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The president praised the military as the nation’s “most trusted institution,” but took note of the recent cases in which service members have been charged with sexual assault. He said those people “threaten the trust and discipline which makes our military strong.”

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The biggest question is how far such legislation can go. Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, has introduced the most controversial and sweeping proposal, which would give military prosecutors, rather than commanders, the power to decide which sexual assault cases to try. While her measure, intended to increase the number of people who report crimes without fear of retaliation, is gaining supporters, others suggest it goes too far.

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In our digital age, a single image from the battlefield of troops falling short of their standards can go viral and endanger our forces and undermine our efforts to achieve security and peace. Likewise, those who commit sexual assault are not only committing a crime, they threaten the trust and discipline that make our military strong. That’s why we have to be determined to stop these crimes, because they’ve got no place in the greatest military on Earth.

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On Wednesday, Murkowski became the 16th cosponsor and fourth Republican senator to sign onto a bill introduced last week by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, that would radically reform the military-justice system. The bill aims to strike middle ground between taking the cases out of military jurisdiction entirely and the status quo. To do this, the measure would leave decision-making about prosecutions within the military-justice system, but remove it from the chain of command.

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A Fort Hood sergeant remained jailed Thursday on $100,000 bond after
being accused as an assailant in the rape of an Austin woman.

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One bipartisan measure that is gaining some traction comes from Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, who aim to go beyond Hagel’s suggestion by taking the power to decide which sexual-assault cases are prosecuted out of the chain of command. Their bill would still keep decision-making within the military, striking a more moderate tone than some reformers would like, but one that stands a chance of surviving the coming onslaught from military defenders.

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It’s the culture. Everyone is so concerned about whether or not there will be a false case of reporting and someone losing their career … but the truth be told, it is more likely than not that a victim will lose their career if they report.

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“It comes down to archaic attitudes held by current leadership,” said Coughlin, who is now a board member for the advocacy group Protect Our Defenders.

“There are good people in the military who want that old attitude to go away,” she said, but the establishment “is clinging to traditions that are really now undermining the whole mission.”

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