2003 US Air Force Academy sexual assault scandal
Encyclopedia
The Air Force Academy sexual assault scandal in 2003 involved allegations of sexual assault
at the United States Air Force Academy
, as well as allegations that the alleged incidents had been ignored by the Academy’s leadership.
began admitting female officer cadets for the first time on 28 June 1976. The first class with women graduated in May 1980, and were nicknamed "80s Ladies".
, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force
, Senator Wayne Allard
, Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell
, other U.S. Congressmen, and media representatives. The e-mail asserted there was a significant sexual assault
problem at the United States Air Force Academy
that had been ignored by the Academy’s leadership. The Secretary immediately directed the General Counsel of the U.S. Air Force (SAF/GC) to establish a high-level working group to review cadet complaints concerning the Academy’s program of deterrence and response to sexual assault. The Secretary also asked the working group to review allegations of sexual assault reported from January 1993 through December 2002. The Secretary subsequently directed the Air Force's Inspector General to review individual U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) cases and to investigate cadet complaints concerning the alleged mishandling of sexual assault cases. In due course these investigations were carried out and a report issued on 14 September 2004.
or attempted rape while at the Academy. Of 659 women enrolled at the Academy at the time, 70 percent of the 579 women at the academy alleged they had been the victims of sexual harassment, of which 22 percent said they experienced "pressure for sexual favors."
Nineteen percent of those surveyed claimed to have been the victims of sexual assault and more than seven percent said that assault took the form of rape or attempted rape. The alleged attackers had since graduated; there was insufficient evidence for court-martial
. Sexual predation was mainly directed toward freshmen and sophomores who were under 21 and were blackmailed after accepting alcohol from upperclass cadets. Several assaults allegedly occurred while women were under the influence of alcohol. Accusers have generally left the academy, as they decided not to continue with courts martial, their cases lacked merit or evidence of force or lack of consent, and because many were also on shaky academic and/or disciplinary ground before their alleged incidents or at least violated rules for alcohol abuse and fraternization which contributed directly to the situation in which assaults allegedly occurred.
This situation is thought to have been generally known among the leadership of the United States Air Force, but little has been done until recently to correct the situation or to discipline officers in leadership positions at the Academy; those that have been disciplined have often been scapegoat
s, including a Colonel who was forced into retirement despite having been assigned to the Air Force Academy for only two months, well after the rapes occurred. This culture of sexual abuse represents a significant stain on the honor and reputation of the Academy
In more recent years, however (beginning specifically in the spring semester of 2003), new leadership was instated at the Academy, and began sweeping changes to the Academy culture and environment in order to correct the problems. Specifically new sexual assault reporting procedures have been produced, alongside new mandatory reporting procedures, as part of an "Agenda for Change" program.
A confidential survey of 4,200 cadets and midshipmen, including all of the women and about 1,000 men, at US military academies conducted by the Defense Department in the spring of 2004 revealed 302 claims of sexual assault by women of which only one third had been officially reported. Taking this data into consideration, on 18 March 2005 a new policy was announced for all US military academies which would permit a victim of sexual assault to seek counseling and medical care confidentially without triggering the disciplinary process. This policy, it is hoped, will increase the percentage of sexual assaults which are reported and increase the willingness of victims to seek assistance. Military commanders would receive notice of the request for help but not the identity of the victim thus providing them with more accurate information. Hopes were expressed that the new policy, by giving more control over the situation to victims, would also result in more official reporting through disciplinary channels.
On 26 March 2005 it was reported in the combined weekend edition of the Rocky Mountain News
and The Denver Post
that acting Secretary of the Air Force
, Peter B. Teets
had recommended in a memo to Donald Rumsfeld
, Defense Secretary that former commanders and other Air Force officers, now mostly retired, who were implicated in the sexual assault scandal by the inspection by the Inspector General's Office and the Fowler Commission
not be prosecuted as they had "acted in good faith" and "were not intentionally or willfully derelict in their duties" as they attempted to deal with the sexual assault issue. Continuing, Teets wrote, "Moreover, any mistakes or misjudgments some of them may have made are mitigated by the complexity of the issues they faced, the necessity of policy trade-offs and compromises, and the difficulty of measuring program effectiveness... The record of missed warning signs is disturbing, but these officers acted in good faith to discharge their responsibilities to act in the cadet's best interests by taking bold steps to deter sexual assaults and implement effective reporting procedures... Given their uniform excellence and long service to the Air Force and their country, I have determined that taking the highly unusual step of imposing disciplinary action against these retired members under these circumstances is not warranted."
Teets's memo was forwarded to Congress over the Easter weekend, but despite the congressional recess was met with dismay by the office of Senator Wayne Allard
, Republican Senator from Colorado and Representative Louise Slaughter, Democrat of New York who have led congressional inquiries into the scandal. Concern was also expressed by Kate Summers of the victims rights group Miles Foundation.
In late 2006, a military judge dismissed a rape charge against an accused cadet because the accuser's mental health professional refused a court order to release medical records of statements the accuser had made to her. On 10 January 2007, the Associated Press reported that civilian prosecutors declined to file charges in an alleged sexual assault that started the aforementioned 2003 sexual assault scandal because they could not meet the required burden of proof.
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
at the United States Air Force Academy
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
, as well as allegations that the alleged incidents had been ignored by the Academy’s leadership.
Context
President Gerald R. Ford signed legislation 7 October 1975 permitting women to enter the military academies; the United States Air Force AcademyUnited States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
began admitting female officer cadets for the first time on 28 June 1976. The first class with women graduated in May 1980, and were nicknamed "80s Ladies".
Allegations
The scandal began with an anonymous e-mail on 2 January 2003 to the Secretary of the Air ForceUnited States Secretary of the Air Force
The Secretary of the Air Force is the Head of the Department of the Air Force, a component organization within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Secretary of the Air Force is appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate...
, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force
Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
The Chief of Staff of the Air Force is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Air Force, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Air Force, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the...
, Senator Wayne Allard
Wayne Allard
Alan Wayne Allard is a member of the Republican Party, and was a United States Senator from Colorado. He did not seek re-election in 2008.-Early life:...
, Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Benjamin Nighthorse Campbell is an American politician. He was a U.S. Senator from Colorado from 1993 until 2005 and was during his tenure the only American Indian serving in the U.S. Congress. Campbell was a three term U.S. Representative from 1987 to 1993, when he was sworn into office as a...
, other U.S. Congressmen, and media representatives. The e-mail asserted there was a significant sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
problem at the United States Air Force Academy
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
that had been ignored by the Academy’s leadership. The Secretary immediately directed the General Counsel of the U.S. Air Force (SAF/GC) to establish a high-level working group to review cadet complaints concerning the Academy’s program of deterrence and response to sexual assault. The Secretary also asked the working group to review allegations of sexual assault reported from January 1993 through December 2002. The Secretary subsequently directed the Air Force's Inspector General to review individual U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) cases and to investigate cadet complaints concerning the alleged mishandling of sexual assault cases. In due course these investigations were carried out and a report issued on 14 September 2004.
Findings
Twelve percent of the women who graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2003 reported that they were victims of rapeRape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
or attempted rape while at the Academy. Of 659 women enrolled at the Academy at the time, 70 percent of the 579 women at the academy alleged they had been the victims of sexual harassment, of which 22 percent said they experienced "pressure for sexual favors."
Nineteen percent of those surveyed claimed to have been the victims of sexual assault and more than seven percent said that assault took the form of rape or attempted rape. The alleged attackers had since graduated; there was insufficient evidence for court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
. Sexual predation was mainly directed toward freshmen and sophomores who were under 21 and were blackmailed after accepting alcohol from upperclass cadets. Several assaults allegedly occurred while women were under the influence of alcohol. Accusers have generally left the academy, as they decided not to continue with courts martial, their cases lacked merit or evidence of force or lack of consent, and because many were also on shaky academic and/or disciplinary ground before their alleged incidents or at least violated rules for alcohol abuse and fraternization which contributed directly to the situation in which assaults allegedly occurred.
This situation is thought to have been generally known among the leadership of the United States Air Force, but little has been done until recently to correct the situation or to discipline officers in leadership positions at the Academy; those that have been disciplined have often been scapegoat
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
s, including a Colonel who was forced into retirement despite having been assigned to the Air Force Academy for only two months, well after the rapes occurred. This culture of sexual abuse represents a significant stain on the honor and reputation of the Academy
In more recent years, however (beginning specifically in the spring semester of 2003), new leadership was instated at the Academy, and began sweeping changes to the Academy culture and environment in order to correct the problems. Specifically new sexual assault reporting procedures have been produced, alongside new mandatory reporting procedures, as part of an "Agenda for Change" program.
A confidential survey of 4,200 cadets and midshipmen, including all of the women and about 1,000 men, at US military academies conducted by the Defense Department in the spring of 2004 revealed 302 claims of sexual assault by women of which only one third had been officially reported. Taking this data into consideration, on 18 March 2005 a new policy was announced for all US military academies which would permit a victim of sexual assault to seek counseling and medical care confidentially without triggering the disciplinary process. This policy, it is hoped, will increase the percentage of sexual assaults which are reported and increase the willingness of victims to seek assistance. Military commanders would receive notice of the request for help but not the identity of the victim thus providing them with more accurate information. Hopes were expressed that the new policy, by giving more control over the situation to victims, would also result in more official reporting through disciplinary channels.
On 26 March 2005 it was reported in the combined weekend edition of the Rocky Mountain News
Rocky Mountain News
The Rocky Mountain News was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As of March 2006, the Monday-Friday circulation was 255,427...
and The Denver Post
The Denver Post
-Ownership:The Post is the flagship newspaper of MediaNews Group Inc., founded in 1983 by William Dean Singleton and Richard Scudder. MediaNews is today one of the nation's largest newspaper chains, publisher of 61 daily newspapers and more than 120 non-daily publications in 13 states. MediaNews...
that acting Secretary of the Air Force
United States Secretary of the Air Force
The Secretary of the Air Force is the Head of the Department of the Air Force, a component organization within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Secretary of the Air Force is appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate...
, Peter B. Teets
Peter B. Teets
Peter B. Teets was the thirteenth Director of the National Reconnaissance Office and the Under Secretary of the Air Force....
had recommended in a memo to Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
, Defense Secretary that former commanders and other Air Force officers, now mostly retired, who were implicated in the sexual assault scandal by the inspection by the Inspector General's Office and the Fowler Commission
Fowler Commission
The Fowler Commission was a seven-member congressionally mandated panel charged with investigating charges concerning the United States Air Force Academy's sexual assault reports . The commission was created pursuant to and was chaired by former Florida Congresswoman Tillie K. Fowler...
not be prosecuted as they had "acted in good faith" and "were not intentionally or willfully derelict in their duties" as they attempted to deal with the sexual assault issue. Continuing, Teets wrote, "Moreover, any mistakes or misjudgments some of them may have made are mitigated by the complexity of the issues they faced, the necessity of policy trade-offs and compromises, and the difficulty of measuring program effectiveness... The record of missed warning signs is disturbing, but these officers acted in good faith to discharge their responsibilities to act in the cadet's best interests by taking bold steps to deter sexual assaults and implement effective reporting procedures... Given their uniform excellence and long service to the Air Force and their country, I have determined that taking the highly unusual step of imposing disciplinary action against these retired members under these circumstances is not warranted."
Teets's memo was forwarded to Congress over the Easter weekend, but despite the congressional recess was met with dismay by the office of Senator Wayne Allard
Wayne Allard
Alan Wayne Allard is a member of the Republican Party, and was a United States Senator from Colorado. He did not seek re-election in 2008.-Early life:...
, Republican Senator from Colorado and Representative Louise Slaughter, Democrat of New York who have led congressional inquiries into the scandal. Concern was also expressed by Kate Summers of the victims rights group Miles Foundation.
In late 2006, a military judge dismissed a rape charge against an accused cadet because the accuser's mental health professional refused a court order to release medical records of statements the accuser had made to her. On 10 January 2007, the Associated Press reported that civilian prosecutors declined to file charges in an alleged sexual assault that started the aforementioned 2003 sexual assault scandal because they could not meet the required burden of proof.
See also
- Sexual assault in the United States military
- Aberdeen scandalAberdeen scandalThe Aberdeen Scandal was a military sex scandal in 1996 at Aberdeen Proving Ground, a United States Army base in Maryland. The Army brought charges against 12 commissioned and non-commissioned male officers for sexual assault on female trainees under their command.-Charges brought against the...
- Rape in the United States of America
External links
- Article, "Pentagon blames Air Force Academy leaders for sexual misconduct scandal," 8 December 2004, GOVEXEC.com
- Evaluation of Sexual Assault, Reprisal, and Related Leadership Challenges at the United States Air Force Academy, 3 December 2004, Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense
- Colorado Spring Gazette article, "Confidentiality military-wide for alleged sexual assault victims," 8 December 2004