During the panel's mid-September site visits to Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune, N.C., Whelden talked about domestic violence. Even so, the general noted rates of substantiated abuse in the Army have decreased in the last four years. In his old job, Whelden used to tell battalion and brigade commanders that the rate of substantiated spouse abuse is about one in every 1,000 married couples. Unsubstantiated cases are a higher number than that, and those that never get reported are a higher number than that. Whelden said he worries that most domestic violence victims are unaware of the help available to them.
Control is a major issue in many of abuse cases.
Installations have different forms of outreach programs, he said. Some are more robust than others. Fort Carson, Colo., for example, sends a van into the local community to distribute information about all the Army Community Service programs. When a soldier comes in, the unit finds out if they're married and where they live. If off post, the van goes out to visit.