Pentagon announces sexual assault prevention plans

The Pentagon announced a plan Thursday to deal with sexual assault in the ranks, including tighter control of recruiters and trainers, shored-up protections for victims and improved tracking of complaints and cases involving sexual abuse.

Among the initiatives:

• Ensuring the enforcement of policies prohibiting inappropriate relationships between recruiters, instructors and green troops. USA TODAY has reported that the Pentagon has disqualified 60 troops from positions as recruiters, instructors or counselors after it screened them for criminal backgrounds, including sexual assault.