In just two months since the launch of our campaign to reform the DoDIG system, the response has been overwhelming – hundreds of petitions have been submitted, with more flowing in each day. Every submission of the petition found here conveys one clear message: the members of our military do not trust the IG system and desperately want to see substantive reform.
Many of you have requested to be contacted by the Foundation to discuss the specifics of your case. Rest assured, we will contact you as soon as practical. (Un)fortunately, we have a rather high caseload right now, but we are working diligently to close those out whilst onboarding new advisors. (Be sure to check that email from walkthetalkfoundation.org is not spam-filtered).
In the interim, we have authored an article about what you can continue to do in this endeavor.
Please take a few minutes to read “What Can You Do?” here.In the meantime, continue to spread the word! The more courageous servicemembers that come forward, the higher the chance we will see reform through!
Complete the petition to bring about IG reform here.Further, we are requesting supporters write to their Congressperson and the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in order to incite much-needed change in the dysfunctional Whistleblower Reprisal Investigation system.
Length of our longest-open DoDIG reprisal “investigation”:
Why we are petitioning Congress…
Very few military members retain any faith in the DoDIG Whistleblower Reprisal Investigation system. Time and time again, they have witnessed what transpired in the DIA case: investigations are delayed, sometimes intentionally, and/or not carried out in good faith, resulting in zero appreciable action at the end of what many would label as “farces” of investigations.
The spirit of Whistleblower Reprisal law 10 USC 1034 is three-fold: to hold perpetrators accountable, to offer restitution for victims, and, ultimately, deter future acts of reprisal. The system in its current state accomplishes none of these three aims. Investigations move glacially and because of the exorbitant time and lack of due process, as seen in the DIA affair, even in the case of a rare substantiation, there is little chance any of the three aforementioned aims are achieved. In the end, victims are left without recompense, perpetrators not held accountable, and future acts of reprisal are not deterred. The ultimate second-order effect which we now see: members of the military have completely lost faith in the DoDIG system.
Furthermore, victims of reprisal in the military are afforded no counsel which translates to them having to go out-of-pocket for legal representation. This is an incongruous gap in the military justice system since that very system affords counsel to military members for even the slightest of administrative functions and infractions.
Moving forward, we ask you to engage with your Representative on initiating much-needed reform in the DoDIG system, specifically:
— Accelerating investigations from a matter of months/years to weeks,
— Ensuring Inspectors General are trained and can operate independently and free from undue command influences,
— Holding those Inspectors General accountable for not carrying out their duties in good faith,
— Providing legal counsel for military members who have been the victim of reprisal/restriction.
