Military sexual assaults increase sharply, Pentagon report finds

Unwanted sexual contact was characterized in the report as running along a range of instances from groping to rape.

In a letter to senior officials across the Defense Department on Thursday, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan announced additional steps the Pentagon would take to try and actively reduce and attempt eliminate what has been a major issue for years.

"To put it bluntly, we are not performing to the standards and expectations we have for ourselves or for each other. This is unacceptable," Shanahan wrote in the letter. "We cannot shrink from facing the challenge head on. We must, and will, do better."