On September 24, the Senate Armed Services Committee and the House Armed Services Total Force Subcommittee heard testimony from the members of the Panel to Review Sexual Misconduct Allegations at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
The seven-member civilian panel was established by Congress as part of the FY2003 emergency supplemental spending bill (P.L. 108-11) to examine “the policies, management, and organizational practices and cultural elements of the Academy that were conducive to allowing sexual misconduct, including sexual assaults and rape, at the Academy.” The panel was given three months to complete its work, and released its report on September 22.
Former Rep. Tillie Fowler, of Holland & Knight, chaired the panel and was the lead witness at both hearings. Ms. Fowler summarized the events that led to the panel’s creation. “The statistics are appalling during the ten-year period from January 1, 1993 through December 31, 2002, there were 142 allegations of sexual assault at the Academy, for an average of more than 14 allegations a year. According to the Academy’s surveys, this only represents 20% of the actual assaults (with female cadets responding that 80% of assaults go unreported).”
Ms. Fowler continued: “The roots of this crisis go as deep as the institution’s culture. We found the most striking indicator of the existence of a hostile environment for female cadets in the Academy’s own survey data data that was simply dismissed by leadership because it was ‘unscientific.’ Just last year, more than one-fourth of the responding male cadets stated they did not believe that women belong at the Academy. One cadet fourth-class wrote, ‘Even with women in the Armed Forces, they should not be at the military academies.’ Another: ‘Women are worthless and should be taken away from USAFA.’”
While commending the Air Force for policy changes at the Academy that were included in the “Agenda for Change,” released in March 2003, the panel members expressed their particular concern with the elimination of any form of confidential reporting of sexual assaults. Ms. Fowler explained, “…that stripping away all confidentiality takes the Academy backwards to 1995 when the lack of confidentiality resulted in underground support groups and unreported crimes. The Panel believes a balance must be maintained between the support and treatment of victims and the prosecution of assailants.” The panel recommended the creation of a program that “combines the existing CASIE (Cadets Advocating Sexual Integrity and Education) program with a trained victim advocate psychotherapist managing the program. This would ensure the Academy has available to all sexual assault victims an established form of privileged communication within which to report their assault.”
Ms. Fowler also focused on the need for external oversight, recommending that the House and Senate Armed Services Committees exercise more aggressive oversight of the Academy. She also highlighted the panel’s recommendation that the Inspector General of the Department of Defense conduct a “thorough review of the accountability of the previous leaders at the Academy and Air Force headquarters.”
Both Senators and House Members expressed praise for the work of the panel and its recommendations, as well as their continuing concerns with the Academy culture. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) stated, “It is appalling to me that I have encouraged young women to apply to the academies, and made recommendations for them to attend, all the while not knowing that they were being put in danger by being there.” She urged, “There must be aggressive internal and external oversight to make sure Academy leadership does not continue to turn a blind eye to violent acts against women.”
Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) commended the panel and asked, “You had only 90 days to do this…you’ve done an incredible job. If you had more time, what further areas of inquiry would you pursue…are there any other studies or follow-up that you think Congress needs to pursue..?”
Ms. Fowler responded, “We were able to cover all of the key points…help us get them implemented and then see how they are working a year from now…this is a work in progress…and it will take some finetuning along the way.”
