U.S. Air Force said to that on Thursday 31 women cadets were victims of alleged sexual assault by military instructors in a growing scandal in command of the formation of the service.Gen. Edward Rice, commander of Air Education and Training Command, said authorities are investigating 12 suspected male teachers sexual misconduct in the Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas.
He said nine of the 12 instructors were from the 331st Training Squadron, and the problem seemed to be mostly confined to that unit.The squadron commander was relieved of duty earlier this month for the charges, she told a news conference at the Pentagon.It was unclear how long the sexual misconduct had been going at Lackland Air Force, but believes that abuses dating back to 2009, he said.
Rice said "we have identified about 31 victims and are actively seeking others who may have been affected by this.He also said an Air Force officer outside the training command, Maj. Gen. Margaret Woodward, conduct an independent review looking at how your command's handling of the scandal.
A coach, Sergeant Pedro Maldonado Vega, has pleaded guilty to having an inappropriate relationship with a student, and also provided evidence that he had improper relations with 10 cadets.The Air Force strictly prohibits any personal relationship between instructors and cadets.
Another coach is facing charges of rape and sexual assault and his trial is scheduled to begin next month.
Lawmakers have expressed alarm at reports at Lackland as well as a wider problem of sexual assault within the military.The defense secretary, Leon Panetta, has launched new initiatives to address the problem, but activists and former officials say thousands of cases go unreported as young members of service are afraid of jeopardizing their careers.
At the wheel of the Air Force, Rice said the vast majority of instructors training facility of 500 perform their work with great skill and "no one is more angry and disappointed they are that a relatively small number of his paintings has cast a shadow over the entire program. "
"We are all committed to doing everything possible to investigate these allegations, to care for victims, to hold the perpetrators accountable, and to solve the institutional problems that have facilitated this behavior totally unacceptable," he said.
He said nine of the 12 instructors were from the 331st Training Squadron, and the problem seemed to be mostly confined to that unit.The squadron commander was relieved of duty earlier this month for the charges, she told a news conference at the Pentagon.It was unclear how long the sexual misconduct had been going at Lackland Air Force, but believes that abuses dating back to 2009, he said.
Rice said "we have identified about 31 victims and are actively seeking others who may have been affected by this.He also said an Air Force officer outside the training command, Maj. Gen. Margaret Woodward, conduct an independent review looking at how your command's handling of the scandal.
A coach, Sergeant Pedro Maldonado Vega, has pleaded guilty to having an inappropriate relationship with a student, and also provided evidence that he had improper relations with 10 cadets.The Air Force strictly prohibits any personal relationship between instructors and cadets.
Another coach is facing charges of rape and sexual assault and his trial is scheduled to begin next month.
Lawmakers have expressed alarm at reports at Lackland as well as a wider problem of sexual assault within the military.The defense secretary, Leon Panetta, has launched new initiatives to address the problem, but activists and former officials say thousands of cases go unreported as young members of service are afraid of jeopardizing their careers.
At the wheel of the Air Force, Rice said the vast majority of instructors training facility of 500 perform their work with great skill and "no one is more angry and disappointed they are that a relatively small number of his paintings has cast a shadow over the entire program. "
"We are all committed to doing everything possible to investigate these allegations, to care for victims, to hold the perpetrators accountable, and to solve the institutional problems that have facilitated this behavior totally unacceptable," he said.
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