The Forty-First Kenneth J. Hodson Lecture in Criminal Law

• Author: Loretta Sanchez
• Pages: 265-280

2013] FORTY-FIRST HODSON LECTURE 265

THE FORTY-FIRST KENNETH J. HODSON LECTURE IN

CRIMINAL LAW1

* Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez represents California’s 46th Congressional District.

She began her congressional career in January of 1997 and is currently serving her ninth

term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

A recognized leader on military and national security issues, Representative Sanchez

is the second-highest-ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. She

serves as the Ranking Member of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, where

she is working to prepare Armed Forces for a new generation of security challenges.

Representative Sanchez is also a senior member of the Subcommittee on Strategic

Forces, where she served as Ranking Member during the 112th Congress. Representative

Sanchez is a leader in securing non-proliferation programs funding. She works to

implement missile defense systems that are effective and efficient. Democratic Leader

Nancy Pelosi appointed Representative Sanchez to the prestigious Board of Visitors of

the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Ms. Sanchez also sits on the U.S. Air Force

Academy Board of Visitors.

Representative Sanchez is the leading voice in Congress for women in the military.

She is founder and chair of the Women in the Military Caucus and is the highest-ranking

female on the Armed Services Committee. Representative Sanchez championed efforts

to allow female service members to serve in combat roles. She has implemented

significant measures to fight sexual assault in the military, successfully updating outdated

sexual assault provisions in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. She also led the

legislative effort to implement a sexual assault database in the 2009 National Defense

Authorization Act, Public Law 110-417, and to mandate rules for use of rape kit

examinations. Representative Sanchez fought for better accountability of commanders

by requiring commanders to conduct climate survey assessments in order to ensure

healthy environments for service members. She has been a leader in improving oversight

of sexual harassment cases in the military through thorough records of substantiated

sexual harassment cases.

As a member of the House Homeland Security Committee and Subcommittee on

Border and Maritime Security, Representative Sanchez provides strict oversight on

important security issues, including the Transportation Worker Identification Credential

(TWIC) card program and the US-VISIT Program. She guided key maritime security

provisions through Congress in the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act (Safe

Port Act) in 2006. She is also a member of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and

Intelligence.

A product of public schools and Head Start, Sanchez is a graduate of Chapman

University and American University’s MBA program. Before serving in Congress, she

was a financial manager at the Orange County Transportation Authority, an assistant vice

president at Fieldman, Rollap and Associates, and an associate at Booz, Allen, and

Hamilton. Congresswoman Sanchez is married to Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Jack

Einwechter. They have a son serving in the U.S. Army.

1 This is an edited transcript of a lecture delivered on April 23, 2013 by Congresswoman

Loretta Sanchez to members of the staff and faculty, distinguished guests, and officers

attending the 61st Graduate Course at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and

School, Charlottesville, Virginia. Established at The Judge Advocate General’s School

on 24 June 1971, the Kenneth J. Hodson Chair of Criminal Law was named after Major

General Hodson, who served as The Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army, from 1967 to

1971. General Hodson retired in 1971, but immediately was recalled to active duty to

266 MILITARY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 218

CONGRESSWOMAN LORETTA SANCHEZ*

Good morning, General Chipman, General Miller, General Darpino,

General Cuthbert, Colonel Carpenter, faculty, students, judges, and

friends. It is an honor to present the Hodson lecture in military justice.

I believe that I am the first non-lawyer to present this lecture, but

don’t worry because I have seen many episodes of Law and Order,

NCIS, JAG, CSI-Miami, and I slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night. I

am also married to a retired Army JAG, who formerly served as a

professor at this wonderful institution.

Since 1997 I have visited American Soldiers, Marines, Airman and

Sailors in many remote and dangerous places, including the Horn of

Africa, Afghanistan, Iraq, and the jungles of Columbia with the Army

Special Forces. I know what you do for our Country, and I have seen the

hardships, the mortal threats, the risks that you face. I have also seen the

sacrifices your families endure in these times of war. I am truly honored

and privileged and humbled by the service that you have given to our

country. So, I want to begin by thanking you for all you do.

I come before you at a very critical time in our nation. It is time of

war and dynamic change in the United States military. We are living in

an age of unprecedented threats, when our forces have been in combat

for over twelve years. And we have seen dramatic changes in our

military, in warfare, in the means and methods of war, in the way we

organize, in the way that we fight our wars.

One example of such change is the repeal of the gender-based

Combat Exclusion Policy, which we hope will end what I call the “brass

ceiling” of the military. This change was not an exercise in social

experimentation. Like you, Congress is committed to a strong and ready

and effective military defense capability. Repeal of the Combat

Exclusion was done to enhance our military readiness in recognition of

the heroic contributions of women warriors, especially during the last

twelve years of conflict. It has been said that “truth is the first casualty

serve as the Chief Judge of the Army Court of Military Review. He served in that

position until March 1974. General Hodson served over thirty years on active duty, and

he was a member of the original staff and faculty of The Judge Advocate General’s

School in Charlottesville, Virginia. When the Judge Advocate General’s Corps was

activated as a regiment in 1986, General Hodson was selected as the Honorary Colonel of

the Regiment.