Advocates on Monday criticized a secretive weekend visit to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland by the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, who left the installation saying he was convinced that the Air Force has adequately responded to a burgeoning sex scandal.
The California Republican, who faces increasing calls for a congressional investigation into the matter, spent three hours at the base Sunday talking to officers, enlisted airmen and about 30 recruits. He said top officials had sufficiently assured him they are making every effort to prevent a repeat of the scandal. So far, 17 basic training instructors at Lackland have been or are being investigated on suspicion of pursuing illicit relationships with 43 female trainees.
“Just because a few people go beyond the bounds of propriety and misuse the authority they've been given — a very important authority — that does not mean they can't clean up the problem,” McKeon told the Hill, a newspaper that covers Congress, after his visit. “They're working on it, and I'm convinced going to do a great job of it.”
McKeon's characterization of the scandal as limited to “a few people” offended advocates, who saw it as an attempt to minimize the cases, which they view as a systemic problem within the Air Force and in the armed services overall.
“It's disheartening that the chair of the House Armed Services Committee is stating that there are only a few people responsible,” said Nancy Parrish, president of Protect Our Defenders, which launched a petition and a Twitter campaign to pressure McKeon to open an investigation and hold public hearings on Lackland. “We're glad he went there and he's showing interest, but it doesn't eliminate the need for hearings into the scandal.”