I think allegations of sexual assault puts officers in a position for which they are not qualified in the least. Without excusing poor handling of an accusation, it's possible to understand the bind they are in.

The "he said, she said" nature of many of these reports strain the civilian legal system which includes professional investigators with training and experience, attorneys and judges. Charges simply aren't filed in many, many civilian cases for lack of evidence. That is not to say that the accused isn't guilty, it's to say an attorney could claim "reasonable doubt" effectively when it is just one person's word against another.

Panetta says he wants to keep the investigatory and discipline process in the chain of command. I'd suggest he move those complaints out of the chain and into a staff process where professionals acting like a civilian grand jury can investigate and then make recommendations to the chain, which would then conduct the further proceedings.

But let the woman talk first with experienced people, and let the field grade people off the hook. They aren't qualified for this one.