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October 5, 2018

The Honorable Mark T. Esper
Secretary of the Army

United States Department of the Army
101 Army Pentagon

Washington, DC 20310?0101

Dear Secretary Esper:

We write regarding the implementation of the Department of the Army?s Expedited Victims
Transfer policy. We urge your immediate attention to this matter to ensure that victims receive
the assistance they need in a timely manner.

In spring of 201 7, Private Nicole Burnham from Andover, Minnesota was sexually assaulted by
a fellow service member while stationed in South Korea. Due to the trauma from the assault and
subsequent harassment from her attacker?s spouse, she requested an Expedited Victims Transfer
to quickly remove herself from the situation. However, administrative delays kept her in South
Korea for more than three months, and Private Burnham tragically took her own life shortly after
arriving at her new duty station back home in the United States. Our of?ces have been assisting
Private Bumham?s family for the last eight months and most recently met with them this week.

According to Army regulations a victim?s commanding officer must approve or disapprove a
request for a permanent change of station (PCS), permanent change of assignment (PCA), or unit
transfer within 72 hours of receipt of the service member?s request. However, the regulations are
not clear on how long a victim must wait for the transfer to occur once it is approved, including
when a personnel ?le contains any administrative ?ags. Additionally, according to Army
regulations, if a victim feels unsafe or fears being subjected to harassment or retaliation, the
command must address these matters immediately and create an environment where the service
member feels safe.

Following the unfortunate delays in completing Private Burnham?s transfer, we urge the Army to
learn from this tragic situation and to review Army Directive 2011?19 that addresses Expedited
Victims Transfers. Specifically, we request that you take the following considerations into
account as you review the policy:

0 Transfer of a victim should be prioritized over outstanding administrative ?ags in a
service member?s personnel file.

0 The commanding officer of the service member?s new duty station must be made aware
of the speci?c circumstances involved in a transfer to ensure the proper support is
provided upon arrival.

0 Maintain records on the time it takes to transfer victims once an Expedited Victims
Transfer request is made to ensure procedures are being follow in a timely manner, as
well as inform future changes in policy.

I Empower victim advocates at each base to push for the timely transfer of the service
member, should delays arise.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter. We must work to prevent situations like
the one faced by Private Burnham from happening in the future.

Sincerely,

N6 01M i< 
Amy Klobuchar Tom mmer
United States Senator United States Representative