Sexual Assaults in Military Raise Alarm in Washington

[Sallow]

This is pretty shocking..

Sexual Assaults in Military Raise Alarm in Washington

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER

Published: May 7, 2013 392 Comments

WASHINGTON — The problem of sexual assault in the military leapt to the forefront in Washington on Tuesday as the Pentagon released a survey estimating that 26,000 people in the armed forces were sexually assaulted last year, up from 19,000 in 2010, and an angry President Obama and Congress demanded action.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/u...e-in-sexual-assaults.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 

[Sallow]

Hmm..

Not really sure why this doesn't raise any eyebrows here.

I also saw a training film from the Air Force. They called sexual assault "something really stupid".

It's not.

It's a crime.

 

[007]

What do you expect when libtards start using the military for SOCIAL EXPERIMENTS, turning basic training into a ***** camp for sissies, allowing queers to waltz around openly with their fairy shit, integrating squadrons, letting women instructors train men and male instructors train women.... they took a military that was working and FUCKED IT UP, just like EVERYTHING ELSE THEY TOUCH. Liberals, one more reason liberalism should be OUTLAWED and treated as a MENTAL DISORDER.

 

[waltky]

Military sexual assaults double the national average...

AP sources: Meeting on sexual assaults in military
May 8,`13 WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House is inviting lawmakers over to discuss the growing number of sexual assaults in the military.

Officials say a bipartisan group of about a dozen senators and representatives were invited to attend the discussion with White House staff Thursday. President Barack Obama won't attend since he is traveling to Texas.

A new report shows up to 26,000 military members were sexually assaulted last year. Obama has said he has no tolerance for the problem and the Pentagon must address it. The officials weren't authorized to speak on the record and thus requested anonymity.

The discussion was to be led by Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and Tina Tchen, the first lady's chief of staff. Both are members of the president's Council on Women and Girls.

Source

See also:

Pentagon’s annual report shows sexual assault numbers up sharply
May 7, 2013 - One day after the Air Force’s chief of sexual assault prevention and response branch was himself arrested on a charge of sexual battery, the Pentagon released a new report that sexual assaults in the military are occurring at an alarming rate of more than 70 per day.

The report comes on the heels of a string of high-profile cases of sexual assault in the Air Force that have led lawmakers and others to call for a change to the way the chain of command handles such cases. The number of estimated sexual assaults in the military rose sharply from 2011 to 2012, according to the Defense Department report due to be released Tuesday afternoon, parts of which were highlighted in news releases from lawmakers. For fiscal 2011, the military estimated there were 19,000 cases of sexual assault, while 3,192 cases were reported. In fiscal 2012, the estimate spiked to 26,000 cases, with just 3,374 cases reported. Estimates are based on anonymous surveys given by the Department of Defense to members of all the services.

The report is issued annually by the DOD’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response office. When Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel releases the report, he is expected to call for greater accountability — in part by ordering military leaders to assess commanders on the culture they create in their units, the Associated Press reported. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Tuesday morning that the numbers highlight the need to act “swiftly and decisively” to address sexual assault in the military.

Also Tuesday, senators Patty Murray and Kelly Ayotte introduced a bill to provide a military lawyer to all victims of sexual assault in the military, to empower the DOD’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office to better oversee efforts to track and report statistics, to bar sexual contact between military training instructors and trainees during and within 30 days of completion of basic training, and other measures. The Air Force recently began a pilot program to provide military lawyers to victims of sexual assault, but it is the only service to do so thus far.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III told the committee that the service would seek jurisdiction in the case of Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski — one of the Air Force’s point men in attempting to prevent sexual assaults — who was arrested Sunday and charged with sexual battery. He’s accused of approaching a woman in a parking lot and grabbing her breasts and buttocks.

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[waltky]

Unintended consequences of crackdown on military sexual assaults...

Crackdown on military sex assault may have unintended consequences
May 10, 2013 WASHINGTON — The scales of military justice might tilt as the Pentagon, Congress and the White House mobilize against sexual assault among the troops.

Put another way, it will get tougher for defendants; maybe, some fear, unlawfully so. “What we are seeing now is the complete politicization of military justice in a way that would have shocked the members of Congress who passed the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” Marine Corps Reserves Maj. Babu Kaza, a prominent military attorney, said in an interview. Largely unseen by the public, dozens of Marine Corps sexual assault cases already have been roiled by defense claims of unlawful command influence due to tough talk by military leaders. The claims, some directly reviewed by McClatchy and some described by lawyers, target the unique vulnerability of military courts to a superior officer’s will.

A McClatchy review further shows that out of the public eye, military judges are questioning an Air Force program that provides alleged victims with special legal assistance. Even the scope of the military sexual assault problem is an issue, as it’s subject to both underreporting and overstatement. “If commanders, military judges, military lawyers and members of a military jury must now accept that politically unpopular military-justice decisions will draw the condemnation of our civilian leadership, and possibly have a negative impact on their careers, then the entire system is fraudulent,” Kaza said

After a series of high-profile episodes that culminated with the release of a Defense Department study that said 3,374 military sexual assaults were reported in fiscal 2012, the talk is escalating. In recent days, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called for actions that would change “the perception that there is tolerance” of sexual assault in the military. Military leaders, Hagel added, “will be held accountable for preventing and responding to sexual assault.” Hagel echoed President Barack Obama, the commander in chief, who mandated Tuesday that people “engaging in this stuff, they’ve got to be held accountable: prosecuted, stripped of their positions, court-martialed, fired, dishonorably discharged. Period.”

Key lawmakers have been equally adamant. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said “the military justice system needs to change to hold sexual predators accountable.” McCaskill further said that the arrest Sunday on sexual battery charges of the Air Force officer who’s in charge of sexual assault prevention was “one of those times you can send a message” through the appointment of a replacement. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a member of the Senate defense appropriations panel, added that “the culture” must change.

MORE

See also:

Survey indicates troubling trend in military sexual assaults
May 7th, 2013 - Study sought to survey 108,000 troops, only 24% responded; Defense department extrapolated figures from results; Hagel: "One of most serious challenges" for the armed services; Air Force officials face tough questions from senators

The number of service members anonymously reporting a sexual assault grew by more than 30% in the past two years, according to a Pentagon report released Tuesday. The Defense Department estimated that more than 26,000 troops experienced an episode of "unwanted sexual contact," a huge jump from the 19,300 figure in the 2010 report. "Sexual assault is a despicable crime and one of the most serious challenges facing this department," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters at a briefing on the survey. "It's a threat to the safety and the welfare of our people and to the health, reputation and trust of this institution."

The actual number of sexual crimes reported in the fiscal year 2012 was 3,374, a 6% increase over the previous year, the report said. Military officials worry that many victims don't come forward because they are frightened of retaliation. But the numbers might indicate that more victims are willing to report crimes than in the past. Hagel said victims need to be made confident they can rely on the military's justice system and that commanders will be held responsible. On Tuesday, lawmakers reiterated that it's crucial that service members feel they can come forward when they've been violated.

The Defense Department has stepped up efforts to hold perpetrators accountable, establishing a special victims unit to handle cases, working to improve tracking of reports and speeding transfers for troops who report a sexual assault by a member of their unit. But President Obama stressed that there must be a harder push in the military to reduce sexual assaults involving service members. "I don't want just more speeches or awareness programs or training but ... if we find out somebody is engaging in this stuff, they are going to be held accountable," Obama said. "Prosecuted, stripped of their positions, court-martialed, fired, dishonorably discharged. Period. It is not acceptable."

Maj. Gen. Gary Patton, the head of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office for the military, said that while the prevalence rate was "unacceptably high," the report did indicate one positive trend. The percentage of people who initially filed restricted reports (That remain confidential) but changed to unrestricted had risen. "We see that as a sign of victim confidence, willingness to ... take their case into the law enforcement realm," he said.

More Survey indicates troubling trend in military sexual assaults - CNN.com