Stephanie Schroeder was twenty-one when she joined the United States Marine Corps shortly after the attack on the World Trader Center. In 2002, Schroeder's life changed when another Marine beat and raped her in a bathroom. Rather than punish his attacker, a non-commissioned officer told Schroeder, "Don't come bitching to me because you had sex and changed your mind" (Martin). Shortly after, Schroder was released for a personality disorder which she said was caused by her trying to report the incident. Unfortunately, Schroeder's story is not uncommon. Each year, approximately 26,000 service members are sexually assaulted by other service members in the U.S. military (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights). The Tailhook scandal in 1991, in which 90 service members were sexually assaulted by members of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, highlighted the harmful epidemic of sexual assault in the United States military, but it still continues today, more than twenty years later. Congress has passed several pieces of legislation to crack down on the staggering number of sexual assaults that have been occurring for decades. Some of the solutions proposed to end this problem are extreme, such as removing women from certain combat roles, and others are helpful but inadequate, such as the bill recently passed by Senator McCaskill, which makes minor changes to the current military system for managing sexual assault. But none of these solutions will succeed in eradicating the epidemic of sexual assault in the American military. Although 14,000 victims of sexual assault in the military are men and 12,000 are women (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights), women are considered the primary victims. For this reason, removing women from equal roles in combat was...... middle of paper...... new legislation. Although McCaskill is noble in his actions, his bill does not go far enough to end sexual assault in the military. Thanks to brave women like Stephanie Schroeder and the Tailhook scandal in 1991, sexual assault in the U.S. military does not carry the same stigma. this was the case in the past. Even Congress is “genuinely embarrassed by the extent of sexual assault in the military.” This is conduct that is unbecoming of a soldier and also makes the recruitment of women more difficult” (Rosen). Unfortunately, sexual assault is unlikely to be completely stopped. It can, however, be reduced by legislation. Some proposed legislation, such as reinstating the ban on women in combat and Senator McCaskill's bill, will not effectively reduce the epidemic. But until a proper solution is put in place, sexual assault will continue to permeate the US military..