Wow, the hits just keep on coming. This week it's the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where a sergeant is accused of videotaping and peeping on female cadets.
The Army is contacting about a dozen women to alert them that their privacy may have been violated by the suspect, identified as Sgt. First Class Michael McClendon, and to offer support or counseling, officials said.
The allegations at West Point, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious military academy, come in the midst of growing outrage in Congress at the Pentagon, and from President Obama over reports of sexual harassment and assault in the armed services. They also come as the Army has begun integrating women into combat positions, bringing added demands for fair and equal treatment of those in uniform.
The revelations are especially startling at West Point, which has had problems with sexual assault but also has many progressive faculty members and prides itself on having an environment of discipline and respect. Women have been enrolled at the two-century-old institution, on a commanding bank of the Hudson River in upstate New York, for nearly 40 years.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who is to deliver the commencement address at West Point on Saturday, was briefed on the case Wednesday morning. Pentagon officials described him as “concerned and disturbed” by the allegations.
Sergeant McClendon, of Blakely, Ga., faces charges under four articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, for indecent acts, dereliction in the performance of duty, cruelty and maltreatment, and actions prejudicial to good order and discipline. Sergeant McClendon, who had been assigned to the academy since 2009, was transferred to Fort Drum, N.Y., before charges were filed on May 14, Army officials said.
But the public attitude toward women coming from conservatives doesn't have anything to do with what appears to be an epidemic of sexual misconduct toward women, right? It's just boys being boys? I use the term boys because real men don't get their rocks off videotaping female cadets in the shower. That's something stupid kids fantasize about.
Meanwhile, there doesn't really seem to be much of a plan to deal with this. They've been wrestling with the issue for years, and it's likely to go on for many more years to come.
Editor's note: Mickey Kaus wonders if the military sex assault scandal isn't just an administration tactic to divert attention away from the White House scandals. I wonder if Mickey isn't making up conspiracy theories to divert himself from a sexual obsession with goats. It would be irresponsible not to speculate!
