A time for healing: Air Force Academy leadership and cadets look toward the future

Airman, March, 2004 by Christine L. Kunz

In one of the largest dining facilities in the Air Force, 4,125 cadets hungrily down their ham and croissant sandwiches, affectionately known as "fatty bags" for their extra caloric value. Twenty minutes later at 7:20 a.m., as fast as this huge hall filled up, it stands empty.

Walking outside into the cool autumn air reveals a scurry, of activity. Everyone has the same destination--classes in Fairchild Hall. At a quick glance, this setting may resemble a normal day on any college campus. But the sea of blue uniforms, the steady salutes and the freshman cadets running along a small strip of marble tile lets outsiders know this is the Air Force Academy.

But this academy is no longer the same place where marching "tours" on the Terrazo with M-14 rifles or in-processing on the ramp under the "Bring Me Men" sign are two events leading to graduating from the Long Blue Line.

Allegations of sexual abuse within the academy walls during the past 10 years have emerged that threaten to taint its proud 49-year history. Now, plagued with the highest number of reported sexual assaults in its history, senior leaders and cadets are making historic changes to fix the problem. Today, this is a new and improved academy with sweeping changes in training, sexual assault reporting procedures and cadet life that will take a lot of getting used to, by those outside the walls as well as those within.

A tainted Long Blue Line

The Air Force Academy is an institution with a proud tradition of service to the United States, marching out second lieutenants since the first class graduated in 1959. In 1976, women began studying alongside their male counterparts as cadets, and, today, women make up 17 percent of the cadet wing. The institution now deals with a cultural crisis that goes beyond the Rocky Mountain-draped campus and into the halls of the Pentagon and Congress.

In January 2003, cadets began contacting members of Congress with complaints of assault and indifference from commanders. Some cadets began going public, sparking several investigations by the Air Force, Pentagon and Congress. The probes documented 142 allegations of sexual assault since 1993. But that number could be low, as the Air Force's general counsel working group reported that the fear of retribution prevented some cadets from reporting sexual assault and other offenses at the hands of fellow cadets.

Like any base throughout the Air Force, climate survey results were conducted at the academy, and recent surveys included cadet comments that showed not just a sexual assault problem, but deeper problems as well. The Fowler Commission, the only independent body to date formed to study the academy sexual assault issue, included a statement by a female first-class--senior--cadet from the 2002 climate survey when it released its report on the allegations in September 2003:

"There's a lot of stuff that goes on here assault-wise that's not reported. I know of two friends of mine who have been assaulted and don't seek help or prosecution because of what they see happens to victims."

And according to the latest 2003 academy survey, 22 percent of male cadets still believe women do not belong at the academy.

Now, 23 years after the first co-ed graduating academy class tossed its hats in Falcon Stadium, the Long Blue Line has become a little more black and blue.

Deep roots

So, how could a sexual assault problem pervade the same marble terrazzo where Capt. Lance P. Sijan, the first academy graduate to receive the Medal of Honor, once walked?

The Fowler Report states this tolerance of sexual abuse was bred over a period of time. Although the new academy superintendent wasn't in command when the sexual assaults allegedly happened, he took immediate ownership of it.

"There have been signals at this institution for years that we've had problems, and as an institution and as an Air Force, we haven't embraced them," said Lt. Gen. John Rosa, addressing parents at the academy on Parents' Weekend in August 2003.

The secretary and chief of staff of the Air Force in March 2003 made a step toward serious reform when they replaced four top academy leaders and drew up new policies. They called it the "Agenda for Change," and it addressed leadership, cadet life and the broader academy climate. Ranging from how air officers commanding are chosen and prepared to how assaults are handled, the agenda is designed to make the academy more like the Air Force.

"While the 'Agenda for Change' was initially the product of our recent and widely publicized problems with sexual assaults, the changes we are implementing are not limited to eliminating sexual assaults," said Brig. Gen. John Weida, commandant of cadets, in one of his "Commander's Guidance" reports sent to cadets in June 2003. The report is one of the new forms of communication with the cadets. "Indeed, in order to adequately improve the climate that allowed those problems, we must improve the underlying [values] of our cadets," he said.

The reports point to a problem in the academy's character development and training. And that's where the new academy leadership is tackling this problem head-on.