Interesting follow-up to the myopia post
Mar. 26th, 2003 03:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
camwynI'm not going to comment on this, except to make a very quiet pumping of the fist in midair and a here's-hoping-this-helps crossing of the fingers.
Shakeup at Air Force Academy After Rape Scandal
Wed March 26, 2003 12:19 PM ET
By Sue Pleming
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force announced on Wednesday the removal of four top officials at its elite academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where dozens of women cadets said they were raped and their complaints ignored.
Pledging to change the "broader climate" at the academy, the Air Force removed the current leadership and promised to provide a "safe, secure" environment for cadets.
"(It) comes in the wake of a series of reports of sexual assault at the Colorado Springs, Colorado, institution," said an Air Force statement announcing the changes.
The academy's superintendent, Lt. Gen. John Dallager, and its second-in-command, Brig. Gen. Taco Gilbert, along with the vice commandant, Col. Robert Eskridge and the commander of cadet training, Col. Laurie Slavec, would leave the academy.
The Air Force nominated Maj. Gen. John Rosa to replace Dallager, who will retire, and Brig. Gen. Johnny Welda to succeed Gilbert, who was assigned to the Pentagon. Two women will also join the leadership team.
Nearly 60 cases of sexual assault or harassment have been reported at the school over the last decade and many of the women claimed their complaints were not taken seriously.
Secretary of the Air Force James Roche said the sexual assault problems predated the current leadership and he stressed Gilbert and Dallager were not responsible.
"Still, change must occur and a new leadership team to implement these changes is in the best interest of the academy and the Air Force," said Roche.
At a Senate committee hearing, Roche assured lawmakers the Air Force was doing everything it could to make the academy a secure place for all cadets.
"We first and foremost have to make the first steps so that the families of these young women coming in June can believe that their daughters are OK," said Roche. "And also that the families of the male cadets can believe that due process is going to be applied in all cases."
Sen. Richard Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, said he hoped the Air Force would bring in credible parties to restore the integrity and reputation of the academy.
Air Force chief of staff, Gen. John Jumper, who has two daughters in the Air Force, said he had written to the parents of incoming cadets to assure them of a first-class education.
The Air Force announced new procedures making it easier for women to complain about sexual assault and offering amnesty to cadets who raised sexual assault allegations.
Three military investigations of the academy are being conducted and congressional hearings are being held to hear the response of the women who say they were raped.
The U.S. military has been subject to a string of sex and rape scandals in the past decade. The Navy had the 1991 "Tailhook" sexual harassment scandal in which 140 male Navy and Marine officers were accused of abusing 90 women at a meeting in Las Vegas.
The Army has also had a high-profile case involving the rape of female recruits by male drill sergeants.
A recent report showed that one-third of former military women treated by Veterans Affairs medical centers reported rape or attempted rape during their military careers.
Researchers at the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Medical Center said their study, published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine this month, found a prevalence across the military of sexual assault and harassment.
Shakeup at Air Force Academy After Rape Scandal
Wed March 26, 2003 12:19 PM ET
By Sue Pleming
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force announced on Wednesday the removal of four top officials at its elite academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where dozens of women cadets said they were raped and their complaints ignored.
Pledging to change the "broader climate" at the academy, the Air Force removed the current leadership and promised to provide a "safe, secure" environment for cadets.
"(It) comes in the wake of a series of reports of sexual assault at the Colorado Springs, Colorado, institution," said an Air Force statement announcing the changes.
The academy's superintendent, Lt. Gen. John Dallager, and its second-in-command, Brig. Gen. Taco Gilbert, along with the vice commandant, Col. Robert Eskridge and the commander of cadet training, Col. Laurie Slavec, would leave the academy.
The Air Force nominated Maj. Gen. John Rosa to replace Dallager, who will retire, and Brig. Gen. Johnny Welda to succeed Gilbert, who was assigned to the Pentagon. Two women will also join the leadership team.
Nearly 60 cases of sexual assault or harassment have been reported at the school over the last decade and many of the women claimed their complaints were not taken seriously.
Secretary of the Air Force James Roche said the sexual assault problems predated the current leadership and he stressed Gilbert and Dallager were not responsible.
"Still, change must occur and a new leadership team to implement these changes is in the best interest of the academy and the Air Force," said Roche.
At a Senate committee hearing, Roche assured lawmakers the Air Force was doing everything it could to make the academy a secure place for all cadets.
"We first and foremost have to make the first steps so that the families of these young women coming in June can believe that their daughters are OK," said Roche. "And also that the families of the male cadets can believe that due process is going to be applied in all cases."
Sen. Richard Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, said he hoped the Air Force would bring in credible parties to restore the integrity and reputation of the academy.
Air Force chief of staff, Gen. John Jumper, who has two daughters in the Air Force, said he had written to the parents of incoming cadets to assure them of a first-class education.
The Air Force announced new procedures making it easier for women to complain about sexual assault and offering amnesty to cadets who raised sexual assault allegations.
Three military investigations of the academy are being conducted and congressional hearings are being held to hear the response of the women who say they were raped.
The U.S. military has been subject to a string of sex and rape scandals in the past decade. The Navy had the 1991 "Tailhook" sexual harassment scandal in which 140 male Navy and Marine officers were accused of abusing 90 women at a meeting in Las Vegas.
The Army has also had a high-profile case involving the rape of female recruits by male drill sergeants.
A recent report showed that one-third of former military women treated by Veterans Affairs medical centers reported rape or attempted rape during their military careers.
Researchers at the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Medical Center said their study, published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine this month, found a prevalence across the military of sexual assault and harassment.
