Heterosexuals in the military

Secretary of Defense Hagel announced a special observance in April. “This April, the Department of Defense observed sexual assault awareness and prevention month.”

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs made a video. “First of all,” he said, “it bothers me a little bit that we have to have a month dedicated to this topic. It reflects the degree to which sexual assault is affecting the force.”

The Air Force Chief of Staff made a video. “The way I see it, you’re either part of the solution or you’re part o the problem. Take care of each other.”

It would be interesting to know if Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Krusinski, commander of the sexual assault prevention unit of the U.S. Air Force, saw those videos before approaching a woman just after midnight Saturday in Arlington, Virginia.

As CBS’s David Martin reports, “The police report alleges that a drunken Krusinski approached a female victim in a parking lot and grabbed her breast and buttocks. The victim fought the suspect off as he attempted to touch her again and alerted police.”

The Air Force videos warned about this very thing.

Nancy Parrish runs “Protect Our Defenders” which pursues cases of sexual assault. “The idea that the head of the Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office could be arrested for sexual battery indicates the depth of the problem. It’s outrageous.”

And it’s gotten worse, not better. In 2010, there were just under 20,000 sexual assaults against servicewomen. Last year, the Pentagon reported there were 26,000 assaults against service women.

Weird isn’t it. The military seems to be integrating gay men just fine. If only they could integrate more of the straight men.