President Barack Obama on Thursday expressed serious concerns over sexual assaults in the U.S. military, stressing that the crime undermined the trust needed for the country's military to carry out its missions and other responsibilities.
Obama made the remarks while meeting with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and the service secretaries, as well as Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey and the rest of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the White House to discuss ways to eliminate sexual assault from the military.
Stressing that trust is the glue that holds the military together, Obama said: "It comes down to do people trust each other and do they understand that they're all part of a single system that has to operate under whatever circumstances effectively."
Sexual assault is not just a shameful and disgraceful crime, but an insidious germ that will eat at the trust necessary to hold service-members together under tough circumstances. "As such, it is dangerous to our national security. This is not a sideshow. This is not sort of a second-order problem that we're experiencing. This goes to the heart and the core of who we are and how effective we're going to be," Obama said.
The President said he was confident that military leaders would aggressively work to eliminate sexual assault from the services, adding: "Even though I think there's a level of concern and interest that is appropriate, we haven't actually been able to ensure that our men and women in uniform are not experiencing this, and if they do experience it, that there is serious accountability."
Tasking Hagel and Dempsey to lead the effort for eradicating sexual assault from the U.S. military, Obama stressed that leaders at all levels must be accountable not only for enforcing the laws, but for training service-members effectively and putting resources toward eliminating the problem.
"Perpetrators have to experience consequences. I'm pleased that Secretary Hagel has proposed reforms that would restrict the ability of commanders to overturn convictions after trial. Those reforms have my full support," Obama said.
"We've got to create an environment in which victims feel that they're comfortable coming forward. They've got to know that they should have no fear of retaliation, no fear of stigma, no damage to their careers, and certainly no protection for criminals. There is no silver bullet to solving this problem. This is going to require a sustained effort over a long period of time," he added.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.