If you were to ask 10 people to describe someone in the military, you would probably find a lot of similarities in their answers: strong, brave, disciplined, tough, respectful. However, if you were to glance at the newswires, those aren’t the kind of virtues you would read about today.

In the past month, the reputation of the U.S. military has been tarnished by a string of sexual assault allegations:

These events highlight a growing problem within the U.S. military. In a report released by the U.S. Defense Department, the number of sexual assault cases has been on the rise in the past few years. It estimated that in 2012 there were 26,000 cases of sexual assault, though only 3,374 were reported.

The degradation of the military is a sad reflection of the degradation of society in general. Feminists want to see continued integration of men and women in the armed forces, despite these assaults. Yet common sense tells you that more women in the military provides more opportunity for sexual impropriety—so don’t expect this trend to change, regardless of any reforms implemented.

The lack of self-control on the part of such men in the military is deplorable. Gone are the moral standards of the past when men generally respected and protected women. In today’s sexualized society, too often men simply view women as objects.

The degradation of the U.S. military, which is supposed to reflect the highest standard of respect and discipline, is a telling sign of American society. To understand more about what is happening in the military, read “The Vanishing ‘Man of War.’”