Job cuts delay Pentagon plans to expand work to prevent sex assaults and suicides

The Pentagon is seen from Air Force One as it flies over Washington, March 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

WASHINGTON — Personnel cuts across the Defense Department will delay plans to hire at least 1,000 more civilians to help prevent sexual assault, suicides and behavior problems within the military, senior defense officials said. But they insist that crucial programs aimed at addressing sexual misconduct and providing help for victims are so far not affected.

The officials told The Associated Press that plans to have about 2,500 personnel in place to do this prevention work throughout the military services, combatant commands, ships and bases by fiscal year 2028 have been slowed due to the hiring freeze and cuts.

But they said they are looking to spread out the roughly 1,400 people they have been able to hire to date and try to fill gaps as best they can until the additional staff can be hired.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel decisions. Spurred by pressure for budget and staff cuts, they said they are looking for efficiencies to ensure this prevention workforce is the right size and that tax dollars are being spent well.

Their comments come as two senators have written to Pentagon leaders expressing deep concerns that sexual assault prevention and response programs may be targeted for cuts or elimination.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the leaders of the military services, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said they worry about the “mere possibility of significant alterations or termination” of programs addressing sexual assaults and harassment.

They urged Hegseth to ensure that victims of such misconduct will be supported, offenders held accountable and no changes will be made to reduce the Defense Department’s services.

“Even minor reductions risk compromising decades of progress toward ending sexual abuse and harassment in the Department,” the senators said in the letter obtained by The AP. “Prompt action is essential to reinforcing victims’ belief in the words of their leadership.”

The two lawmakers have long fought for improved programs to address sexual assault in the military and more aggressive prosecution of assailants.

Budget and personnel cuts ordered by the Trump administration and billionaire ally Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have slashed thousands of jobs across the government workforce and services.

The defense officials acknowledged that hiring delays will hurt efforts aimed at a wider array of problems, ranging from suicides to abusive behavior and other bad conduct.

Plans for a prevention workforce to address that broader spectrum of issues began in 2022, when sexual assaults and suicides were spiking. Officials concluded that they needed a more integrated effort to work with service members who were experiencing pressures tied to work, deployment, home, money and more that could lead to violence.

The defense officials also said that military programs to combat sexual assault were part of a recent wider Pentagon program review to make sure that federal regulations were updated to include the changes made in the past several years. Those included changes to sexual assault prosecutions so that decisions are made by independent prosecutors.

In a statement, the Pentagon noted that the regulations creating the sexual assault and prevention officers were reviewed to ensure they complied with new government efficiency guidance. It said all of the sexual assault-related policies remain in effect.

“The Department remains committed to the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program’s goals of providing service members with recovery assistance, ensuring that offenders are held accountable, and ensuring mission readiness,” the statement said.

One of the defense officials said that because the military services have taken different approaches to how they staff the new prevention workforce, they may see gaps in different places. For example, in some cases, leaders began building staff by geographic region. Slowing the hiring, said the official, will mean that some regions will have gaps or fewer staff than planned.

As a result, the department will try to fill some of those holes in whatever ways possible, including shifting personnel to cover regions not yet fully staffed by the services.

Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press