20/20 Report on Air Force Academy

[RunUp]

While I agree that the media in general and 20/20 in particular often have problems with accuracy (or simple truthfulness for that matter), it seems that they were right this time. According to a Los Angeles Times report, "Air Force admits 54 academy sex crimes." The Secretary of the Air Force admitted that there were probably many more unreported assaults. I predict that this is going to get REAL ugly.

Regarding my comments about the Honor Code that BeachBum took issue with - I have nothing but respect for those who live up to the principles set forth in the Honor Code, and I apologize to anyone who took offense. My point was that, given the fact that cadets are being assaulted on such a large scale, it is inconceivable that many other cadets were not aware of it. The phrase, "...nor tolerate among us anyone who does" has kind of a hollow ring to it, given the situation at the USAFA.

 

[Midnight Mike]

Don't blame the media too much for this one, the gals were the ones to inform the media.

 

[Spur]

They were only right if you dont care about the truth. I know how USAFA operates on this matter. I know what they qualify as a "sexual assault". After 4 years of EO brainwashing sessions that everyone was required to attend, you learn that even looking at someone in a way they consider offensive is a "sexual assault". I have no doubt they can look back 5-10 years and find 54 events which fit their definition of "sex crimes". Do I believe there are some actual crimes in those 54 "events", sure, but it is certainly not to the extent they are reporting. I will not guess at the number that are legitimate, but it is certainly not 54.

Well, I guess I will have to relay to two "sex crimes" of which I have personal knowledge at the AF Academy. The first occured to a friend of mine who I met in basic training and was a really good dude. While we were sophomores he learn a squadron mate of his got a note a female cadet indicating she wanted to perform felatio on him. He and 3 other male cadets talked with this guy and learned that the female was coming by his room after class. They decided they were going to hide in the room and surprise this dude and female cadet before anything happened and seriously embarrass them. We apparently she was to fast for them and the act began before they could let their presence be known to the two love birds. Well a couple of weeks later a rumor of the occurence was circulating the Academy and when the female cadet heard, she attempted suicide by overdosing on ibuprofen. You can kill yourself with motrin? Well apparently you can, because she nearly succeeded. While recovering in the hospital the full story got out and the result was that all 5 male cadets were expelled, one was justified in that sex in the dorms is an offense punishable by dismissal. The other 4 were dismissed for "sexual harrassment". The female cadet, who instigated the sex act, was allowed to remain at the Academy.

I'll save the other one for later, but it involves a male cadet being dismissed, reinstated, dismissed, reinstated, dismissed, then reinstated, and given an Article 15 for creating a "hostile environment" (Quote from his Art 15). All this for disciplining a female cadet.

 

[AlbieF15]

Warning: Pontificiation alert

Ok, here's my 2 cents...

Spur...I have heard about the "spectator for the BJ" story and other simliar tales. One of my very best friends is an Eagle driver...soon to be an ops officer....who is a grad. He had a fling or two with a female cadet along the way...and the sad fact is if he had been busted he would have been thrown out at 21 and never would have been able to accomplish all he has for our country and our Air Force. I find the whole thing rather silly.

I think cramming 1500 18-22 year olds in co-ed, oppressive enviroment and then saying "no sex" is unrealistic. I have seen overt and covert "fraternization" and adultry on about every Northern Watch and Southern Watch rotation I ever did. The fact is, sometimes men and women, especially when placed in stressful situations, will do what comes "naturally" to the species. Honor code is one thing...but the whole "no sex" is just hazing in my opinion. What does a young person away from home for the first time and wanting to "experiment" with sex have to do with the potential to be a leader at 35?

Second--maybe I'm biased as the father of 3 girls, but the whole "double standard" of sexual conduct...in a word... ...blows. The dude on the receiving end of said event would have likely been a hero to his academy bros...but the gal would be forever a slut, etc. The fact these guys wanted to sneak in and "watch" makes me think they must be the kind of guys who were NOT going to be able to have ANY kind of physical relationship with another gal....cadet or otherwise. The idea of 3-4 guys sneaking in and spying is sophmoric and shows the level of sexual maturity at the Zoo. Frat boys at other colleges have likely done the same thing...but my thoughts are "big deal!" and "why can't you leave those 2 the heck alone?" Are 2 young adults having sex (okay...maybe not according to Clinton) such a unique and rare occurance it requires the entire dorm? This ramification is a product of the male/female ratio issue inherient at the acadamies. Any gal who does "break" a rule is likely to be well known immediately. You also get the "Alpha male and pack" deal going among the guys....as witnessed here by "alpha" having sex while his giggling cohorts hid in the closet.

I know cadets who join the AFA understand the rules beforehand. However, I just think those rules foster a sense of immaturity and create an atmosphere more like a high school than a place for young adults. I chose to go to a school offering AFROTC largely for this reason--I wanted to fly, but I wanted to live "unsupervised' after 18 years in my parents home. I don't discount the value of a "free", world class, academy education--but the lack of social time and opportunities for a realistic relationship with members of the opposite sex is a VERY real tradeoff. Yeah, my parents (God bless them) put the silver spoon in my mouth and paid for my education, and not everyone can do that these days. However, for you "wannabes" out there, before you sign up for the academies visualize yourself in the kind of enviroment where an inopportune sexual adventure can get you thrown out on your keister, infamous in the cadet corp, or even forced out of school and sent into the force as an enlisted troop.
A free education is a great benefit...but having to sneak around like an 15 year old when you are a 22 year adult makes it much less of a bargain.

 

[VMA214]

"A free education is a great benefit..."

Yeah,...free...as we used to say "a hundred thousand dollar education shoved up your a$$ a nickel at a time"

 

[Mu2Driver]

Yeah,...free...as we used to say "a hundred thousand dollar education shoved up your a$$ a nickel at a time"

They now say it is worth $250,000...I still have a few thousand nickels to go...ouch

 

[VMA214]

"They now say it is worth $250,000"

Yeah, well, I'm dating myself!

 

[HPaul3]

Warning: Pontification Alert, part II

Disclaimer: I'm a grad, married to a grad. So if that disqualifies me in your mind, hit the "Back" button now and God bless you.

First, I believe the truth is probably somewhere between the two extremes. Some of the alleged 54 rapes occurred, some were glossed over by the authorities, some were wolf-crying by female cadets looking to get out of trouble. To those who committed the rapes, you can go straight to he11. Good riddance and have fun at Leavenworth. And to those who cried wolf, I wish you the same fate. You've unnecessarily ruined someone's life. I hope you can live with that, or better yet I hope it gnaws at you from the inside until you become a bitter, used-up shrew. Chances are that's impossible though, based on your previous actions.

Second, I believe some of the posters on this thread underestimate the social maturity of the majority of cadets. Surely, dorks abound (I know...takes one to know one). But they are not the majority. Most of the cadets I've dealt with, both of my generation and younger, as well as thousands of grads, have a pretty realistic viewpoint about the Academy experience. These are not stupid people; most of them are quite aware that they're not getting the UCSD treatment, and the men especially understand that they're just not going to have the same opportunity for social (and sexual) intercourse. I give the males who would avail themselves of the services of a female with a certain relaxed morality no more respect than said female. Albie, I respect your choice to go ROTC, but I think you'd soften your position a little if you had lived the USAFA life for a while. We weren't nearly as isolated and naive as you might think. (And I won't purport to have the slightest clue as to what your ROTC experience was like )

Third, in my time at the USAFA and the many years that have passed since then, I never heard even a rumor of this kind of problem. I was good friends with many woman cadets, some of them very attractive (really!...and I don't mean to link rape to physical attractiveness), and never heard any mention of the slightest inkling of rape or abuse. My wife, who knew practically every woman cadet at school (they stick pretty close together), had the same experience. Times inevitably change, and maybe I'm the naive one, but I would think the kind of institutionalized rape machine alleged by 20/20 et al would be impossible to hide. After all, the media seem to have given the impression that this was an accepted, ignored, or even encouraged way of life at USAFA. BS, and shame on them for creating that impression.

Finally, please do not link the Honor Code to this terrible scandal. The vast majority of cadets I knew lived by the code, embraced it and considered it an integral part of their matriculation. I am very proud to have lived by the Code for four years, and I have done my best to continue honoring it since then. The very sad fact that some cadets have committed crimes on the USAFA property does not lessen the importance of the Honor Code nor its influence on the vast majority of cadets and graduates. And to you who have looked the other way from an actual rape, perhaps perpetrated by your roommate or friend, I say good riddance to you as well. You are not welcome here.

Respectfully,
HP

 

[dgs]

HPaul3 -- Well written post. I would expect nothing less from a grad. MU2Driver was not nearly as articulate or careful about the quality of his writing and didn't represent USAFA nearly as well. He must have been in a hurry.

I hesitated from replying to this post earlier because my experience is dated and I didn't see the 20/20 report. Most of the things I heard were coming in emails from the AOG and advertising snippets for 20/20.

I also figured the truth was somewhere in the middle. Some of these were probably true assaults. Others were probably something less. Many of these "events" are never as clear cut as we would like. Those who committed crimes should pay the price. While these things should never happen at any college, they should be EXTREMELY rare at a school like USAFA that prides itself on discipline and professionalism.

What bothers me most is the contention that the USAFA administration was not investigating or properly dealing with the incidents. In today's AF climate I can't imagine any officer ignoring or covering up these misdeeds IF they came to their attention. The bottom line is that whatever the administration did, they did not adequately address the concerns of the women involved. If they had, this would not have been an issue. To that extent, the administration needs to fix its process so that every incident can be properly and fully investigated.

Of course the press will sensationalize the story--because that's what sells. It will be interesting to see what the truth is once the dust has settled.

Albie -- I think the rule is probably "no sex in the dorms" not "no sex at all." (Current cadets--please correct me if I'm wrong.) I suspect that even your college had that rule, even if it wasn't enforced. There are lots of good reasons for that rule and the bottom line is that for the most part the rule keeps it discreet when it does happen. Surely you can understand why that would be necessary for good order and discipline. It is not a haze--it's common sense. Hotels and parties off base are a completely different story and I suspect that many of the incidents in question occurred off base. The no sex in the dorms rule has probably been in place since the 60's. Yes, there are plenty of famous stories about guys sneaking women onto the campus (the F-104 tailpipe is probably the most famous) and into their rooms just to "dare the system." Many miles have been walked on the tour pad for those who were caught.

Your double standard argument is nice soapbox, but no different at USAFA than any other college. That's just the way it is, so you better prepare your girls. BTW, the women I respected most at USAFA were those who could balance their femininity with being "one of the guys" in a male-dominated environment. They were the most professional cadets and officers.

To those of you who haven't lived under the honor code you may not understand that there is a HUGE difference between violating the honor code and violating rules or regulations. Playing with the rules is a full time game for some people, and they pay the price with punishments if they get caught. The honor code is not a game. If you violate it, including toleration of HONOR CODE violations (not reg violations), then you will be out the door. Criminal acts result in Court Martial.

 

[dgs]

Details from the press

After contemplating my previous post and realizing that I didn't know what was being reported in the media about this "scandal," I decided to read some of the news articles from the Denver TV station that initiated this story and prompted the 20/20 episode. I also read several other articles, including AP wire releases about the subject. Here's what I found:

The 99 number is the number of phone calls made to the Academy's own hotline. "There have been at least 99 calls reporting some form of sexual assault, from inappropriate touching to rape, according to the academy." The hotline has been open since 1996. This number is often misquoted as the "number of attacks."

"The Air Force has identified at least 56 allegations of rape or sexual assault at the academy over the past 10 years. Officials believe there are many more cadets who have not come forward."

"A center in Colorado Springs says it has counseled at least 22 cadets over the past 15 years, including one who was gang-raped. In the past seven years, only 20 cases of sexual assault have been formally investigated at the school, leading to the dismissal of eight male cadets."

There seems to be tremendous variation in the numbers due to lack of reporting and seeking outside assistance. I have faith that the current investigation will have a pretty good idea of the extent of the problem by the time they are all done.

The specific accounts of the rapes are always painful to read. Additionally, the statement that upperclass women told freshmen that they could expect to be assaulted is also troublesome. However, what bothers me most are the accusations that the women did not feel like they had a mechanism to report these attacks and the perception that the attackers were somehow immune from prosecution. That's a cultural problem that needs to be fixed. I'm confident that with the current microscopic inspection of the problem, it will be fixed.

However, some of the ideas currently being proposed, such as segregating the women are ludicrous. Rarely do the attacks occur in the women's room. Additionally, many experts claim it will be counterproductive and I agree. Cadets need to learn to live and work together. Rape is a crime of violence, not a result of "temptation." My hope is that the Congressmen who are pushing for some of these changes will wait to support the recommendations that will truly fix the problem, instead of supporting "politically correct" solutions to please their constituencies.