Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for hosting this very important session to give the Marine Corps the opportunity to give us an initial briefing on what they know, and what they don’t know, about reports of abhorrent behavior by some of our Marines using the Marines United website.  It is unusual for this Committee to receive a briefing like this on an ongoing criminal investigation, but this issue is so important that it warrants this kind of attention.  However, we must take care to ensure that we don’t put the Commandant of the Marine Corps in the position of exercising unlawful command influence.  

The nonconsensual posting of explicit photos of female Marines on a public website is repugnant and just plain wrong.  All of us who have had the privilege of serving in uniform know the value of a cohesive unit where all members of the unit looked out for each other and took care of each other.  I can only image the harm that this type of behavior can have on morale and unit cohesion.  Our servicemembers must have confidence that their fellow servicemembers always have their back.  There simply is no room for behavior that humiliates and degrades a fellow servicemember.

In my view, the Marine Corps must and will attack this problem with the vigor that the Marine Corps has demonstrated in battle.  It should begin with a good, thorough investigation to establish provable facts that can be used to hold offenders accountable for criminal conduct.  I will be anxious to hear whether the NCIS has the resources and expertise to fully and completely investigate this matter.  If they don’t, we need to help them get the resources and expertise they need.  Once the investigation is complete, commanders will have the task of taking appropriate action based on the findings of the investigation.   

Aside from the immediate issue of Marine misconduct on the Marines United website, the Marine Corps must also to address the culture that allowed or facilitated this misconduct.  I will be interested in hearing about actions the Marine Corps will take to improve the culture, especially in a Marine Corps that has fully integrated female Marines into its ranks.

With that, Mr. Chairman, I look forward to our briefings, both the open and closed sessions.