Pentagon will fix problem of sexual assault in army: Hagel

The US is determined to "fix" the problem of sexual assault inside the army, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said, adding that America is in talks with other miltaries of the world on how they are dealing with the issue.
Though the Defence Secretary did not identify the countries with whose military the US is in talks with, informed sources said the Indian armed forces is not one of them, which of late too has been rocked with allegations of sexual assaults.
"We're talking to everybody. We're talking to other militaries from around the world and see what they think. How are they dealing with this and what kind of command structure have they changed and what works for them?" Hagel told Pentagon reporters at a news conference yesterday.

Hagel and General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was talking to reporters a day after he and the top military leadership met President Barack Obama on the issue, which has emerged as one of the major concerns for the leadership in recent weeks.
Hagel also acknowledged that alcohol does play a very big factor in sexual assault.
"Not every case, but in many cases. I don't have all the demographics and all the metrics on this, but it is no question that it does. That is a part of this. It can't be used as an excuse, but it is part of the larger context of why this is happening," he said.

However, Dempsey said that the army may have become forgiving and was letting misconduct go unchecked.

"Maybe, after 10 years of war, there is the potential that Pentagon should examine whether the military has become a little bit too forgiving, not just of sexual harassment, sexual assault, but of other forms of misconduct as well."
Hagel acknowledged that accountability has broken down when it comes to sexual assault. And that the entire US military leadership is committed to fixing this.
"We all have committed to turn this around, and we're going to fix the problem. As the President said, there's no silver bullet. The problem will be solved here in this institution and we will fix it," Hagel said.