New allegations against another sex assault prevention officer

The Army is investigating allegations of “abusive sexual
contact” against a sergeant in charge of sexual assault prevention at Fort
Hood, Texas.

The incident comes a week after the Air Force’s officer in
charge of sexual assault prevention was charged with sexual battery in
Arlington, Va., and is quickly adding to the outrage among lawmakers over the
military’s problems with sexual assault.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Tuesday ordered the
services to retrain and rescreen sexual assault prevention personnel and
military recruiters, Pentagon press secretary George Little said Tuesday
evening.

Army Secretary John McHugh told Hagel about the Fort Hood
sergeant accused of sexual abuse on Tuesday morning. The soldier, who was not
named by the Pentagon, has been suspended from all duties at the Texas military post while the investigation
is being conducted. No charges have yet been filed.

{mosads}“The safety, integrity, and well being of every service
member and the success of our mission hang in the balance,” Little said in a
statement. “Secretary Hagel is looking urgently at every course of action
to stamp out this deplorable conduct and ensure that those individuals up and
down the chain of command who tolerate or engage in this behavior are
appropriately held accountable.”

Last week, President Obama called on the military to step up
its game and curb the persistent problem of sexual assault within its ranks.
The president’s comments came as the Pentagon released a report estimating
there were 26,000 sexual assaults in 2012, an increase of more than a third
from 2010.

Lawmakers released a torrent of statements on Tuesday
evening condemning the incident, and many said it was only the latest example
of the military’s inability to deal with sexual assault.

“To say this report is disturbing would be a gross
understatement,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who has proposed removing sexual assault prosecutions from the chain of command. “It is time to
get serious and get to work reforming the military justice system that clearly
isn’t working.”

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) called the
Fort Hood allegations “the latest chapter in a long, sordid history of sexual
abuse in our Armed Forces,” and added that combating sexual assault would be a “cornerstone”
of this year’s Defense authorization bill.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) also
said Tuesday that his committee will act on changes to the military’s judicial
code when it takes up the authorization bill next month.

“Tragically, the depth of the sexual assault problem in our
military was already overwhelmingly clear before this latest highly disturbing
report,” Levin said in a statement.