Reports of sexual assaults across the military increased slightly last year, with the Air Force showing the biggest jump of all the services at 9%, according to a Defense Department report released Thursday. The annual report shows an overall increase of 3% in the number of reports filed by or about military members during 2019. Nate Galbreath, acting director of the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, said he’s cautiously optimistic that the lower increase suggests a trend in declining assaults, but said it’s too difficult to tell because the crime is vastly under-reported.
