US President Barack Obama congratulates a graduate during the US Naval Academy graduation ceremony at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, on May 24, 2013.<\/p>\n
As recent reports show a serious rise in sexual assault cases in the US Army, President Barack Obama says the problem is undermining trust in US military.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cThose who commit sexual assault are not only committing a crime, they threaten the trust and discipline that makes our military strong,\u201d Obama said during the US Naval Academy graduation ceremony at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, on Friday.\n<\/p>\n
Addressing the Academy graduates including 841 men and 206 women, Obama said crime has no place in the US military, adding, \u00c5\u201cThat is why we have to be determined to stop these crimes.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Obama went on to note that misconduct by US Army soldiers has the potential to damage other parts of the society.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cEven in our military we’ve seen how the misconduct of some can have effects that ripple far and wide,\u201d Obama said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The remarks came as Washington is facing a crisis due to the rising number of sexual assaults in the country\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s military.<\/p>\n
A newly-released report by the Pentagon on sexual assaults in the military indicates that unwanted sexual contact protests involving military personnel jumped to 26,000 in 2012 from 19,000 a year before. The figure shows a 37-percent increase.\n<\/p>\n
The sharp increase in the number of sexual assault cases comes as the Pentagon is planning to integrate women into front-line combat roles.\n<\/p>\n
According to a survey conducted in 2011, about one out of five military women said they had been the victims of sexual assault by another service member since joining the military.\n<\/p>\n
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