We have to protect service men and women from hazing

Recently, I joined several of my colleagues in Congress in urging Department of Defense General Counsel Jeh C. Johnson to recommend anti-hazing provisions be added to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.  Making hazing a criminal offense would reinforce our strong belief that hazing has no place in our Armed Services.  A statutory definition would also enable DOD to better track and respond to incidents of hazing across the military.  Earlier this year, after several reports of hazing-related suicides, I joined other members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus in a call for hearings to investigate hazing in the military and to review current policies on this issue.  An Armed Services hearing was held and provisions on hazing were added to the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act.  But until that bill becomes law, our service men and women remain at risk.  The Defense Department should act now to keep them safe.