Federal officials said that schools should train cadet leaders to help their comrades and eliminate the contradiction between what they are taught in the classroom and the negative and unpunished behavior they see in those who should be their mentors. The report says more senior officers and chiefs should work with military, naval and air force college cadets to give them that instruction.
Several officials described the report on condition of anonymity because it has not yet been made public. They said that discussions about stress relief, misbehavior, social media, and other life issues take place during off hours or on weekends. The report recommends that these topics be discussed in the classroom and be graded to highlight their importance.
Another report, months ago, revealed a sharp increase in reports of sexual assaults in schools during the 2021-2022 school year. He said that one in five female cadets declared in an anonymous survey that they had suffered unwanted sexual contact. They were the highest numbers since the Department of Defense began collecting such data many years ago.
Aggressions reported by cadets in schools increased 18% compared to the previous year. The army had nearly double that in 2022 compared to 2021. The anonymous survey accompanying the report found increases in all kinds of unwanted sexual contact — from groping to rape — at all academies. And he mentions alcohol among the key factors.
In response to the increase in attacks, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered on-site evaluations at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland; the Military Academy at West Point, New York and the Air Force Academy in Colorado, to study the problems and propose solutions. The new report, expected in the next few hours, makes several recommendations for immediate and medium-term application to prevent aggression and harassment and eliminate toxic climates that feed the problems. Austin ordered that the changes be implemented quickly.
