with the conduct covered by the charge as authorized by 
section 815 of this title (article 15). 
‘‘(7) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 
alter or affect the disposition of charges under this chapter 
(the Uniform Code of Military Justice) that allege an of-
fense triable by court-martial under this chapter for which 
the maximum punishment authorized under this chapter 
includes confinement for one year or less. 
‘‘(8) This subsection does not apply to the Coast 
Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Depart-
ment of the Navy.’’. 
(2) APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF PROSECUTOR.— 
For any Armed Force (other than the Coast Guard) 
for which the position of Chief Prosecutor does not 
exist as of the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Judge Advocate General of that Armed Force shall 
establish the position of Chief Prosecutor and ap-
point as the Chief Prosecutor a commissioned officer 
in the grade of O–6 or above who has significant ex-
perience prosecuting sexual assault trials by court- 
martial. 
(b) CHIEF PROSECUTOR AUTHORITY TO CONVENE 
ARTICLE 32 PRELIMINARY HEARINGS.—Section 832(a) of 
title 10, United States Code (article 32(a) of the Uniform 
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Code of Military Justice), is amended by adding at the 
end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) The Office of the Chief Prosecutor of an armed 
force may order a preliminary hearing under this section 
in the event of an allegation of a sex-related offense (as 
defined in section 834(d)(2) of this title (article 34(d)(2))) 
involving a member of that armed force. This paragraph 
does not apply to the Coast Guard when it is not operating 
as a service in the Department of the Navy.’’. 
(c) MODIFICATION OF OFFICERS AUTHORIZED TO 
CONVENE GENERAL AND SPECIAL COURTS-MARTIAL.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 822(a) of title 10, 
United States Code (article 22(a) of the Uniform 
Code of Military Justice) is amended— 
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and 
(9) as paragraphs (9) and (10), respectively; 
and 
(B) by inserting after paragraph (7) the 
following new paragraph (8): 
‘‘(8) the officers in the offices established pur-
suant to section 546(c)(3) of the National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 or officers in 
the grade of O–6 or higher who are assigned such 
responsibility by the Chief of Staff of the Army, the 
Chief of Naval Operations, the Chief of Staff of the 
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Air Force, or the Commandant of the Marine Corps, 
but only with respect to a sex-related offense (as de-
fined in section 834(d)(2) of this title (article 
34(d)(2)));’’. 
(2) NO EXERCISE BY OFFICERS IN CHAIN OF 
COMMAND OF ACCUSED OR VICTIM.—Section 822 of 
title 10, United States Code (article 22 of the Uni-
form Code of Military Justice) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(c) An officer specified in subsection (a)(8) may not 
convene a court-martial under this section if the officer 
is in the chain of command of the accused or the victim.’’. 
(3) OFFICES OF CHIEFS OF STAFF ON COURTS- 
MARTIAL.— 
(A) OFFICES
REQUIRED.—The Chief of 
Staff of the Army, the Chief of Naval Oper-
ations, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, or 
the Commandant of the Marine Corps shall es-
tablish an office to do the following: 
(i) To convene general and special 
courts-martial under sections 822 and 823 
of title 10, United States Code (articles 22 
and 23 of the Uniform Code of Military 
Justice), pursuant to paragraph (8) of sec-
tion 822(a) of title 10, United States Code 
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(article 22(a) of the Uniform Code of Mili-
tary Justice), as amended by paragraph 
(1), with respect to a sex-related offense 
(as defined in section 834(d)(2) of title 10, 
United States Code (article 34(d)(2) of the 
Uniform Code of Military Justice)). 
(ii) To detail under section 825 of 
title 10, United States Code (article 25 of 
the Uniform Code of Military Justice), 
members of courts-martial convened as de-
scribed in clause (i). 
(B) PERSONNEL.—The personnel of each 
office established under subparagraph (A) shall 
consist of such members of the Armed Forces 
and civilian personnel of the Department of De-
fense as may be detailed or assigned to the of-
fice by the Chief of Staff or Commandant con-
cerned. The members and personnel so detailed 
or assigned, as the case may be, shall be de-
tailed or assigned from personnel billets in ex-
istence on the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
(d) IMPLEMENTATION AND EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
(1) FUNDING SOURCE.—The Secretaries of the 
military departments shall carry out subsections (a), 
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(b), and (c) (and the amendments made by such 
subsections) using funds appropriated after the date 
of enactment of this Act and otherwise available to 
the Secretary of the military department concerned. 
(2) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries of the 
military departments shall revise policies and 
procedures as necessary to comply with this sec-
tion. 
(B) UNIFORMITY.—The General Counsel 
of the Department of Defense shall review the 
policies and procedures revised under this para-
graph in order to ensure that any lack of uni-
formity in policies and procedures, as so re-
vised, among the military departments does not 
render unconstitutional any policy or procedure, 
as so revised. 
(3) MANUAL FOR COURTS-MARTIAL.—The Sec-
retary of Defense shall recommend such changes to 
the Manual for Courts-Martial as are necessary to 
ensure compliance with this section. 
(4) EFFECTIVE
DATE
AND
APPLICABILITY.— 
The amendments made by this section shall take ef-
fect on the first day of the first month beginning 
after the 2-year period following the date of the en-
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actment of this Act, and shall apply with respect to 
charges preferred under section 830 of title 10, 
United States Code (article 30 of the Uniform Code 
of Military Justice), on or after such effective date. 
SEC. 3. PUNITIVE ARTICLE ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND 
RELATED INVESTIGATION MATTERS. 
(a) PUNITIVE ARTICLE ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter X of chapter 47, 
United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military 
Justice), is amended by inserting after section 920c 
(article 120c) the following new section (article): 
‘‘§ 920d. Art. 120d. Sexual harassment 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any person subject to this chap-
ter who commits sexual harassment against another per-
son shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. 
‘‘(b) SEXUAL HARASSMENT DEFINED.— 
‘‘(1) In this section term ‘sexual harassment’ 
means conduct that takes place in a circumstance 
described in paragraph (2) that takes the form of— 
‘‘(A) a sexual advance; 
‘‘(B) a request for sexual favors; or 
‘‘(C) any other conduct of a sexual nature. 
‘‘(2) A circumstance described in this para-
graph is a situation in which— 
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‘‘(A) submission to the conduct involved is 
made either explicitly or implicitly a term or 
condition of employment; 
‘‘(B) submission to or rejection of such 
conduct is used as the basis for an employment 
decision affecting an individual’s employment; 
or 
‘‘(C) such conduct unreasonably alters an 
individual’s terms, conditions, or privileges of 
employment, including by creating an intimi-
dating hostile, or offensive work environment, 
as determined in accordance with paragraph 
(3). 
‘‘(3) In determining, for purposes of paragraph 
(2)(C), whether conduct constitutes sexual harass-
ment because the conduct unreasonably alters an in-
dividual’s terms, conditions, or privileges of employ-
ment, including by creating an intimidating, hostile, 
or offensive work environment, the following rules 
shall apply: 
‘‘(A) The determination shall be made on 
the basis of the record as a whole, according to 
the totality of the circumstances. A single inci-
dent may constitute sexual harassment. 
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‘‘(B) Incidents that may be sexual harass-
ment shall be considered in the aggregate, 
with— 
‘‘(i) conduct of varying types (such as 
expressions of sex-based hostility, requests 
for sexual favors, and denial of employ-
ment opportunities due to sexual orienta-
tion) viewed in totality, rather than in iso-
lation; and 
‘‘(ii) conduct based on multiple pro-
tected characteristics (such as sex and 
race) viewed in totality, rather than in iso-
lation. 
‘‘(C) The factors specified in this subpara-
graph are among the factors to be considered in 
determining whether conduct constitutes sexual 
harassment and are not meant to be exhaustive. 
No one of those factors shall be considered to 
be determinative in establishing whether con-
duct constitutes sexual harassment. Such fac-
tors are each of the following: 
‘‘(i) The frequency of the conduct. 
‘‘(ii) The duration of the conduct. 
‘‘(iii) The location where the conduct 
occurred. 
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‘‘(iv) The number of individuals en-
gaged in the conduct. 
‘‘(v) The nature of the conduct, which 
may include physical, verbal, pictorial, or 
visual conduct, and conduct that occurs in 
person or is transmitted, such as electroni-
cally. 
‘‘(vi) Whether the conduct is threat-
ening. 
‘‘(vii) Any power differential between 
the alleged harasser and the person alleg-
edly harassed. 
‘‘(viii) Any use of epithets, slurs, or 
other conduct that is humiliating or de-
grading. 
‘‘(ix) Whether the conduct reflects 
stereotypes about individuals in the pro-
tected class involved.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions at the beginning of such subchapter is amend-
ed by inserting after the item relating to section 
920c (article 120c) the following new item: 
‘‘920d. 120d. Sexual harassment.’’. 
(b) INVESTIGATIONS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 1561 of title 10, 
United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 
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‘‘§ 1561. Complaints of sexual harassment: inde-
pendent investigation 
‘‘(a) ACTION ON COMPLAINTS ALLEGING SEXUAL 
HARASSMENT.—A commanding officer or officer in charge 
of a unit, vessel, facility, or area of an armed force under 
the jurisdiction of the Secretary of a military department, 
who receives, from a member of the command or a mem-
ber under the supervision of the officer, a formal com-
plaint alleging sexual harassment by a member of the 
armed forces shall, as soon as practicable after such re-
ceipt, forward the complaint to an independent investi-
gator. 
‘‘(b) COMMENCEMENT OF INVESTIGATION.—To the 
extent practicable, an independent investigator shall com-
mence an investigation of a formal complaint of sexual 
harassment not later than 72 hours after— 
‘‘(1) receiving a formal complaint of sexual har-
assment forwarded by a commanding officer or offi-
cer in charge under subsection (a); or 
‘‘(2) receiving a formal complaint of sexual har-
assment directly from a member of the armed forces. 
‘‘(c) DURATION OF INVESTIGATION.—To the extent 
practicable, an investigation under subsection (b) shall be 
completed not later than 14 days after the date on which 
the investigation commences. 
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‘‘(d) REPORT ON COMMAND INVESTIGATION.—To the 
extent practicable, an independent investigator who com-
mences an investigation under subsection (b) shall— 
‘‘(1) submit a final report on the results of the 
investigation, including any action taken as a result 
of the investigation, to the officer described in sub-
section (a) not later than 20 days after the date on 
which the investigation commenced; or 
‘‘(2) submit a report on the progress made in 
completing the investigation to the officer described 
in subsection (a) not later than 20 days after the 
date on which the investigation commenced and 
every 14 days thereafter until the investigation is 
completed and, upon completion of the investigation, 
then submit a final report on the results of the in-
vestigation, including any action taken as a result of 
the investigation, to that officer. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘formal complaint’ means a com-
plaint that an individual files in writing and attests 
to the accuracy of the information contained in the 
complaint. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘independent investigator’ means 
a member of the armed forces or employee of the 
Department of Defense— 
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