Military chiefs call for continued control over sexual assault cases

Facing fierce criticism about an epidemic of sexual assault in the military, the military's service chiefs made a rare joint appearance on Capitol Hill to press for commanders to retain control of prosecuting these cases-- something select members of Congress are fighting against.

"The risks inherent to military service must never include the risk of sexual assault," Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in his opening statement before the Senate Armed Services Committee. He noted that there are "reasonable recommendations" being made by Congress to reform the military justice system, but he called for commanders to "remain central to the legal process."

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno, echoed a similar sentiment in his opening remarks, saying, "we cannot simply legislate our way out of this problem." "We can and will do better," he said, specifying necessary changes to the military's environment and accountability process.

Following a Pentagon report detailing an epidemic of sexual assault in the military and the arrest of the Air Force's head of sexual assault prevention, select members of Congress proposed legislation to reform aspects of the military justice system.

Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York has proposed transferring authority from commanders to independent military prosecutors to prosecute serious crimes including sexual assault. This would require rewriting the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The proposal has drawn sharp condemnation from military leaders, including Tuesday's witnesses.

A Pentagon report released May 7 estimated 26,000 members of the military were sexually assaulted in unreported incidents in 2012, a 35 percent increase over 2010 incidents.

President Barack Obama during a news conference with visiting South Korean President Park Geun-hye on the day of the Pentagon report's release issued a fierce denouncement of sexual assault in the military, saying, "I have no tolerance for this. ... If we find out somebody is engaging in this stuff, they're going to be held accountable—prosecuted, stripped of their positions, court-martialed, fired, dishonorably discharged. Period. It's not acceptable."

Obama said he had spoken with Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel that morning regarding the need to "exponentially step up our game."

"We have to do everything we can to root this out," he said, and noted that those affected should understand the president has "got their backs."

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