Assaults Have “No Place in Our Culture”

Assaults Have “No Place in Our Culture”: The allegations and subsequent prosecutions of sexual assault and misconduct surrounding the basic training wing at JBSA Lackland have roiled the Air Force and struck at its core values, Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley noted in his keynote speech at AFA’s Air and Space Conference Monday morning. The leadership of the US Air Force has been “shocked and troubled” by the events of the last few months, and while courts martial have been convened and are ongoing, Donley said more actions are forthcoming. Offenses have ranged from violations of policy to sexual assault, and these offenses have “no place in our culture” — and are particularly egregious since they were perpetrated during basic military training and constitute an egregious “abuse of power.” In the coming weeks, Donley said, the secretariat, along with Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh will be working with Air Education and Training Command boss Gen. Edward Rice to oversee a command-wide investigation to make certain systemic abuses “will not be tolerated.”