The problem of sexual assault in the military leapt to the forefront in Washington on Tuesday as the Pentagon released a survey estimating that 26,000 people in the armed forces were sexually assaulted last year, up from 19,000 in 2010, and an angry President Obama and Congress demanded action.
The study, based on a confidential survey sent to 108,000 active-duty service members, was released two days after the officer in charge of sexual assault prevention programs for the Air Force was arrested and charged with sexual battery for grabbing a woman’s breasts and buttocks in an Arlington, Va., parking lot.
At a White House news conference, Mr. Obama expressed exasperation with the Pentagon’s attempts to bring sexual assault under control.
Oh gee, who couldn’t see this coming? You put young men and young women in close proximity under the most punishing and stressful conditions and expect no consequences to those edicts of social engineering?
Uh, may I offer a preview of ever more women in front line combat assignments?????
[b]Capt. Father Warren[/b],
The answer to your question is: A very large number of people, most of whom subscribe to the idea that men and women are interchangeable for the vast majority of purposes. I believe there is a high probability that the population thus described is over-represented amongst the more [i]progressive/liberal/leftist[/i] segments of our society and correspondingly under-represented amongst the more [i]traditional/conservative/rightist[/i] segments of same.
As a Catholic (albeit of the AustroLibertarian anarchist variety), I don’t fit either of those descriptions particularly closely, although on this specific question I do find myself largely in agreement with the latter of the two groups, although likely for somewhat different reasons than their average member.
[i]Pax et bonum[/i],
Keith Töpfer