Further, the 238 convictions are a small number compared with the estimated 26,000 sex crimes that may have occurred that year across the military, according to the department's anonymous survey of military personnel. Sex crimes are vastly underreported in both military and civilian life.
The top U.S. officer in Japan, Lt. Gen. Salvatore Angelella, said the military takes the issues of sexual assault “very seriously.”
“Sexual assault is a crime and a contradiction to everything we stand for,” he said.
The NCIS provided more than 600 case files—seven years of detailed but heavily redacted executive summaries of sex-crime reports. The four military branches provided another 400 files covering narrower time frames.
The Pentagon has said its commanders have been using nonjudicial punishment less frequently in recent years. But the documents show that in Japan at least, U.S. commanders are using that authority more often. This is especially true in the Navy, where in 2012 only one case led to court-martial. In the 13 others, commanders used nonjudicial penalties rather than ordering trials.
The authority to decide how to prosecute serious criminal allegations would be taken away from senior officers under a bill crafted by Gillibrand and expected to come before the Senate as early as this coming week. The legislation would place that judgment with trial counsels who have prosecutorial experience and hold the rank of colonel or above.
Senior U.S. military leaders oppose the plan, saying it would undermine the ability of commanders to ensure discipline within their ranks.
