Sexual misconduct at Army, Navy academies persists, report finds

[The Straight Story]

Sexual misconduct at Army, Navy academies persists, report finds

By Daniel Pulliam
[e-mail]

The Army and Navy's service academies have tolerated hostile attitudes toward women, hampering efforts to eradicate sexual assault and harassment at the institutions, according to a new report.

The attitudes of a certain number of midshipmen at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and cadets at the Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., have created an environment where sexual assault is more likely to occur, the report states.

The 96-page report is the work of a congressionally mandated 12-member task force--made up equally of military and civilian members--assigned the task of assessing the cultures of the Navy and Army academies and recommending changes in their operations.

The Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies arose out of the sexual assault scandal at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. The Air Force Academy was exempt from the latest review, since a similar commission already had examined it.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=32111&dcn=todaysnews

[izzie]

1. I still am laughing over this one

The flag office who had sex out side of marriage that lost a rank. He was not married. So who cares? But put the Pvt in prison and let the big guys get aways with killing and beating people at prison sites and they wonder why they can not meet the numbers for people joining up. Course having spend almost my whole life in the middle of service people I never saw sex between any one but married people. Where are these people living? Right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MADem]

2. I question the efficacy of the academy system

Frankly, I greatly preferred junior officers who came out of civilian life via OCS or through ROTC. You don't take an eighteen year old child, put them in a restrictive environment for four years, and find, at the end of that time, anything other than an eighteen year old child who has more knowledge.

Kids who go to college make mistakes...they oversleep and flunk a test because they did not show up, they fail to study, they have to juggle a part time job and school, they go out and party and do stupid things, they have relationships....and they get out of school and get a shit job in the workforce. They pay rent, electric, phone bill....they have actually LIVED in the real world.

When your entire training experience is so monitored, so controlled, you find that a lot of these academy types do not have the social or emotional maturity to do things without a hammer over their heads, under their own steam. They almost always fuck up at least once or twice before getting their ass handed to them, and they either get on the ball or do their obligated service time and transition to civilian life.