Sexual violence in the military has become one of the most controversial issues discussed over the years. The topic has received extensive media coverage and contributed to numerous media scandals. According to a 2011 Newsweek report, women are more likely to be assaulted by fellow soldiers than killed in combat. The Department of Defense estimates that approximately 19,000 sexual assaults occur among military personnel each year. This number is suffocating when you consider that in the last year only 1,108 soldiers have submitted requests for investigation and of these only 575 cases have been dealt with. Of the 575 cases handled only 96 ended up in Court Martial. Obviously from the numbers, sexual violence is a serious problem in the military. Just as in the civilized world, there are biases when it comes to the guilt or innocence of the attacker, as well as the validity of the accuser's statements. I believe that the system in place may be inadvertently contributing to the continued increase in sexual assault and that, if it is not addressed quickly, it will be detrimental to the organization as a whole. Sexual violence has a severely negative impact on service members and their families. This impact impacts their work, limiting mission readiness and undermining national security. The current military system is based on obedience and respect for authority. From entering boot camp where personnel are mentally reconditioned to become a soldier, airman or sailor in the United States Armed Forces, they are taught that following orders comes before personal feelings or beliefs. Following orders is crucial to completing a mission and ensuring that the job is done correctly and that what you think or feel is not worth sharing... middle of paper... in reality, what motivates victims to report attacks through the appropriate channels? Victims are under the impression that because they don't have a rank, they won't be listened to. As stated previously, a soldier's job is to follow orders and their own opinions, beliefs and feelings take far less precedence over job performance and ability to do their job. Without trust in the system that is supposed to protect the victim and prosecute the accused, the cycle will continue. Flaws in the current system of doing things make staff vulnerable to predators. This vulnerability not only weakens the strength of the sexual assault prevention and response program, but I believe it also weakens the Army as a whole. With the increases, it looks like we will get weaker and weaker in the years to come. Something must be done before this weakness becomes more evident to our enemies.