"Military lawyers should handle sexual assault cases"

Lost in the discussion about the alarming rates of sexual assault in the military is the fact that this is not a recent phenomenon nor is it the first time the military leadership has been called out to address the problem. I was hired in 2009 by the US Army as a Highly Qualified Expert and tasked with teaching the Army’s JAG prosecutors how to prosecute such cases and to report what changes the Army needed to make to reduce instances of sexual violence in its midst. I observed a culture ripe for exploit by predators and an incoming population particularly vulnerable to their tactics. The leadership I engaged with was, at higher levels at least, open to change. But I also encountered mid-level managers far more concerned with controlling me as a consultant than they were with exploring how to best address the problem in their midst.Yesterday’s San Antonio Express-News published a commentary piece by me that addresses one of the most essential changes that must occur for the military to effectively address sexual abuse: taking crucial decisions out of the hands of commanders and placing them in the hands of military prosecutors.