Alleged sex assaults by drill sergeant the latest in a long line during military training
The Washington Post reports:
The alleged sexual assault of numerous female trainees by an Army drill sergeant in Missouri has underscored two persistent points of contention in the military: whether the Pentagon has done enough to vet troops who oversee introductory training, and whether men should supervise female trainees at all.
The questions arise anew after the latest set of allegations against a U.S. service member responsible for training subordinate female troops. Army Staff Sgt. Angel M. Sanchez faces a possible court-martial for numerous alleged actions, including forcing recruits to perform oral sex and raping a female soldier while in Afghanistan between March 2011 and March 2012. He appeared at a pretrial hearing on the base that concluded on Wednesday.
The latest allegations come despite a renewed Pentagon effort to crack down on sexual assaults in the military. Since May 2013, the Pentagon has launched more than two dozen initiatives to stop sexual assault; Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel also ordered the services to scrutinize the backgrounds of recruiters, drill instructors, sexual assault response officials and others in positions of authority.
