Is There a Gap in Our Military's Sexual Harassment Policy Between Senior Leaders and Commanders Who Implement the Policy

The focus of this research paper is to review the Department of Defense's (DOD) current Equal Opportunity (EO) policy and discuss how the policy of sexual harassment "Zero Tolerance" has been implemented in the armed services by senior leaders (0-7 and above). The effectiveness of this policy relies heavily upon the ability of commanders to indoctrinate this policy and influence its intent throughout all levels of their unit. Therefore, the focus of this research it to determine if commanders are implementing and applying the policy of "Zero Tolerance" as it was intended by senior leaders. In order to achieve this focus, the research answers the following questions: Is the policy of "Zero Tolerance" too ambiguous or difficult to manage and do commanders have the appropriate knowledge, tools, and training needed to prevent sexual harassment from occurring within their units. To measure the effectiveness of this policy, I surveyed majors attending the 1998-99 Air Command and Staff College in residence course to validate my thesis: Is there a gap in our military's sexual harassment policy between senior leaders and commanders who implement the policy?