Rep. Chu to make personal plea against military hazing

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), whose nephew committed suicide in
Afghanistan after he was hazed by his fellow Marines, will join the House Armed
Services Committee on Thursday for a hearing on military hazing.

Chu has spoken out on military hazing since the death of her
nephew, Lance Cpl. Harry Lew, last year, and she held a news conference last
month calling for hearings on military
hazing.

{mosads}After one of the three Marines who was charged in Lew’s case
was given a 30-day sentence and reduction in rank, Chu said it was “a slap in the
face” to her nephew’s life.

The other two Marines accused of hazing Lew were
acquitted last month.

“These numerous and violent hazing incidents and the lack of
justice in Harry’s case show that hazing is not taken seriously by the military,”
Chu said at the February press conference.

Thursday’s hearing, where military officials from all the
services will testify, is not the first time that Chu has joined the Armed
Services Committee to talk about her nephew’s death. She also took a seat on
the panel for a hearing on military suicides last year.

At that hearing, she asked the military officials testifying
about their hazing policies, and all said they condemned it.

Chu’s nephew was beaten and hazed after he fell asleep on a
security post in Afghanistan. He killed himself 20 minutes later.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said
in December that hazing in the military “is simply intolerable,” in response
to another suicide case in Afghanistan where eight soldiers were charged.