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House Dem wants West Point leaders fired after rise in sexual assaults
A California House Democrat said the leaders of the U.S. Military Academy should be fired after a Pentagon report found them out of step with policies designed to prevent sexual assaults.
A recently released Pentagon report said sexual harassment and violence at its service academies rose nearly 59 percent during the 2010-2011 academic year compared to the previous year. It also found that the leaders of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., are “not in compliance” with the Department of Defense’s own sexual assault prevention policies, the lawmaker said.
“An increase of nearly 60 [percent] in reported sexual assaults at the academies is shocking, and the fact that West Point isn’t even complying with the modest DOD policies to prevent sexual assault and rape is deeply troubling,” Speier added.
The Pentagon report found West Point is in partial compliance with policies to train cadets in a way intended to prevent sexual assaults and harassment, according to media reports.
“If DOD is serious about their ‘zero tolerance’ policy, leadership at West Point should be relieved of their posts and the under-performing academies should be put on notice immediately,” Speier said. “That is what I am calling for.”
Numerous internal Pentagon reports show there are “fundamental flaws in the procedures and policies that dictate how sexual assaults are handled,” she added.
The California lawmaker last month introduced a bill that would strip all reporting, oversight, investigation and care for victims from the military’s chain of command. The legislation would shift it to a new office composed of “civilian and military experts,” according to Speier’s office.
