Friday, May 24, 2013

MILITARY - Sexual Assault Update

"Top Brass, Lawmakers Grapple With Rising Levels of Military Sexual Assault" PBS Newshour 5/23/2013

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  With sexual assaults in the military on the rise, what are the current tactics and policies for prevention and prosecution, and what more might be done?  Kwame Holman reports on efforts to subdue the crisis.


COMMENT:  As my bio says, I am a retired 22yr U.S. Navy Chief, so I know the culture within the Navy.

The core problem IMHO is the people running the Navy today are from the era I served in, and therefore under the influence of the culture of that time.  Unfortunately that culture is of seeing women as ONLY as sexual objects.

As a result, just sitting ranking officers and NCOs in classes will NOT have the desired effect.  But it is very hard to change the culture of individuals, in or out of the military.

For clarification you must understand the military justice system.  First there is Non-Judicial Punishment (NJP) where the enlistee's Commanding Officer is judge and jury to any charge, BUT any enlistee can refuse NJP which could lead to full a Court-Marshal.  At a Court-Marshal, a specified (in the UCMJ) number of officers and enlisted sit on the 'bench' depending on type of Court-Marshal.

Note I served as one of two enlisted on a Special Court-Martial.

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