Is rape OK in the military because

[stevenleser]

14. You see the response at #9 from Pelican. This is the belief by some folks, that Commanders

should not be locked out of the process.

I do not agree, but I understand the thoughts behind it. The chain of command is very important in the military. I vigorously object to allowing commanders to set aside the conviction of ANY crime when their own advising counsel are against it. Both of the high profile cases where commanders set aside rape convictions were done over the express objection of the commanders' own staff judge advocates.

I think folks like Sen. Levin think that the change of taking legal action completely out of the chain of command is too big of a step. They think it has the potential to undermine what the military likes to call "good order and discipline". That is different from the motivation of old school types who I think are deliberately allowing these things to happen to push women out of the military.

Right now, a military person's commander is at the center of every disciplinary measure and that fits in a way because that is to whom each person ultimately reports, their commander. The military could have had things continue that way, but they screwed up military justice in the case of sexual assault so now there needs to be a sea change.