NEWS: USAF Academy Rape Scandal Continues

After the Pentagon released its report on the handling of the rape/sex scandal at the U.S. Air Force Academy, a woman who maintains that she was raped is angry at how the situation is being handled. She claims that it appears that the officers who were supposed to have dealt with the accusations were excluded from blame in the Pentagon�s report. Instead, she says, officers who were ultimately responsible were deemed to have acted appropriately. The academy, located in Colorado Springs, Colorado has been the focus of numerous problems as of late, including cheating, sex, drugs and rape.





I find this interesting in that a woman made a claim that she was raped, only to be punished for it and nothing being done in regards to her alleged attacker. The Pentagon is brushing this whole issue under the rug in an effort to stop the almost constant flow of scandals that continue to pour out of the Academy. This is not an isolated incident; last year nearly 150 women, cadets from a 10 year period, came forward to say that they had been sexually assaulted by fellow cadets.
The Pentagon needs to do more than find underlings culpable, they need to change their way of thinking and how cases such as these are handled. Rape is a serious crime and if the image of the military has to be tarnished to get this behavior stopped, well, then so be it.



The policies need to change and accountability needs to be more important than cronyism.


[edit on 8-12-2004 by beergoggles]

Well that's the problem with this kind of situation, they're more worried about image and how it reflects on the organization rather than handing out justice.

Good pilots are hard to come by and already so much money is invested them, so give them a break will ya? C'mon it's only about 12%.....

I hope that Bush, who likes to speak about moral values, will not only clean the CIA but clean the acadamies as well from that "don't tell or you will be removed from the acadamy" policie, In that case I will honour him with a white ribbon.



[edit on 8-12-2004 by Countermeasures]

Nothing I have read about this case over its course -- particularly the comments of the academy staff -- has led me to believe that anyone in command at this academy should remain in command.

There is definitely a major problem, and it starts at the top.

My condolences to those officers in the USAF whose reputations are stained by this travesty.

Here is hoping those responsible for protecting the honor of the academy will stop worrying about their sorry backsides and do the right thing instead.

After the Talehook scandal in 1991 you would think that the military would begin to clean up its act, especially at an academy.

I wanted to know what kind of punishments were handed down after Tailhook and was surprised by what I found:

In total, 119 Navy and 21 Marine Corps officers were referred by Pentagon investigators for possible disciplinary actions. They were cited for incidents of indecent assault, indecent exposure, conduct unbecoming an officer or failure to act in a proper leadership capacity while at Tailhook '91. Further, 51 individuals were found to have made false statements during the investigation. None of these 140 cases ever went to trial. Approximately half were dropped for lack of evidence. Most of the rest of the men "went to the mast" - an internal, non-judicial disciplinary procedure that meted out fines and severe career penalties. Almost all of these cases involved unseemly behavior rather than sexual assault.

Not one of the 140 cases ever went to trial.

Is it any wonder then why the Airforce Academy is basically saying let's put this behind us and attempt to do better in the future?

B.
PBS

Originally posted by Countermeasures
Good pilots are hard to come by and already so much money is invested them, so give them a break will ya? C'mon it's only about 12%.....

A friend of mine was raped many years ago, when I found out about it I gave the guy a break ... right between C3 and C4.

He died later from complications.

He was scum, just as all rapists are. I don't care if they cost 200million apiece, they should be dealt with like the sexual terrorists they are.

Maybe I'll move to Colorado Springs.

Oh man, even in the US academy? So apparently the sexual frustration or predator instincts start from cadet school. Why am I finding this funny?

[edit on 9-12-2004 by Indigo_Child]

It does make one wonder just who is fighting and defending the American way doesn't it. Murderers and rapists it appears are common place.

Unfortunately this is true of most armed forces, not just the US.

This is so typical of military and police. Sweep it under the carpet, pretend everybody is doing their jobs, smile and pretend we are all good cops, airmen, etc. Unfortunately the same qualities that seem to make a good soldier,or cop also seem to make a good rapist as well.