Job cuts delay Pentagon plans to expand work to prevent sex assaults and
suicides
[April 29, 2025]
By LOLITA C. BALDOR
WASHINGTON (AP) — 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.
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The Pentagon is seen from Air Force One as it flies over Washington,
March 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
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.
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