“Military calls sexual assault 'like a cancer'”
“WASHINGTON (AP) - Military
leaders said Tuesday that sexual assault in the ranks is "like a
cancer" that could destroy the force, but they rejected far-reaching
congressional efforts to strip commanders of some authority in meting out
justice”.
“Seated
side-by-side at a long witness table, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, the head of each branch of the military and Pentagon
lawyers testified on what is widely viewed as an epidemic of sexual assault
plaguing the services”.
“Outraged
by recent high-profile cases and overwhelming statistics, lawmakers have moved
aggressively on legislation to address the scourge of sexual assault. They
summoned the military brass to answer their questions at a jam-packed hearing”.
“Sen.
Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said the problem
of sexual assault is of such a scope and magnitude that it has become a stain
on our military".
“Congress has acted in prior
years to ensure the aggressive investigation and prosecution of sexual
assaults, Levin said, but more needs to be done. The committee is considering
seven bills to deal with sexual assault”.
Talk is cheap, know there is
a problem, and the problem has steadily gotten worse over the last 4 years with
reported assaults continuing to climb (emphasis on reported).
“While
acknowledging the problem and accepting that legislation is inevitable,
military leaders insisted that commanders keep their authority to handle sexual
assault cases”.
“Service chiefs
expressed concern over making broader changes to the military's legal code that
would undercut the ability of commanders to discipline the troops they need”.
The definition of insanity is
doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. How they
think taking away this authority could have adverse affects needs to be
explained in more detail because right now the way things are going, the adverse
affects are already here!
You have people in charge of
preventing assault being accused of assault, you have people who have stepped
up to serve their country being treated like lepers because of someone else’s
bad behavior; less talk more action!
More intervention would mean
fewer victims. How about writing bills to ‘prevent’ sexual assault not just “deal”
with it? There should be no victims created from within, the US military should
not be its own worst enemy on this issue.
Dr Flavius A B
Akerele III
The ETeam
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please be respectful, thoughtful, and relevant with your comments:))