Female Cadets Allege Retribution by Commanders

Make it 12, the number of current and former female US Air Force Academy undergraduates who say they've been sexually harrassed or assaulted - then reprimanded for reporting the incidents.

USAFA officials have yet to comment on the allegations. Sen. John Warner (R-VA) has called for a complete investigation. USAF teams are on site in Colorado Springs (CO) now, beginning their investigation.

Sen. Allard: "Legitimate Concerns"

"They indicated to me that they had interviewed some of the women. The investigators relayed to me that they had some legitimate concerns," Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO) said. Allard told reporters his office had received several complaints from the current and former cadets. Allard said he may ask the entire Senate Armed Services Committee to investigate.

"We think the women are credible," Allard told the Denver Post. "It seems like when a woman reports a rape case that the wheels get set in motion where she gets forced out of the academy. And not always is there a similar thing happening to the men."

Gen. Gilbert Welcomes An Investigation

The Academy's commandant of cadets, Gen. S. Taco Gilbert III, said he welcomes any and all investigations. The general denied that there is any sort of policy - written or practiced - that punishes female cadets for reporting sexual harrassment.

"If there is a perception of a problem in the wing, we've tried to take that head on because I will not tolerate, I will not tolerate, retribution against a victim ... and I have made that very clear to the cadet wing," he said.

Worst Since Tailhook?

The fast-moving USAFA case could develop into the biggest military sex scandal since the 1991 Tailhook debacle, when Navy and Marine pilots sexually molested Navy women at a party in Las Vegas.

In this most recent spate of cases, many of the female Air Force cadets who reported they were sexually assaulted said they were punished as a result. One woman who left the Academy said she did so after her commanders responded to her allegations by alleging she had broken rules regarding drinking, fraternizing with upperclassmen and having sex in the school's dormitories.

After rape allegations at the Colorado Springs facility in 1993, the USAF set up a 24-hour rape hotline. Since that time, the Academy reports 99 calls to the phone number. Eight cadets have been dismissed for sexual assault-related charges since then.

FMI: www.usafa.af.mil