Bill > S3180

This bill requires the Secretary of Defense to develop and present a plan, along with a briefing, to the congressional defense committees by May 1, 2013, detailing the Department of Defense's (DOD) strategies for preventing hazing, which is defined as any conduct that causes another member of the Armed Forces to suffer or be exposed to cruel, abusive, humiliating, oppressive, demeaning, or harmful activities, including soliciting or coercing such actions, and can be verbal or psychological. The plan must outline efforts to provide hazing prevention training, improve reporting methods including anonymous options, and establish procedures for responding to and resolving alleged hazing incidents, potentially leading to prosecution under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), a set of laws governing military personnel. A key component of this plan is the creation of a database to better track the extent and nature of hazing incidents and to improve the DOD's ability to manage and resolve them, and the Secretary will also provide recommendations for a universal definition of hazing and any necessary changes to the UCMJ and its associated manual.