Female troops "are vital to us maintaining our capability now and into the future.""If that does not suit you, then get out. You may find another employer where your attitude and behavior is acceptable, but I doubt it. The same goes for those who think that toughness is built on humiliating others."
"No one has every explained to me how the exploitation or degradation of others enhances capability or honors the traditions of the Australian army. I will be ruthless in ridding the army of people who cannot live up to its values, and I need every one of you to support me in achieving this."
Those are the words of General David Morrison, the top military official in the Australian Army. That was what he told the troops under his command after suspending three soldiers and continuing to weigh the suspension of five others (who had all been implicated in the distribution of videos he deemed to be demeaning of female soldiers). The general didn't mince words. He made it clear that he will not tolerate the mistreatment of any soldier.
Which makes me wonder, why haven't we heard a similar statement from the leaders of the United States military establishment? There are about 19,000 reported cases of sexual assault in this country's military each year, and that is just a fraction of the sexual assaults that occur in the military (because many victims are afraid to report those assaults, since there is a good chance the victim will be punished as harshly, or more harshly, than the criminal).
Meanwhile, our military leaders (and those in Congress) fumble around looking for some kind of answer to the problem -- some kind of magic solution that will take the problem out of their hands. They all act like they are afraid to rock the boat (even though that boat badly needs rocking). Frankly, their reticence to deal with the problem highlights just where the problem lays.
The problem is a lack of strong and decent leadership. Believe me, in a top-down organization like the military, no problem exists for long unless it is tacitly approved of by the top leaders. If those leaders want a problem to go away, heads will roll (and continue to roll) until that problem does go away. Why aren't heads rolling right now? Is it because our top military leaders don't have the guts necessary to deal with the problem? Or is it because they don't really see it as a problem?
And I don't want to hear that tired old excuse of being in the middle of a war. Wrong is wrong whether we are in a war or not -- and every decent American knows that sexual assault is wrong.
President Obama needs to make it clear to our top military leaders that if they don't deal with this problem, swiftly and decisively, then he will replace them with people who will do that. And our generals and admirals need to make it clear to those under their command that the mistreatment of any American soldier (regardless of gender or gender identity) will not be tolerated at all -- and that goes double for sexual assault. And then they need to commence with the rolling of heads.
Sexual assault in the military is not an unsolvable problem. But it is a problem that can only be solved with strong and determined leadership. Where are those leaders?
