EQUALITY WATCH : Basic Training

Formal training to prevent sexual harassment got under way this week for the Marines of El Toro Marine Air Station. In the wake of the Tailhook scandal, the Navy has ordered all active-duty personnel to spend eight hours learning the definition of sexual harassment and military policy on acceptable behavior between men and women in uniform. That’s good, but on a broader scale it’s not enough. Tailhook and its immediate aftermath should mark the beginning of a concerted nationwide effort to end sexual harassment in the workplace--both military and civilian.

Military training to prevent sexual harassment has been around in various forms since 1980. But the issue took on urgency when 26 women alleged they were sexually abused at the Tailhook naval aviators convention last fall in Las Vegas.

The Navy’s mandatory training day should send a clearer message than the brass has sent in the past that harassment or worse, assault, is intolerable. But the military must reinforce its message with even stronger actions, linking promotions for all personnel to a record of civilized and respectful behavior.

It isn’t surprising that harassment continues to plague the military, still composed largely of young men grappling with issues of sexuality and maturity and conflicting feelings toward women, who were admitted to this once all-male “club” only recently. But what is sobering indeed is the realization that the military’s turmoil over harassment may be but a window into other workplaces where many more Americans still wrestle with this problem.