How prevalent do you think false accusations are?

I believe falsely accused Sexual assault/ Assault being reported is very prevalent in the US Military. If its a former (male or female) spouse they have nothing to lose but all to gain. The service member loses career and any benefits; the spouse gets a payday from the Army. Army loses by putting huge amounts of man hours towards the issue and losing soldiers that are innocent. Does the issue of assault serious yes , but so is someone being wrongly accused.

In the Army, and likely all walks of life, when you are a leader, and you enforce standards, the easiest way for Soldier to cause you grief is to complain to EO or the IG... And, they know it. In both arenas, you then have to prove you are not guilty... They merely need the preponderance of evidence, which means over 50% vs. beyond a reasonable doubt.

In terms of criminal complaints, not so much. Especially when in comes to sexual assaults. In the last 5 years we have had a huge paradigm shift. Previously, the common perception was that SA victims often make false accusations. Research tells us the opposite. The focus then shifted from preventing victims from being victims, to identify and nailing the perpetrators.

I know that false accusations do occur, and unfortunately I have been witnessed instances when they occurred. However, I think there usually is some sort of realism that surrounds the accusations.