Leadership_Issues

The military has many missions. Their primary mission of course is to defend the U.S. and U.S. interests. Contrary to popular belief, the military does a lot more than simply fight. Some of the other missions that the military is responsible for is medical assistance in impoverished areas, humanitarian relief, and natural disaster relief. The Department of Defense, the head of the military, is America's oldest and largest government agency. The military has roots that go back to pre-Revolutionary times. Today, the Department is headed by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. He is not only in charge of the military, but a civilian force of thousands. There are over 1.4 million men and women on active duty, and 718,000 civilian personnel. Another 1.1 million serve in the National Guard and Reserve forces. The military is the nation's single largest employer. Lately the military has come under attack. There have been numerous reports recently in the media on sexual assault incidents in the Military. In many cases, such reports were followed by questions on what actions the Department of Defense (DOD), the Administration, and Congress have taken to address the issue. Pentagon’s own reports have concluded that more than 90 percent of sex crimes in the military are committed by leaders who strike repeatedly. They are using positions of power, a weak reporting system and the culture of moving service members and officers from base to base every two or three years where they can prey on victims, over and over again without conviction (Katz, 2012) One reason sexual assault festers in the military is its leadership structure. In the military, sexual assaults are handled within the chain of command. That means that a victim’s commanding officer has the ability to intervene at any point: to stop an investigation, reduce a sentence or even set aside a conviction. For example, a top Air Force official Lt. Gen. Susan J. Helms promotion was put on hold because a member of the Armed Services Committee wants to examine Helms’s decision to overturn the conviction on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a captain. Another example is the request for dismissal of Lt. Gen. Craig A. Franklin, after he tossed out the sexual-assault conviction of a distinguished fighter pilot (Whitlock, 2013) Military leadership structure provides a strong incentive for commanders to avoid pursuing sexual assault allegations in their ranks: It can hurt their careers. Commanders are responsible for keeping their troops disciplined and in good order. Reporting issues in their command reflects poorly on them as a leader and has a negative effect on a considered for a promotion. Another issue is the “this is the way it has always been” effect. All of the current leaders in the Military were brought up with this kind of behavior being acceptable. If you look at any old time war movies, it is not uncommon to see bomber planes with pictures of pin up girls and seamen eagerly awaiting shore leave so that they can go find a girlfriend for the night. Unwanted sexual contact was also a way of life. Even today it is acceptable for male soldier to punch other male solders in the testicles or to stick a finger in the other anus. This is considered a rite of passage or “just some good natured fun” All of this has prompted a need for cultural change which is proving to be more difficult than previously though. That’s because an organization’s culture comprises an interlocking set of goals, roles, processes, values, communications practices, attitudes and assumptions. It starts with the leadership. The issue that is facing the military is that in order to change culture you have to start with the leadership and have the effect trickle down to the subordinates, but it seems as though the leadership is the actual issue in this case. Refrences About the Department of Defense (DOD). (n.d.). United States Department of Defense. Retrieved November 1, 2013, from http://www.defense.gov/about/ Katz, Lori S., PhD., Geta Cojucar, Sayeh Beheshti, Erin Nakamura, and Michelle Murray. “Military Sexual Trauma during Deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan: Prevalence, Readjustment, and Gender Differences.” Violence and Victims 27, no. 4 (2012): 487-99. Whitlock, Craig. "General's Promotion Blocked over Her Dismissal of Sex-Assault Verdict (Posted 2013-05-07 02:56:37) ; in Second Case, Questions Are Being Raised about an Air Force General's Handling of a Sex Case." The Washington Post 7 May 2013: n. pag. washingtonpost.com. Web. 2 Nov. 2013.