Tony Thurmond: “I am sympathetic to the Brownback amendment, however, last year, the Congress established a commission to review the…”

“I am sympathetic to the Brownback amendment, however, last year, the Congress established a commission to review the conduct of military training and gender-related issues, we should await the outcome of its findings. That commission is constituted and working. One of the areas which the commission must specifically address in its final report is a recommendation as to how to provide for a safe and secure living environment for young men and women in basic training. This amendment would preempt the work of the commission by establishing a statutory requirement that basic trainees be housed in separate barracks. I join Senator Brownback and others in insisting that the military services provide a safe and secure environment for all military personnel, but especially those in basic training who may be the most vulnerable. On June 8, 1998, Secretary Cohen asked us not to legislate a specific solution as Senator Brownback's amendment does. Secretary Cohen urged that we give the Service Chiefs the flexibility to house and train their personnel in the manner determined to be most effective for that service.”