Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Tuesdayordered a worldwide review of hiring practices at all U.S. military day carecenters after the Army revealed that it discovered problems with securitybackground checks of workers at a Washington-area center.
Shortly after the Army said it was launching aninvestigation of hiring practices at its 283 day care centers worldwide,Panetta's press secretary, George Little, issued a statement saying Panettasupports the review.
Little said Panetta has directed each of the militaryservices to conduct similar reviews. The actions stem from the Sept. 26 arrestsof two Army employees accused of assaulting children at a Fort Myer, Virginia,day care center. But the problem there apparently is much deeper; indicationsare that at least 30 workers at the Fort Myer facility have histories that callinto question their suitability to care for children, two officials said. Theofficials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation into workerbackgrounds at Fort Myer is not completed.
"Military children are precious members of our DefenseDepartment family," Panetta said. "As a department, protecting ourservice members and their families is paramount."
After the Fort Myer arrests, the Army replaced the day carecenter's management team and found what the Army called "derogatoryinformation" in the background of an unspecified number of other employeesthere.
Army officials did not reveal the derogatory information.
In addition, Fort Myer began a review of the backgroundfiles of about two dozen other day care workers to determine whether theyshould be fired, the Army said. That review apparently is ongoing.
"The safety of the children under our care is our mostimportant responsibility," said Col. Fern Sumpter, the Fort Myercommander. "The quality of their care and safety has been and willcontinue to be our most important priority."
Sumpter said the day care center was closed "out of anabundance of caution" and the children moved to a separate day care centerat Fort Myer. A Fort Myer spokeswoman, Mary Ann Hodges, said the center wasclosed on Dec. 13.
Of the two Fort Myer day care workers who were arrested, onefaces five counts of assault and the other faces four counts of assault,according to the Army.
Based on the findings at Fort Myer, Army Secretary JohnMcHugh said Tuesday he ordered an Army-wide review of hiring practices andmanagement at every day care center.
"These initial findings are not only troubling, theyare unacceptable, and we will make certain that adequate policies andprocedures are in place, and that they are strictly followed and fullyenforced," McHugh said.