WSJ: Gen. Dempsey Says Sexual Assault Threatens Military’s Bedrock
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy Wednesday that sexual assault threatens to erode the trust that is the foundation of the military.
The military for the past two years has been battling rising reports of sexual assault, while Congress has criticized the Pentagon for not doing enough to prevent the crime. A proposal by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.) to strip commanders of the power to oversee sexual-assault prosecutions narrowly failed in the Senate recently.
But the recent acquittal of a former Naval academy midshipman charged with sexual assault and a plea deal to lesser charges in a case involving an Army general accused of rape has renewed calls for a broad overhaul of military justice.
