There was a “significant” drop in reported sexual harassment and assaults at the U.S. military service academies over the past two years after a spike in 2022, but rates remain high, according to new Pentagon data released Thursday.

In the 2023-24 academic year, 783 cadets and midshipmen — 457 women and 327 men — experienced sexual assault or harassment, which the Defense Department called “unwanted sexual contact,” or USC, at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The numbers are higher than among active duty troops of similar ages, but the findings are still a big drop from 2022, when students experienced 1,136 incidents of unwanted sexual contact.

The 2022 report, which revealed sexual harassment and assaults had reached the highest level on record since the Pentagon began tracking the issue in 2006, alarmed officials and set off a series of reviews and a leadership shakeup.

But while reported USC is down overall at the three schools, which enroll more than 12,000 students collectively, defense officials warned that the numbers are “still comparatively high,” with much work to do. They are also concerned that while students revealed the 783 incidents, only 103 were........

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