WASHINGTON — A fractured command culture that included what an Air Force investigation called a “leadership gap” helped fuel a sex scandal at Joint Base San Antoni-Lackland involving instructors who preyed on trainees.
The investigation, released Wednesday at the Pentagon, found leaders were insulated from training and that barriers “at nearly every level” limited the flow of information about instructor misconduct.
A shortage of instructors, who were starting their days before 3 a.m. and leaving for home at 9 p.m., along with a lack of unit oversight made for a toxic mix that set the stage for abuses.
One instructor, for example, had illicit encounters with 10 women in boot camp and now is serving a 20-year prison term.
Some were too immature or inexperienced to be in jobs that gave them so much power, the investigation concluded.
“In simple terms, what happened is we had a breakdown of good order and discipline among a relatively few but not insignificant number of our instructors,” Gen. Edward Rice Jr., head of the Air Force's training command, told reporters.
“How this happened is attributable to weaknesses and gaps in the institutional safeguards that are designed to prevent this kind of behavior,” he continued. “Why this happened is related to insufficient leadership oversight concerning preventing and detecting these gaps and weaknesses, and an inadequate level of self-policing by our instructors.”
The Air Force has investigated 25 basic training instructors and has identified 49 airmen, all women, as victims — a number up slightly from last week.
Rice earlier this year tapped Maj. Gen. Margaret Woodward to lead the investigation that encompassed 215 in-depth interviews and a survey of 18,000 people.
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/military/article/Lackland-leaders-cited-in-scandal-4037528.php#ixzz2CVrqeZbd