Every Airman's honor stained by sexual assault

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Anthony Polashek
  • 514th Operations Group
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Son: Father, will the MacGregors ever be kings again?

Robert Roy MacGregor: All men with honor are kings. But not all kings have honor.

Son: What is honor?

Robert Roy MacGregor: Honor is what no man can give you, and none can take away. Honor is a man's gift to himself.

Son: Do women have it?

Robert Roy MacGregor: Women have the heart of honor. And we cherish and protect it in them. You must never mistreat a woman, or a lame man. Or stand by and see another do so.

Son: How do you know if you have it?

Robert Roy MacGregor: Never worry on the getting of it. It grows in you, and speaks to you. All you need do is listen.

From the motion picture Rob Roy.

Honor is a word often used, particularly in the military. It is easy to grow complacent in the use of the word, but its meaning is essential to the profession of arms. We represent our nation on the field of battle, are entrusted with the defense of our nation and are held to a higher standard than those around us.

For many years, Gallup polls on confidence in institutions have indicated that American society regards the military with more confidence than any other institution included in the poll, with 75 percent answering a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in our military. Congress, by contrast, earned 13 percent.

We enjoy the reputation that our greatest predecessors and comrades have earned, a great many of whom have knowingly made the ultimate sacrifice. We have an obligation to serve with honor and do our best to be worthy of that reputation so that we can pass it on to those who will take up the mantle when we are gone. We must do this to help them to serve honorably and more successfully by following our example, as our best role models did for us.

Two prominent sexual assault cases recently have inflamed already passionate criticism and condemnation of the response of our military to sexual assault allegations. These two cases both involved personnel in positions of particular responsibility in sexual assault response, indicating that our armed forces have a very serious problem, since the same people we have specifically appointed and entrusted to protect our personnel are now charged with being sexual offenders.

The headlines are full of outrage over the situation, and we are all damaged by the stain. Our comrades, recruits, retirees and our nation deserve better. Our success as a fighting force depends on mutual trust, confidence in our comrades, crewmates and commanders, and honorable conduct on and off the field of battle.

Every Airman deserves to be treated with respect, and every Airman is expected to act with honor. We have no place in our ranks for and cannot tolerate those who will not.