(Image Source: Flickr / U.S. Army )   BY CHRISTIAN BRYANT   A House Panel approved legislation Wednesday to help curb the growing epidemic of sexual assaults in the military. The proposed legislation will strip commanding officers of the power to change or dismiss court-martial convictions.   The legislation will also move to dismiss or dishonorably discharge service members found guilty of sexual offenses. The legislation follows a May 7 Defense Department report outlining a staggering number of sexual assaults in 2012. (Via WAVY )   The annual report estimated 26,000 cases of unwanted sexual contact among troops, ranging from rape to groping. The findings were a 35 percent jump up from 2010. (Via CNN )   The hope is this legislation will empower victims to come forward and ultimately change military culture. This strategy by the House Panel follows recent, highly-publicized cases of male military officers behaving inappropriately towards female officers.   Most recently, a highly-decorated male sergeant at West Point has been accused of secretly videotaping at least a dozen female cadets, some while they were showering. Sgt. Michael McClendon was relieved of his duties and now faces four counts of criminal charges. (Via NPR )   One NBC news correspondent points out: “He was charged with looking after the well-being and discipline of 125 cadets.”  (Via MSNBC )   Accusations against McClendon aren’t the only ones of their kind, as others officers in positions of power have been accused of similar, and in some cases, more violent offenses.   RT reports Twenty-nine-year veteran Brigadier General Bryan Roberts faces accusations of assault and adultery after engaging in a physical altercation with a woman. He was the Army’s top general at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.   And according to USA Today , the Army is investigating Sgt. 1st Class Gregory McQueen for sexually allegedly assaulting a female officer and running a small-time prostitution ring. Ironically enough, McQueen was a sex abuse educator at Fort Hood in Texas.   ARLnow first reported the arrest of an Air Force officer in Arlington, Virginia who was the chief of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response. Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski was arrested earlier this month and charged with battery after fondling a woman.   And WSMV reports this man, Lt. Col. Darin Haas faces charges of “aggravated stalking and violating an order of protection filed against him by his ex-wife.” Like McQueen and Krusinski, Haas was also a leader of a sexual harassment prevention program in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.   Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called for sexual assault prevention personnel to be exempt from mandatory furloughs this year, but with a caveat.   Hagel ordered a review and recertification of the credential of nearly 25,000 personnel involved in sexual assault prevention programs. (Via The New York Times )   Sources report the new legislation received bipartisan support and the measures contained within will be included in the Armed Services Committee’s defense policy bill for 2014. The full House will consider the defense policy bill in the next few weeks.