A TIME report said the US Army relieved 588 of its service members after results of a Pentagon-ordered probe. The report said that the probe was spurred after a federal study revealed that unwanted sexual contact in the US military increased 35% between the years 2010 to 2012. The report said that the service members initially held positions of trust like recruiters and counselors, insinuating that the acts could have occurred with personnel who held such positions.
The dismissal of the 588 staff members were backed up with the results of the Pentagon probe, which discovered past infractions made by the relieved staff members, which include sexual assault, child molestation, and drunk driving. USA Today noted that the number of disqualified service members was over than the number expected when the US Army initially reported, which was 55. The review, said TIME, was commissioned by US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
In a statement issued to USA Today, Army spokesman Col. David Patterson said, "We will continue working to better ensure we select the very best people for these posts, and that the chain of command knows what is expected of them, and how important this work is to the Army."
Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who was one of the two Senate members who have led the legislative charge against sexual assault happening in the country's military, said of the disqualification, "These continued reports paint a very clear picture of why nine out of 10 sexual assault victims don't report their attack and why the military needs a reformed, independent and transparent system of justice. The Army's review of soldiers responsible for combating sexual assault was an important step in our effort to curb sexual assaults in the military."
Gillibrand earlier proposed that the sexual assault cases in the military will be turned over to military prosecutors to handle them instead of the usual chain in command, TIME said. In addition, she reportedly campaigned on the stripping of commanders' capabilities to overturn convictions when handling sexual assault cases in the military.
