BANGKOK - Citing a string of ethical lapses by senior military officers, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has asked the Joint Chiefs of Staff to review ethics training and to brainstorm on ways to steer officers away from trouble.
The move is a reflection of the depth of concern triggered by a series of misconduct cases in a military that prides itself on integrity and honor but has suffered an unusual number of stumbles after a decade of war.
In a memo to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, Panetta made no explicit reference to the David Petraeus sex scandal, which also has ensnared the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen. Panetta's press secretary, George Little, said the memo was the product of internal Pentagon discussions that began before Petraeus announced he was resigning as CIA director because of an extramarital affair.
Also Thursday, Panetta said he knows of no other senior U.S. military officers being linked to the Petraeus and Allen investigations.
Speaking at a Bangkok news conference, Panetta said he retains "tremendous confidence" in Allen.
"I am not aware of any others that could be involved in this issue at the present time," he said, adding that he wanted the American public to understand that the vast majority of military officers serve ethically and with distinction.
"One thing I do demand," he said, "is that those who seek to protect this country operate by the highest ethical standards."
Panetta declined to describe the nature of the emails and other correspondence between Allen and Florida socialite Jill Kelley, which others have called flirtatious and potentially problematic for the Marine four-star general.
Asked whether any of those emails are sexually explicit, Panetta said, "What I don't want to do is to try to characterize those communications because I don't want to do anything" to limit the ability of the Pentagon inspector general to conduct an objective review of the Allen matter.
