Commanders, however, need to keep their authority in handling sexual assault cases, Odierno said. Removing that authority will make commanders less accountable, affect unit discipline and delay punishment


He needs to understand that commanders were part of the problem.....there was no safe place to report these assaults......

It will certainly will affect unit discipline and punishment if those guilty actually have to be disciplined and punished. By the way how exactly does the authority to overturn a guilty verdict not delay punishment?

As well educated as the brass are, these guys don't even have the smarts to pay lip service to solving this problem.

Thus if the Commander In Chief (i.e. President Obama) believe the change ordered by a subordinate was wrong, he could change it back himself. Thus not only the Commander will have to justify what he or she did, but everyone in the chain of command would have to, up to and including the President of the US.

That was the rule, when this rule was first adopted by Oliver Cromwell in 1649 and it prevented commanders from over ruling any Court Martial without just cause (Or course the opposition was also permitted under the Rules, i.e. the Commander could INCREASE any punishment ordered by a Court Martial, as did General Winfield Scott did in Mexico in 1848 in regards to American Soldiers, when he ordered them HANGED instead of just whipped).