Friday, May 17, 2013
Associated Press
WASHINGTON
President Barack Obama said Thursday the nation’s military leaders told him they are “ashamed” of their failure to end sexual abuse in the armed services. Obama pledged to “leave no stone unturned” in the effort to halt the abuse, which he said undermines the trust the military needs to be effective.
Obama also said he has asked Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey to lead a process to root out the problem.
“They care about this and they are angry about it,” Obama said at the White House, after he summoned Hagel, Dempsey and other top defense leaders to discuss a problem thrust to the fore by recent misconduct cases and a Pentagon report showing that up to 26,000 military members may have been sexually assaulted last year.
“I heard directly from all of them that they are ashamed by some of what’s happened,” Obama said.
Earlier Thursday, the Army’s top officer acknowledged that his service is failing in its effort to stop sexual assaults.
Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, issued a public message to all soldiers in which he said the “bedrock of trust” between soldiers and their leaders has been violated by a recent string of misconduct cases.
He said the Army demonstrated competence and courage through nearly 12 years of war. “Today, however, the Army is failing in its efforts to combat sexual assault and sexual harassment,” he wrote.
“It is time we take on the fight against sexual assault and sexual harassment as our primary mission,” Odierno said.