Speier calls on Hagel to screen sex assault counselors

• Speier asks Hagel to direct other services to follow Army%27s rigorous standards
• The Army has removed 588 soldiers from counseling%2C recruiting jobs
• Seventy-nine soldiers have been dismissed from the service

WASHINGTON — A member of the House Armed Services Committee late Tuesday called on Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to direct the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy to re-examine troops in sensitive posts in light of an Army review that disqualified 588 soldiers serving as sexual assault counselors, recruiters and instructors.

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., urged Hagel in a letter to make public the results of the services' new review. USA TODAY recently reported the Army's action, which included seeking dismissal from the service of 79 soldiers while reassigning more than 500 others. In all, the Army examined the records of more than 20,000 soldiers.

The Army has not provided details on the offenses the soldiers committed, divulging only that their misdeeds ranged from sexual and child abuse to reckless driving.

"I know you share my concern that tolerating this behavior in service members that occupy positions of trust is a betrayal of our troops," she wrote.

Hagel has discussed with the other services whether they needed to examine the criteria the Army used in scrubbing its ranks and follow suit, according to his spokesman, Rear Adm. John Kirby.

"Secretary Hagel appreciates Rep. Speier's concern over this important issue, and he shares her desire that we continue to hold ourselves and our people to the highest standard of conduct, especially when it comes to the crime of sexual assault," Kirby said. "That's why he issued guidance to the services to review people in positions of trust in the first place."

Last May, a Pentagon survey on unwanted sexual contact in the ranks sparked concern about the issue within the military and on Capitol Hill. The report estimated that 26,000 troops had experienced unwanted sexual contact in 2012, a one-third increase compared with 2010. After the report's release, Hagel called on the services to conduct the review of troops in positions of trust. Since then, a wide-ranging set of reforms has been enacted by Congress to increase prosecution of the crimes and to bolster protection for victims.

Speier, based on USA TODAY's reporting, noted that the other services had disqualified only a handful of troops. The Navy has removed five sailors from positions of trust of nearly 10,000 it reviewed; the Marine Corps had no lease, Hagel called on the services to conduct the review of troops in positions of trust. Since then, a wide-ranging set of reforms has been enacted by Congress to increase prosecution of the crimes and to bolster protection for victims. On Tuesday USA TODAY learned that the Air Force had suspended two airmen assigned to positions of trust. The Air Force did not say why they were suspended.

Speier said the results of the initial review indicated that the Army applied more stringent guidelines than the other services.

"Based on these results, it appears that the services used widely divergent methodology for assessing the suitability of these service members, and that the different services interpreted the commander's intent of your directive differently," she wrote.

One service interpreted the directive so narrowly that it appeared only to check a civilian sexual predator registry, she wrote.

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