DoD cracks down on sexual assaults by trainers

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has ordered a “comprehensive assessment” of all boot camps and entry-level training programs across the military to identify ways to reduce the frequency of sexual assault.

The internal probe comes in the wake of a scandal at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, where 43 women have come forward with allegations that training instructors sexually assaulted them at the Air Force’s largest training command.

This is the latest move by Panetta to crack down on sexual assaults in the military, which he estimates to number about 19,000 each year.