PENTAGON SAYS MILITARY SEXUAL ASSAULTS SOAR
The Pentagon says reports of military sexual assaults jumped by 13 percent last year, but an anonymous survey of service members suggests the problem is vastly larger.
WASHINGTON» Reports of military sexual assaults jumped by 13 percent last year, but an anonymous survey of service members released Thursday suggests the problem is vastly larger.
The survey results found that more than 20,000 service members said they experienced some type of sexual assault, but only a third of those filed a formal report.
The survey number is about 37 percent higher than two years ago, when one was last done, fueling frustration within the department and outrage on Capitol Hill.
“I am tired of the statement I get over and over from the chain of command: ‘We got this, madam. We got this.’ You don’t have it!” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, shouted during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing Thursday for Army Gen. James McConville. “You’re failing us.”
McConville has been nominated to be the next chief of staff of the Army, and that service saw a spike of more than 18 percent in the number of sexual assault reports filed last year. The Marine Corps had the largest jump, at 23 percent, while the Navy saw a 7 percent increase and the Air Force was up by about 4 percent.
The Pentagon releases a report every year on the number of sexual assaults reported by troops. But because sexual assault is a highly underreported crime, the department sends out an anonymous survey every two years to get a clearer picture of the problem.
The increase in assaults has triggered another round of Pentagon programs to try to reduce misconduct.
Nate Galbreath, deputy director of the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, told reporters Thursday that the latest numbers are “disheartening, and it personally makes me angry,” but he said he’s “not without hope.”
The sharp increase in reported Marine assaults comes on the heels of two troubled years for the Corps. In 2017, the service was rocked by a massive online nude photosharing scandal, and later it launched a large public campaign to raise awareness of inappropriate behavior and beef up enforcement. Nearly 60 service members eventually faced some type of punishment.
Gen. Robert Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, said Thursday that his troops “cannot truly be loyal to our nation without first being loyal to each other. All Marines must be involved in preventing and addressing sexual assault and harassment.”
Col. Kathy Turner, an Army spokeswoman, said leaders must enforce standards to ensure a healthy command climate and prevent sexual misconduct by soldiers.