Air Force Secretary reports 54 cases of rape, assault at Academy...

Drudge ^

[Maedhros]

Nothing follows...

[Bush2000]

I went to the Naval Academy in the early 80s. One of the big issues at the service academies is that male and female cadets/midshipmen are not permitted to date one another. It's called fraternization. It still happens, of course, but it's considered a serious offense if two cadets are caught in a compromising position in the dorm. I happen to know of a particular case in which a woman was involved with a number of midshipmen. She got caught and, rather than get disciplined or possibly discharged, she alleged sexual assault. Nearly all of the midshipmen involved were discharged. These cases happened more often than people really realized but, in most of them, it was found to be consensual, the individuals involved were disciplined, and life went on.

I'm not suggesting that the rape charges in the Secretary's report were trumped up. But I am suggesting that a powerful motive exists to allege sexual assault in the event that a relationship is discovered. The bottom line is that we should be careful in trying these cases. The military's penchant for expediency is not known for protecting the rights of the accused. It worries me that the service academies will now bend over backwards to discharge cadets on the flimsiest of evidence.

[Uncle Miltie]

My 12 year old daughter aspires to the Academy. PLEASE get this cleaned up, or I will be unable to endorse her effort.

[EternalHope]

Time to bring back flogging.

Speaking as an Air Force Academy grad, I agree completely. Provided they then lock 'em up and throw away the key.

Knowing their political leanings, the media may have exagerated the extent of the problem. However, exagerated or not, this problem has got to be stopped, completely, right NOW.

One of the most important things the military academies are supposed to teach is: HONOR.

[judgeandjury]

When you are 20 and you see a fairly attractive woman ...biology takes over.

But the decision to rape a woman is made in a man's mind.

[af_vet_rr]

I realize some here may not agree with me, but the best change would be to not allow any women in the military

It's not the women being in the military that caused the rapes here, it's the men who couldn't follow rules and regulations. Don't try and make excuses for the perps, they broke the laws, not the women. If they can't follow the rules and regulations, they have no business serving in our military.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Yeah, right, that'll fix everything. These thugs will just go back to raping women who aren't in military service, and we don't need to worry about them. < /sarcasm>

The problem here is that we have rapists being prepared, at taxpayer expense, to be officers in our armed forces. Some of us find that to be unacceptable. The occupations of their victims have no bearing on the rapists' guilt and unfitness to serve in our armed forces.

[Thud]

The Air Force Academy is the key element in creating the Air Force's institutional culture. This issue is deadly serious. Rape as institutional value is suicidal. The Air Force seems to have gone Serb.

[drjimmy]

Funny how this should get published TODAY of all days.
What exactly do you think is funny about this sad piece of information? It was published TODAY because the information was revealed TODAY by the Air Force secretary during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

[rabidralph]

My 12 year old daughter aspires to the Academy. PLEASE get this cleaned up, or I will be unable to endorse her effort.

Send her to a real academy: The U.S. Naval Academy. Maybe some female mids ought to go over there and straighten out those Zoomies.

[pepsionice]

When you start looking at the junior Air Force officer corps today (from a retired enlisted guy, who still works around AF operations)...there are definite 'problem children' who have wrapped up their academy days and in the real world now. I would make a guess that at least 3 percent of them need a mental check-out, and probably need to be limited to four years in the Air Force. As for the reasons for the problems...lower standards for entry, sports importance over studies, lack of leadership shown from the mainstream AF officers, and 'fill the squares' attitude constantly thrown at them.

I had an assignment once...and found out that the boss was going to be a legendary major. A number of us had heard about the guy who as a 2LT had a female airman come up and tell him that a 1LT in the office was harrassing her....for months. The new 2LT walked up to the 1LT and told him that he was out of order and to knock it off. The 1LT told him to just shut...he didn't know the real story. The 2LT grabbed the dimwit by the collar, dragged him into a broom closet and whooped the 1LT up by the head...causing a definite blackeye. The reason this young Lt could do so...was his college days at Kent State, on both the football and rugby squads, and his dedication to principals. The 1LT fell to the floor in total shock. And the young 2LT simply said....rules are rules...if you aren't smart enough to obey them...then you need pain to set things right. The commander found out about the knock-down, and tried to tell the 2LT not to do this again. In less than year, he repeated the same procedure with a NCO. Years later, here I was, working for this individual...I felt absolute leadership in his presence and respect for rules. Almost all of the junior officers and enlisted came to that conclusion. And if any dimwit had harrassed a female member of the flight...we each would have taken the individual out to the broom closet for a whoop session.

What we are missing today...are people who mean just what they say. We don't need square fillers...we need actual leaders. There isn't a single reason why there ought to be a single case of rape at the academy in a average year.

[Destro]

God save the Republic from young college girls with morning after regrets.

What is that old Army saying? It is not rape in the top bunk.

I know what I am saying is harsh, but women cry rape all the time, especially drunk girls at a college party with guilty consciences.

[Destro]

Charges of rape are not proof of rape-even against the Serbs.

Where is the spike in pegnancies/abortions and STDs in Bosnia and Kosovo after such mass rapes?

[Illbay]

I have a very, very good idea. Let's create a "women-only" service academy to serve all four branches. Mixing the sexes in the service academies was ALWAYS a bad idea.

I'm not letting the rapists off the hook (assuming it WAS rape; remember that rape has been redefined for some time now; it occurs even if the woman was willing at the time but had regrets subsequently). Catch them, drum them out of the academy, then prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.

But it is ridiculous to assume that "sensitivity training" is the answer.

[Illbay]

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper was traveling to the Air Force Academy Thursday to meet with cadets.

What an unfortunate name, under the circumstances.

[Illbay]

If it helps, I've ALWAYS been of this opinion. The unisex military has been a failure on many levels. Check out the statistics on pregnancy on board ships at sea.

I don't know how long it's going to take for the p.c. pendulum to swing back, but it couldn't happen too soon as far as I'm concerned.

[Illbay]

No one is excusing rape. But in the first place I would be interested to know how "rape" is defined. On some college campi, "rape" is defined as any sexual coupling that the woman regrets, whether before, during or after the fact.

Second, the sexes don't need to be commingled in the service academies. The first priority needs to be service to the country, not social experimentation.

[leadpenny]

What is your guess? Could this spill up and over into the ranks of those officers now on AD? Could it be as big as the Tailhook witch hunt? I'm retired Army but not an Academy grad. I remember the cheating scandal at the USMA in the 70's when they brought Gen. Goodpaster (sp?) back on AD to straighten the place out. I think the USNA has had their own cheating scandal since then also.

[GovernmentShrinker]

As a graduate of a womens' college, I think that's a good idea, which I would modify. These incidents seem to be happening almost exclusively between upperclass men and first or second year women (mostly first, I gather). Keeping the men and women separate for the first two years would solve most if not all of the problem, and putting them together for the final two years would avoid the problem of their not being well-prepared to work together after they graduate.

[cynicom]

Annapolis???? Surely you jest....Not too long ago, the middies were running a hot car ring there, among other querstionable activities.

Not to long ago, three of their staff wanted to dust me up for asking them to cease their drunken vulgar language in a popular Annapolis eatery. Guess the booze and the fact they outnumbered me three to one gave them courage, plus they could see I was was rather elderly.