WASHINGTON – The Army says it removed 588 soldiers from sensitive jobs such as sexual assault counselors and recruiters after finding they had committed infractions such as sexual assault, child abuse or drunken driving.
The move resulted from orders by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel last year that all the services review the qualifications of people in those jobs as part of an effort to stem sexual assaults in the military.
The Army went beyond Hagel's order, reviewing qualifications and records of 20,000 soldiers who worked in those jobs as well as others they call "positions of trust," such as drill sergeants and training school instructors.
Aside from losing their jobs, it wasn't clear whether those who failed the review were reassigned or kicked out of the military.
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