AFA COURSE WON'T INCLUDE SEX ASSAULT RESISTANCE

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jan 12, 2008 | by PERRY SWANSON

The Air Force Academy's revived program to train cadets to resist if they're taken hostage will not include instruction on resisting sexual assault by their captors, officials said Friday.

On Thursday, Academy spokesman Johnny Whitaker indicated sexual assault resistance would be part of the program, though he said the officials hadn't worked out how it would be incorporated into the academy's broader survival training curriculum. But Whitaker said Friday he had relayed incorrect information to The Gazette because of a misunderstanding with other academy officials.

The issue won't be ignored, however. After graduation, some cadets will be sent for extensive training, including resistance to sexual assault, at the Air Force Survival School. The school is at Fairchild Air Force Base, near Spokane, Wash.

The academy is restoring other elements of a three-week course called Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape training. It will be shaped to reflect conditions airmen might face if enemy forces capture them. Cadets will learn tactics such as finding shelter and evading the enemy, Whitaker said.

The program will begin with 660 cadets this summer, and in 2009 it will include the entire sophomore class.

Earlier training in sexual assault resistance sparked controversy more than a decade ago amid some cadets' claims that it led to abuse. The training included cadets' acting out mock rapes and other simulated sexual abuse. Top Air Force leaders yanked the program in 1995.

The new program will involve only classroom exercises in its first year. Field exercises will be incorporated starting in 2009.

Officials have identified a range of Air Force professions that require more extensive training at the Air Force Survival School, including how to resist sexual assault, Whitaker said. Pilots will make up a large portion of that group, he said. Only active-duty professional trainers will conduct the training in resisting sexual assaults.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0187 or perry.swanson@gazette.com