( CNN ) -- Sexual harassment and sexual assault in the military `` are a profound betrayal of sacred oaths and sacred trusts , '' Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told cadets Saturday at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point . `` This scourge must be stamped out , '' he said during a commencement address . `` we are all accountable and responsible for ensuring that this happens . We can not fail the Army or America . We can not fail each other and we can not fail the men and women that we lead . '' Hagel cited similar admonitions made Friday by President Barack Obama to newly commissioned officers at the U.S . Naval Academy in Annapolis , Maryland . Sexual assaults in the armed forces undermine Americans ' confidence in the military , the commander-in-chief said . `` That 's why we have to be determined to stop these crimes , '' Obama said . `` Because they have no place in the greatest military on Earth . '' Their comments came in the wake of a series of allegations of sexual impropriety in the military and an estimate that their incidence is growing : . -- This week , the Army said it had suspended Brig . Gen. Bryan Roberts , the top general at Fort Jackson in South Carolina , after allegations of adultery and assault . -- Last week , a U.S. Army sergeant first class stationed at West Point was charged with covertly shooting videos of female cadets in showers and latrines . -- This month , an Army sergeant first class assigned to the sexual assault prevention unit at Fort Hood , Texas , came under investigation for alleged sexual assault , pandering , abusive sexual contact and maltreatment of subordinates . He has been relieved of duty while investigators look in to the allegations . -- Also this month , an Air Force officer who managed an assault prevention unit , was charged with sexual battery , accused of grabbing a woman and groping her buttocks and breasts in an Arlington County parking lot near his Washington office . -- The Department of Defense estimated this month that 26,000 cases of unwanted sexual contact -- from groping to rape -- occurred last year in the military , 35 % higher than the estimate from 2010 . The vast majority of those incidents went unreported as crimes , the study showed . Opinion : Soldiers and sex : Can men evolve ?
Secretary Hagel 's remarks follow allegations of sexual misconduct in the military . Department of Defense estimates 26,000 cases of unwanted sexual conduct last year . Obama addressed the issue on Friday at the Naval Academy .