NEWS UPDATES & MEDIA

As a matter of particular interest to CLMP’s Immigration & Deportation Division, which aims to support policies that will allow veterans to lawfully remain in the United States, we have joined with Modern Military Association of America, Service Women's Action Network and Hon. Gordon Tanner to file an amicus curiae brief available in full detail below.

Los Alamitos, California - The Rossmoor resident who has founded a military policy think tank is now front and center of a growing debate by Congress about how to curb sexual assault in the U.S. military.

The announcement by U.S. Sen. Martha McSally of Arizona that she had been raped by her commanding officer while serving in the U.S. Air Force is just another indication that the misguided “Feres Doctrine” is doing irreparable harm to the morale of our military services, according to Dwight Stirling, the CEO of the Center for Law and Military Policy (CLMP).

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Stirling, who lives in Rossmoor, is a former military prosecutor and will soon be the only legal scholar in the U.S. to receive a doctorate in the study of the Feres Doctrine. “It is clear that until Congress finally overturns this misguided doctrine, I don’t think there can be any significant change or reduction in military sexual abuse,” he said.

The Huntington Beach think tank held its first fundraising event at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base in December. Actress and activist Alyssa Milano was a guest speaker at the event.

While the group is still in the organizational phase of development, this week’s Senate hearing that focused on the problems associated sexual assault within the ranks of the U.S. military has called the group to the national forefront.

“We commend Senator McSally for her bravery and honesty in telling her story to the nation,” he said. “But her story, unfortunately, is far from unique. Researchers estimate that well over half of all women serving in the military are at some point sexually assaulted during their military careers,” said Stirling.

“During my 26 years in uniform I witnessed so many weaknesses in the processes involving sexual assault prevention, investigation, and adjudication,” Sen. McSally said. “(Military service) victims mostly suffered in silence,” she said.

“They suffer in silence and will continue to do so as long as the chain of command is responsible for the prosecution of suspects, most of whom are in the chain of command,” said Stirling. Some estimates say 90 percent of victims, like McSally, don’t even bother to report.

“It is outrageous that sexual assault is characterized as an occupational hazard of military service,” said Stirling. “The only way to fix the system is to empower the victims of military sexual assault to hold their assailants accountable in civil court.”

Stirling leads the CLMP, a growing coalition of retired JAG officers, attorneys, military sexual survivor groups, and other advocates, who believe today’s Senate Committee hearing is proof positive that despite attempts by the military to modify the system, the situation is getting worse.

Stirling said he expects to soon visit Washington to begin discussing his proposals with key members of Congress and the U.S. Senate.

On December 15, 2018, the Center for Law and Military Policy was featured on the front page of the Los Alamitos News Enterprise.  Written by David Young, here is an excerpt:  

"Activist actress Alyssa Milano joined a powerful group of military legal scholars and former military prosecutors in Los Alamitos Saturday to express their collective support for a local non-profit organization seeking to reform what they consider to be obsolete military policies.

The mission of the Center for Law and Military Policy (CLMP) is to create legal policy solutions for troubling and lingering issues facing veterans and active-duty service members, said the nonprofit’s CEO Dwight Stirling.

Among the super-sized targets of the Center is a wholesale reform of the so-called Feres Doctrine, a comprehensive set of laws passed by Congress in the atmosphere of World War II that prohibits service members from seeking resolution of civil issues outside the military justice system. The CLMP hopes to tackle policy and legal issues to deal with homelessness, suicide, sexual harassment and others."

Read the full article. 

On Tuesday, December 12, 2018, the Orange County Register ran an article about the CLMP's Inaugural Fundraiser - Sponsored by Rutan & Tucker, LLP.  The article, written by Susan Christian Goulding, is entitled "TV Star, Activist Alyssa Milano to Headline Fundraiser for New Center for Law and Military Policy."  

Here is an excerpt:

"Headquartered in Huntington Beach, the Center for Law and Military Policy focuses on the often difficult transition from military to civilian life, including unemployment and mental health issues. Los Alamitos resident Dwight Stirling, a veteran and USC law professor, founded the nonprofit earlier this year.

Stirling, who served for 20 years as a U.S. Army JAG officer, co-founded the Veterans Legal Institute five years ago. The Center for Law and Military Policy also takes aim at sexual assault against military women. In a recent speech at Chapman Law School, Stirling said that sexual assault victims serving in the military cannot file a lawsuit for injuries they sustain.

Milano, active in the “Me, Too” movement, will discuss sexual assault in civilian as well as military life."

For tickets or media inquires, contact Dallis Warshaw at dallis@centerforlaw.org.  

Los Alamitos, CA — The Center for Law and Military Policy (CLMP) is hosting a fundraising dinner on Saturday, December 15th at 5 pm at the Joint Forces Training Base located at 11206 Lexington Drive, Los Alamitos, California. In attendance will be special guest Alyssa Milano, a prominent leader of the #MeToo movement.

The CLMP is a nonprofit think tank dedicated to strengthening the legal protections of those who serve our nation in uniform. Led by Dwight Stirling, a USC law professor and reserve JAG officer, the CLMP seeks to change policies that harm every day service members. The CLMP’s mission is to understand and fix the systemic problems within the military establishment that lead all too frequently to homelessness, mental health challenges, and suicide.

One of the CLMP’s primary initiatives is to empower survivors of military sexual assault, giving them greater protections within the legal system. Currently, a judicial policy called the Feres Doctrine, stemming from the Supreme Court case of Feres v. United States, prohibits service members from accessing the civilian court system when their injuries are “incident to service.”  Remarkably, the judiciary has held that sexual assault is incident to a service member’s employment, a risk factor that goes along with their job. As a result, the judiciary has said that military sexual assault survivors do not have standing to sue for the physical and emotional injuries that stem from rape and other acts of sexual violence.

The CLMP believes that military sexual assault survivors should be afforded their day in court. It is both irrational and immoral to characterize sexual assault as incident to military service. Such a policy is out of alignment with elemental American values and the CLMP is working to change it.

For more information, visit www.centerforlaw.org or contact CLMP Vice President Dallis Warshaw at dallis@centerforlaw.org.

On October 12, 2018, Dwight Stirling was quoted by NBC News. Stirling, the CLMP's CEO and Founder, is a national scholar on the Feres Doctrine. The article pertained to the tragic case of Navy LT Rebekah Daniels, who died during childbirth due to the indisputable malpractice of Navy medical staff.  Her husband's lawsuit against the Navy was dismissed pursuant to the Feres Doctrine, which prohibits all suits filed by service members.

Stirling, a law professor and reserve JAG officer, was asked about how jurists and politicians see the Feres Doctrine.  “The Feres doctrine does not divide the court members on your standard ideological grounds,” Stirling said. “It tends to scramble the typical calculus.”

Read the article on the NBC website.

Huntington Beach, California – In a positive move for current and former service members, a new California-based think tank has been launched, the Center for Law and Military Policy (CLMP). Led by Dwight Stirling, a USC law professor and reserve JAG officer, the CLMP aims to improve life for the nation’s protectors by fixing the deep-seated problems that lead all too often to homelessness, unemployment, and suicide. 

“It’s not enough to help service members and veterans with their individual legal problems,” Stirling said, who co-founded and led the Veterans Legal Institute for many years. “What is needed now is structural change, improvements to the systemic problems that continue to plague those serving our nation in uniform.”

Fixing the “systemic problems” is at the heart of the CLMP’s mission. 

“It’s remarkable how few protections are in place for rank and file service members,” observed Dallis Warshaw, the CLMP’s Vice President for Policy. “While these men and women risk their lives to keep America free, their own rights are often ignored or disregarded altogether.”

The CLMP conducts conferences and other educational events, including a symposium on military sexual trauma to be held on October 12 at Chapman Law School. The CLMP also publishes the Journal of Law, Policy & Military Affairs, a scholarly journal, and produces a podcast about the civil-military gap called “A World Apart.” 

“Serving in uniform should not make a person a second-class citizen,” said Colonel (R) Carl David, a CLMP board member and Director of Columbia College of Missouri’s Los Alamitos campus. “Ensuring service members are protected is a moral duty of all Americans and I’m honored to be a part of this remarkable new organization.” 

Along with Stirling, Warshaw, and David, the CLMP’s Board of Directors includes Colonel (R) Bob McFetridge, SSgt (R) Jen Burch, Charlotte Clymer, Lieutenant Colonel (R) John Wallace, Grant Frazier, Colonel Mike Cardoza, Laura Riley, Admiral (R) Steve Briggs, and Captain (R) Allison Jaslow.