Admin l Friday, 28 April 2023
PENTAGON – The Pentagon today assured service members that it remains committed to fighting the scourge of sexual assaults and harassment within the ranks and to deal with offenders and assist survivors of such incidents in the military.
Pentagon Press Secretary, Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder made the clarification during a press conference.
He said the department has empowered leaders to identify threats to readiness and restore the health of both their units and service members impacted by sexual assault and other misconduct.
“To be crystal clear, the department’s most senior leaders remain sharply focused on solving the scourge of sexual assault and sexual harassment. We’ll continue to work very hard to make sustained progress to bolster warfighter confidence and leadership, assist sexual assault survivors with recovery, and hold offenders accountable. Sexual violence will not be tolerated, condoned or ignored within our ranks”, he assured.
Ryder refused to comment on ongoing investigation on leakage of classified documents with U.S allies from the military.
According to him, “as it relates to the Airman and the ongoing investigation, I’m really limited in what I can say at this point, given the fact that there continues to be an ongoing investigation. As you highlight, our Office of General Counsel stays in close contact with the Department of Justice; but beyond that, I’m not going to have more to provide”, he said.
