On the recordMay 17, 2012
I have a personal reason for offering this amendment. My nephew was a victim of military hazing, and it killed him. Harry Lew was serving in the Marines in Afghanistan when his peers ordered him to dig a foxhole, to do push-ups, like crunches and planks, with his heavy, full body armor and a 25-pound sandbag. They stomped, kicked, and punched him, and poured the entire contents of the sandbag onto his face and in his mouth. It lasted a full 3 hours and 20 minutes. Twenty minutes later, he committed suicide. I thank Chairmen McKeon and Wilson and Ranking Member Smith because this bill takes the most significant steps to protect servicemembers from hazing--ever. My amendment adds a GAO report so we can have an objective analysis of the DOD's antihazing policies. It also adds an annual report to Congress on what the DOD is doing to prevent hazing so that we can ensure there is real accountability. Mr. McKEON. We have no further requests for time, so I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
