Sen. Martha McSally, whose story of sexual assault while serving in the Air Force rocked the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill, said on Thursday that the spike of sexual-assault and harassment reports in the military gives urgency to the need to address the pervasive problem.

McSally, a freshman Republican from Arizona, has made eradication of assaults and harassment a signature issue since revealing her story of rape by a military officer earlier this year.

At McSally’s request, the Pentagon created the Sexual Assault Accountability and Investigation Task Force to develop policy recommendations to improve the handling of assault and harassment claims and to ensure justice for both alleged victims and alleged offenders.

The task force released its recommendations on Thursday as the Pentagon issued its annual report showing a significant rise in unwanted sexual contact in the military from 2016 to 2018. That report surveyed Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine personnel in 2018.

Unwanted contact ranges from rape to touching.

The task force's recommendations include: establishing "a specific criminal offense of sexual harassment"; improving long-term storage of evidence gathered by investigators during sexual assault cases; expanding the judicial authorities for military judges and magistrates; developing a policy that would allow victims to more fully protect them if they filed a "restricted report," enhancing the protections and support of victims; and bolstering training and education requirements for commanders.

"The Department will use whatever resources are required and bring the full weight of the Department of Defense to eliminate the scourge of sexual assault in our ranks, and encourage more Service members to come forward and report sexual assault and sexual harassment, so Commanders can hold offenders appropriately accountable and ensure good order and discipline," the report said.

During a phone call with reporters, McSally said she agreed with the recommendations, and reiterated her position that additional trained special-victims counsel and experienced judge advocates, investigators, and prosecutors are needed to ensure cases are worked quickly.

"They are doing the best they can, but they are under-resourced and under-manned, and so I believe this is a readiness issue," McSally said. "Just like when we have other readiness issues where we need bombs and bullets and training hours, we need to invest more resources into this process to make sure we're addressing the shortfalls we've seen throughout the different bases I've visited."

McSally said she's seen a responsiveness to address the problem that she has not seen before from military leaders.

"Their term to me was that I sent off a 'shock wave' in the Pentagon when I did what I did," she said, "and people are really looking long and hard at what else needs to be done, and are being extremely responsive to me as I push them on many issues."

McSally served more than two decades in the Air Force and she was the first female U.S. pilot to see combat. She told her story during a March 6 hearing of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel. The hearing was intended to prevent and better respond to sexual assaults in the military in the future.

McSally has not identified her assailant or disclosed details about when or where the rape occurred. When she did report her assault, she has said was "horrified" by the way it was handled.

Have news about Arizona's U.S. senators or national politics to share? Reach the reporter on Twitter and Facebook. Contact her at yvonne.wingett@arizonarepublic.com and 602-444-4712.

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