Sexual assault in the military 'is dangerous to our national security,' Obama said. Obama on military sex assaults

Sexual assault in the military is “dangerous to our national security,” President Barack Obama declared Thursday as he huddled with his top military leaders at the White House to find a way to put an end to the problem.

Flanked by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, Obama convened the meeting in the Cabinet Room just before 5 p.m. Vice President Joe Biden also attended, along with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the service secretaries and others.


Obama said all of the military leaders at the table had expressed to him “that they’re ashamed by some of what’s happened.”

( Also on POLITICO: Sex assault scandal tests Pentagon)

“The reason we are so good is not because of fancy equipment, it’s not because of our incredible weapons systems and technology, it’s because of our people,” he said. “It comes down to, do people trust each other and do they understand that they’re all part of a single system that has to operate under whatever circumstances effectively? The issue of sexual assault in our armed forces undermines that trust.”

Sexual assault in the military “is dangerous to our national security” and is “not a sideshow,” he said. “This goes to the heart and the core of who we are and how effective we’re going to be.”

The president called the meeting after another sexual assault case rocked the Pentagon. On Tuesday, defense officials revealed that a soldier who worked as a sexual assault response coordinator at Fort Hood in Texas was under investigation for pandering and sexual assault.

USA Today reported that the soldier, identified as Sgt. 1st Class Gregory McQueen, was allegedly running a small-time prostitution ring and was under investigation for the sexual assault of another soldier.

Earlier this month, an officer in charge of the Air Force’s sexual assault prevention program, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, was charged with sexual battery after allegedly groping a woman in an Arlington, Va., parking lot. He is due in court in July.

And on Thursday, The Associated Press reported the manager of the sexual assault response program at Fort Campbell in Kentucky has been arrested in a domestic dispute and relieved of his post.

Citing Army officials, the AP said Lt. Col. Darin Haas turned himself in to police late Wednesday on charges of violating a protection and stalking order and was removed as manager of the program designed in large part to prevent sexual harassment and assault.

Under intense political pressure from Congress, Hagel has ordered all sexual assault prevention workers and recruiters to be retrained and is holding weekly meetings on sexual assault at the Pentagon. And a group of senators led by New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand proposed new legislation on Thursday that would change the military justice system in a way advocates that say would help better protect victims.

At the White House, Obama said he would work with military leaders and Congress to quash sexual violence in the ranks, but he cautioned that it would not go away overnight.

“There’s no silver bullet to solving this problem,” he said. “This is going to require a sustained effort over a long period of time.”

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 6:20 p.m. on May 16, 2013.