Speaking at the U.S. Naval Academy commencement ceremony, President Barack Obama says sexual assault threatens the "trust and discipline" that makes the U.S. military strong and respected.
In a speech to the graduating class of 2013 at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., President Barack Obama challenged the 1,047 graduates to “live with integrity” and help restore trust in a military that has been stained by recent charges of sexual assault, just as other American institutions have been shaken by misconduct. “We need your honor… we need values now more than ever,” he urged them. “Even more than physical courage, we need your moral courage.”
“Those who commit sexual assault are not only committing a crime, they threaten the trust and discipline that make our military strong,” he said.
He drew a parallel between financial chicanery on Wall Street, the recent Internal Revenue Service scandal of targeted scrutiny of conservative groups, and the sexual assault incidents in the military, saying “If we want to restore the trust that the American people deserve to have in their institutions, all of us have to do our part — and those of us in leadership, myself included — have to constantly strive to remain worthy of the public trust.”
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