Duckworth, USMC Commandant Berger Discuss Combatting Sexual Assault & Rise of Extremism in Marines

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) who served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years, virtually met yesterday with General David Berger, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps (USMC), to discuss actions that can be taken to reinforce USMC values across the Corps, prevent sexual assault and combat the rise of white supremacy and other extremist ideologies among servicemembers.

“General Berger and I had a productive discussion today about how we can work together to root out white supremacy and domestic terrorism from the Marine Corps and build common understanding of respect and shared values among Marines to prevent sexual assault.” Duckworth said. “Both of these issues impact good order and discipline and harm our military’s recruitment and retention efforts, and I look forward to working with General Berger to find and implement solutions.”

Earlier this month, Duckworth joined her Democratic colleagues in introducing a resolution denouncing the pervasive threat of domestic terrorism and white supremacy and calling on the FBI and the U.S. intelligence community to immediately review the threat posed by domestic terrorist groups. Days after the insurrection, Duckworth also wrote to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) requesting that DOD cooperate with FBI and U.S. Capitol Police in investigating whether members of the U.S. Armed Forces and military retirees engaged in the insurrection or participated in a seditious conspiracy that used force to oppose the authority of the United States.

Last December, Duckworth commended General Berger at a December U.S. Senate Armed Services (SASC) Subcommittee Hearing on Readiness hearing for his leadership in removing the Confederate flag from Navy and Marine Corps installations.

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