“You must be the generation of leaders that stop it...This scourge must be stamped out.” Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on sexual assault in the armed forces.

by Sol Reform 3 Replies latest social current

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  Sol Reform

  "You must be the generation of leaders that stop it...This scourge must be stamped out."Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on sexual assault in the armed forces

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  http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130525/NEWS/130529777

  Hagel asks West Point grads to stamp out 'scourge' of sex abuse

  1,007 graduates told: 'A new army is being shaped, and you will be present'
  Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel receives a cadet saber from Class President Cadet Timothy Berry of Waxhaw, NC, during the 2013 Graduation and Commissioning Ceremony in Michie Stadium at the United States Military Academy in West Point on Saturday. Hagel delivered the graduation address as 1,007 cadets were commissioned as 2nd lieutenants in the U.S. Army.Chet Gordon/times Herald-Record
  By Michael NovinsonTimes Herald-Record Published: 10:42 AM - 05/25/13 Last updated: 6:31 PM - 05/25/13
  WEST POINT - Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told graduating cadets Saturday that they must be the ones to end sexual assault in the armed forces.
  "These crimes have no places in the greatest military on earth," Hagel told 1,007 West Point graduates. "This scourge must be stamped out."
  Hagel's comments echoed what President Barack Obama told Navy graduates Friday, and come just three days after news broke about a West Point sergeant being charged with secretly photographing and videotaping female cadets.
  "Sexual harassment and sexual assault in the military are a profound betrayal of sacred oaths and sacred trusts," Hagel said during a 23-minute speech. "You must be the generation of leaders that stop it."
  More than 13,000 people listened to Hagel inside Michie Stadium, where cadets were commissioned as second lieutenants in the Army.
  In his first service-academy address, Hagel highlighted some of the ways the military has changed during Obama's tenure as commander in chief.
  As America draws down from the longest war in its history - Afghanistan - Hagel said its not clear where and how cadets will be pressed into active duty during their minimum five years of military service.
  Nearly 350 graduates signed contracts to serve eight years in exchange for being able to choose their branch, initial duty station, or to be able to attend graduate school at no cost.
  Some 237 male cadets agreed to serve on the front lines in the infantry, making it the most popular branch. Administration and engineering were the top choices for female cadets.
  "A new army is being shaped, and you will be present," Hagel said. "You will have the responsibility for helping shape it, and you will have the responsibility for helping lead it."
  Hagel told cadets they'll need to adapt to serving in a military with fewer people and less money than in recent years. The number of soldiers has dropped from a wartime high of 570,000 to 490,000, while budget cuts have forced the army to cancel training and exercises, which Hagel said has harmed troop readiness and morale.
  "Adapt, be agile, be flexible," Hagel told the cadets, "but don't get thrown off course."Hagel also praised Obama for agreeing to lift don't ask, don't tell, which allowed gay and lesbian soldiers to serve openly. Hagel believes the 2011 change provided gay soldiers with more dignity and respect.
  "That makes this army much stronger," Hagel said.
  Reflection gave way to elation, as cadets were called up one-by-one to receive diplomas and dismissed en masse.
  "I am absolutely ecstatic right now," said Chad Drake of Maplewood, Minn., moments after tossing his hat into the crowd. "I'm filled with a complete sense of pride and overwhelming happiness."
  Graduating cadet Rob Parker was sobbing as his parents and relatives met him on the Michie Stadium field. As he held each of his parents tightly for a hug, Parker thought back to all the days he didn't want to be at West Point or didn't think he'd make it all the way through.
  "It was so much tough work," said Parker, a Massachusetts native. "It was totally worth it."
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  Vidiot

  Institutionalized sexual victimization (of minors, women, etc.) will always be a problem in authoritarian heirarchies; it's one of their defining characteristics, and in the case of authoritarian religious groups (like the WTS), virtually incurable.

  That being said, I do have a measure of confidence that the militaries of the Developed World have the best chance of reforming themselves to the degree neccessary to eliminate it amongst themselves; it'll take a willingness to implement egalitarianism, transparency, and careful screening of potential recruits to weed out the personality types prone to commit those kinds of offenses.
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  Justitia Themis

  That being said, I do have a measure of confidence that the militaries of the Developed World have the best chance of reforming themselves to the degree neccessary to eliminate it amongst themselves

  In my Islamic Law class, I sit next to a JAG officer. He cringes at these reports (definitely a 'reformer'), but admits the problem is rampant. Apparently, one institutional problem is that a new commander is held responsible for rapes that took place before he (or she) assumed command. Hence, they have a perverse incentive to keep things quiet.
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  prologos

  the problem is: "-- in or-- BY-- the armed forces--": commanders have to keep the number of fighters up, so

  who wants to see his men in the clinker or against the wall (as in wartime)? fat chance.