The U.S. military has been one of the most powerful and respected fighting forces in the world; it is also a hotbed of sexual violence. Every year, thousands of men and women take an oath to serve and protect their country, and every thousands of military service members are sexually assaulted. “Earlier this week, Pentagon officials released a new report estimating that more than 70 sexual assaults occurred in the military every day.” (Shane III) Fear of retaliation, both personal and professional, and humiliation prevent many service members from reporting their sexual assaults. . Those few who make the courageous choice to report incidents of sexual violence often find themselves disappointed with the outcome; assaults that are reported have an incredibly low conviction rate of the offender. The US military has demonstrated over time that it is incapable of effectively addressing the problem of sexual violence it faces. an increase in complaints is a sign of greater trust in the system". (Hlad) The US military has created an environment that allows those who commit sexual violence to roam freely without any real fear of legal consequences; this can only be stopped if civilian courts are allowed to handle and try all US military sexual assault cases. The US military has a long history of problems with sexual assault. The number of sexually assaulted women in the US military is 5% higher than that of women in the official population; it is estimated that 20,000 sexual assaults against women in service occur every year. However, this is not a strictly female problem; it is estimated that nearly half of…half of the paper…these predators will return to the civilian population and, with no criminal history of sexual assault, will pose a risk to many Americans. year, thousands of people raise their right hands and take an oath to serve and protect this country; they make the promise to give their lives if that is what they are called to do. Every year thousands of these same people see their fundamental rights violated and those responsible do not take the necessary measures to ensure justice. The US military and its chain of command have had years to fix their broken system and have failed to do so. It is time for the U.S. military to relinquish command and grant civilian courts the right to try and punish sexual assault cases that occur in the military. This is the only way we can ensure that those who serve our country will get the justice they deserve.