HASC Approves NDAA with Gallego Provision to Require DoD Report Regarding Disciplinary Action Following the Niger Ambush Investigation
WASHINGTON, DC – Early this morning, the House Armed Services Committee approved the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act, including a provision authored by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) that will require the Department of Defense to submit a report to Congress containing a list of the awards and disciplinary action taken by the Department as a result of the investigation into the Niger ambush in 2018.
"The Soldiers that were sent to their deaths in Niger, and their surviving comrades, were forced into battle without the right equipment, without heavy weapons, without a clear plan forward, and without a way to get out if things went wrong," Rep. Gallego said. "For the past year and a half, general officers and senior leadership at the Pentagon have bucked responsibility for this disaster, and now it seems that junior officers and enlisted men will be blamed while their senior commanders shirk responsibility. Congress deserves a full accounting, by rank, of the awards and disciplinary action taken by the Department of Defense in response to the Niger raid. The families of those who were killed deserve this transparency."
Rep. Ruben Gallego is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and a Marine Corps combat veteran.