Standing as Iraq War veterans, Reps. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) have an in-depth perspective on life in the U.S. Military.
After seeing this week's Pentagon report on military sexual assault cases, both women stood as elected officials, calling for change to a system they see as broken.
Appearing on CNN's "State Of The Union", both Duckworth and Gabbard blasted the military's handling of the situation.
“I want the military to be a place where women can succeed and thrive the way I was able to," Duckworth said. "And the military leadership at this point has shown that they have not been capable of fixing this problem."
Gabbard echoed Duckworth's sentiments, calling for an independent outlet that allows victims a "check and balance" to address cases safely.
“We have to make sure we are investigating those who are retaliating and abusing their positions of command or power,” Gabbard said.
President Barack Obama took a similar tone earlier this week. At a Thursday rally in Texas to resurrect jobs proposals, his "bottom line" on the military sexual assault problem left no room for error.
“I have no tolerance for this,” Obama said. “If we find out somebody’s engaging in this stuff, they’ve got to be held accountable, prosecuted, stripped of their positions, court-martialed, fired, dishonorably discharged -- period.”
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