Panetta: Ethics training needs updates

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BANGKOK, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said the military needs to re-evaluate its ethical training following allegations of misconduct against senior officials.

Panetta said recent ethical problems such as allegations of inappropriate communication between Gen. John Allen, the top commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and a woman tied to the sex scandal involving CIA director David Petraeus, are not signs of a systemic problem in the military, the Voice of America reported Thursday.

"We're coming out of 10 years of war and I really do think that it's probably important that we begin to look again at how we can make sure that we maintain the highest ethical standards," Panetta said Thursday from Bangkok, where he is meeting with defense and foreign ministers in advance of next week's Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.

Panetta issued an order Thursday for U.S. military commanders to review ethics training and make improvements where they are deemed necessary.