, effective and actionable recommendations on how we can eliminate sexual assault and harassment in the ranks.Braley-Franck contributed her expertise to the commission by serving on a panel consisting of victim advocates and military sexual assault response coordinators. She also met one-on-one with Lynn Rosenthal, the chair of the commission, and thanked her for her invaluable contributions to the work of the commission. Braley-Franck was still suspended from her normal duties. Braley-Franck was a victim advocate for the U.S. Army Reserves Illinois-based 416th Theater Engineer Command. Braley-Franck discovered that the unit had been mishandling sexual assault complaints over the years. She accused commanders of the units of opening inappropriately internal investigations of sexual assault complaints instead of referring them to criminal investigations. According to Army documents reviewed by The Intercept, in October 2019, Braley-Franck informed criminal investigators about allegations of sexual assault in the 416th. The Army opened an investigation targeting her. A slew of allegations were investigated, including inappropriate work attire (including a short skirt) and racial bias claims with no outside witnesses. There was also a charge that Braley Franck violated Defense Department regulations regarding contact with victims of sexual assault and reaching out to the media.I tried every option. The last option was to go to the Associated Press.On November 20, 2019, she was finally suspended. This came just one day after she had sent an email detailing the 416ths handling of sexual assault allegations. Braley-Franck was accused of violating the D–SACCP Department of Defense Sexual Assault Advocate Certification Program code of professionalism ethics. The Army has not yet specified the specific parts of that code of ethics she was suspended from. Braley-Franck's frustration with inaction regarding sexual assault claims led to her contact with the media. She claimed she tried to report the allegations up the chain, but they didn't go anywhere. She explained that she tried every possible process. The last option was to go to the Associated Press. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin wrote to Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy asking for an investigation. The investigation eventually led to Maj. General Miyako Schanely losing her command, administrative action against two other senior leaders, and 12 other noncommissioned officers and civilians being issued official reprimands and other disciplinary actions. Schanely was also responsible for Braley/Franck's suspension. On the same day as Schanely's findings were announced by the Army, Braley-Franck's investigation was also closed. These findings, which were authored by Col. Rodney Abrams and documents shared with Braley-Franck suggest that many of these allegations are based upon debatable assumptions and scanty or contradictory evidence. Abrams wrote that I found Ms. Franck's conduct in reaching out to the victim of an alleged sex assault on or around 28 June 2019 was against Defense Department regulations as well as the D-SAACP professional ethics code. He cited Maj. Andrew Johnson's statement as proof: Johnson asked Braley Franck to contact the victim. Braley Franck is the 416ths victim advocate. Johnson wrote in it: I formally request that the VA conduct a follow-up session with PVT [name changed]. Johnson didn't respond to a request of comment. Abrams declined to interview and referred The Intercept for comment to an Army spokesperson. Abrams found that Braley Franck did not respect the victims' right to privacy and confidentiality, even though she provided documents to the AP. Abrams cites an article that states that Braley-Franck failed to respect the rights of the alleged victims to privacy and confidentiality by providing documents to the AP. Braley-Franck said that she had not been notified of her rape until June 2019, after which no one else assisted her. I never violated any victim rights or privacy. I reported multiple soldiers being raped and aggravated assaulted, including a 17-year old who suffered broken bones. These commanders broke federal law by failing to report these crimes the MCIO Military Criminal Investigation Organization.Amy Braley-Franck is second from left at the ribbon-cutting ceremony of Vicenza Military Community Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program Center. Maj. Gen. Darryl A. Williams, Monique Y. Ferell, and Capt. Harrison M. Zabell, left; and Lt. Colonel Eric A. Baus (right), in Vicenza, Italy on October 7, 2015. Photo: Davide Dalla Massara/U.S. ArmyRosenthal, Independent Review Commission Chair, stated that anyone supporting survivors of sexual assault should be removed form the command reporting structure. She explained to The Intercept that victim advocates and sexual assault response coordinators need to be able focus on victims' needs so they don't have to worry about what might happen to their careers. They are there to represent victims and find flaws in policies. Harrington was eventually fired and stripped of his star.
