is charged with examining the issue of sexual assault in the military and issuing recommendations for legislation and policy-making based upon their findings. The task force's recommendations included expanding the reach and scope of SAPRO, increasing funding for sexual assault prevention and response programs, reducing variability in sexual assault prevention and response policies between the different branches of the armed forces, raising standards for Sexual Assault Response Coordinators (SARCs), and focusing sexual assault training more on prevention and quality than after-the-fact response. They also recommended improved victim advocacy – allowing for easier communication with victim advocates, better disclosure of victims' rights, and access to attorneys – along with the formation of a database to track sexual assault information. U.S. Senator Martha McSally, an Arizona Republican, said during a Senate meeting on sexual assault in the military that she was raped by a superior officer in the U.S. Air Force. McSally was the first female combat pilot in the U.S. Air Force. She said that she never reported it because she didn't trust the system at the time, she also said that she blamed herself, was ashamed and confused. She said she thought she was strong but felt powerless. Lawsuits against the Department of Defense In February 2011, 17 United States veterans filed Cioca v. Rumsfeld, a suit against the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Robert Gates and former secretary Donald Rumsfeld, alleging that they allowed a culture in the armed forces where rape was unevenly reported and punished. In several of the plaintiffs' cases, the victim had been forced to work with the accused rapist after reporting them for sexual assault. Unit commanders often have heavy influence over military rape cases, and fewer than one in five cases are prosecuted. The case was featured in an episode of The Passionate Eye and the documentary The Invisible War. The case was dismissed in December 2011, appealed in April 2012, and the appeal was dismissed in Fourth Circuit court in July 2013. Clemencies and arrests In 2013, two male officers convicted by court martial of sexual assault were given clemency, which consisted of having their convictions set aside by respective three-star generals, Lieutenant Generals Craig Franklin of the Third Air Force and Susan Helms of the 14th Air Force, Air Force Space Command and Joint Functional Component Command for Space, U.S. Strategic Command. In a six-page memorandum, Franklin outlined each piece of evidence