Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller answered tough questions from U.S. senators on both sides of the aisle today about the growing scandal of explicit photos being shared on the Marines United Facebook page and other websites.
He called the actions of Marines engaged in cyberbullying female members of the corps "truly disturbing and unacceptable."
Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee with acting Secretary of the Navy Sean Stackley and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Ronald Green, Neller said the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating the allegations and will hold accountable any service members involved.
But some senators were not satisfied with the military leadership's response.
"When you say to us, 'It's got to be different,' that rings hollow," said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. "I don't know what you mean when you say that. Why does it have to be different because you all of a sudden feel that is has to be different? Who has been held accountable?"
.@SenGillibrand: It's "a serious problem when we have members of our military denigrating female Marines...with no response from leadership" pic.twitter.com/6kuEF3M5Pp
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 14, 2017
She pressed Neller on how commanders would be held responsible as well.
"It is a serious problem when we have members of our military denigrating female Marines who will give their life to this country in the way they have, with no response from leadership," Gillibrand said.
"So if you're dedicated to fixing the culture of the Marines and all the services, what do you plan to do to hold commanders responsible who fail to get this done?" she added.
Neller has acknowledged that the sharing of explicit photos online is linked to a broader cultural problem that must be addressed.
"I'm responsible," he said in reply to Gillibrand. "I'm the commandant. I own this, and we are going to have to, you know, you've heard it before, but we're going to have to change how we see ourselves and how we do — how we treat each other. That's a lame answer, but ma'am, that's the best I can tell you right now. We've got to change, and that's on me."
On Friday, Neller made an impassioned request to women who may have been victims of the military's nude photo sharing scandal to step forward so that those responsible could be held accountable. On Friday he said "less than 10" female victims have been identified.
Marine commandant urges women in explicit photo scandal to step forwardToday he told the committee that a "small number" of victims have come forward, and he repeated that others need to speak out about online harassment they received. Stackley said a tip line set up for service members to share information with leadership received 53 calls as of Monday.
It's estimated that 30,000 people had access to the Marines United Facebook page, a private Facebook group established several years ago as a support network to help fellow Marine veterans dealing with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder, Neller said. A link posted on the site led to another internet storage site, where some members of the group posted explicit photos of female Marines; the link and separate site have since been removed by the internet service provider, he said.
Neller and Stackley said that about 500 Marines United members accessed the link to the explicit photos. The two men added that did not have a breakdown of active duty military personnel, veterans and civilians who were involved in that site. Stackley said anonymity can make it difficult to identify individuals online.
The other military services are also looking into reports that photos of female members from all the branches were posted on additional websites.
The Marine Corps has the lowest percentage of female members among the five military services, with women making up about 7 to 8 percent of Marines, and it has focused recruiting efforts on increasing the number of women in uniform.
Neller addressed the relationship between some male and female Marines in today's hearing.
"The female Marines are a small group in our Corps," he said. "And for whatever reason, there are still some number — and I don't think it's separate from the sexual assault issue, but this issue of denigration of women, objectification of women, misogyny, however you want articulate it, or just bad behavior is tied to the way that some ... male Marines look at women in the Marine Corps."
In his opening statement, Neller asked female Marines past and present to trust that the issue will be addressed.
"I know I'm asking a lot of you right now, but I ask you trust the leadership of the Marine Corps to take action and correct this problem. I ask you to trust me personally as your commandant and when I say I'm outraged that many of you haven't been given the same respect when you earn the title Marine," he said.
Neller listed several examples of female Marines who were recently killed in the line of duty, asking male Marines, "How much more do the females of our Corps have to do to be accepted?"
"We have to commit to get rid of this perversion to our culture. Enough is enough," he said, adding that he believes this scandal is "not indicative of the great majority of Marines."
Gen. Neller: "I don't believe—I may be wrong, pray to God I'm not—but I don't believe this is indicative of the great majority of Marines" pic.twitter.com/GbDIGnfiS4
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 14, 2017
Active-duty service members who take and share explicit photos of others without their consent can be punished under varying articles in the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., suggested active-duty Marines should be dishonorably discharged to send a "signal" to deter others from similar behavior.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., suggested that veterans convicted of these actions could lose their military benefits. "We need to make it a very frightening proposition for people, going forward, to be captured in this sort of activity," he said.
ABC News' Luis Martinez and Sekar Krisnauli contributed to this report.