Clearing the Fog of War

Sex, bleach dump leads to jail

A former Air Force instructor was given five months in jail and a bad-conduct discharge Thursday after pleading guilty to having sex with a woman in basic training and making recruits in his training flight ill.

The recruits coughed, became dizzy and had watery eyes after Staff Sgt. Robert Hudson dumped two gallons of bleach into a latrine he said smelled like urine.

One recruit collapsed, another suffered a bloody nose and a third fell into a spasm as he tried to vomit. Blood vessels in his eyes burst.

“I threw up at one point and just swallowed it back down,” the former recruit, Airman 1st Class Roman Arturo Chavez Jr told the court.

Hudson, who had asked the judge for mercy, was stunned at the sentence, shaking his head and taking deep breaths.

The 18th instructor to go on trial and 17th to be convicted, Hudson struck a plea bargain, saying he was guilty of six charges and 14 specifications. He pleaded not guilty to assault consummated by battery, but prosecutors dropped those charges.

Hudson, who is among 33 basic training instructors investigated for misconduct with 63 recruits and technical training students at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, tearfully told the judge deciding his fate that he'd erred.

Still, he asked the judge, Col. Donald Eller Jr., that he be spared a bad-conduct discharge so he could provide for his family.

“What Sgt. Hudson needs is a quick dip in the lake,” said his lawyer, Maj. Willie Babor. “If you are going to give Sgt. Hudson confinement, think of it as a matter of days.”

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Ex-Lackland instructor gets 6 months for abuse

A former Air Force basic training instructor who faced up to 33 years in prison for abusing recruits was sentenced Wednesday to six months in jail and a reduction in rank by a single stripe.

Tech. Sgt. Bobby Bass was convicted Tuesday on multiple counts of misconduct with recruits four years ago at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. He was acquitted by the jury of two officers and four NCOs of a rape charge involving an airman while in Kyrgyzstan.

The charges included abusive sexual contact, assault consummated by battery, maltreatment, dereliction of duty and violating a regulation prohibiting unprofessional relationships with recruits. In at least two cases, he shared alcohol with airmen, including recruits.

He was accused of making two recruits rub a muscle cream on their private parts, ordering more than a dozen others to stand naked against a wall, and kicking two recruits.

Bass faced more allegations than anyone so far accused in the Lackland scandal, where 33 instructors have been investigated in connection with misconduct with 63 recruits and technical school students.

“That's amazing,” retired Lt. Col. Geoffrey Corn, a veteran Army attorney and professor at South Texas College of Law in Houston, said of the six-month sentence. “I don't know. I don't know how to explain it.”

Once spared from life imprisonment on the rape charge, Bass still could have spent decades in prison. But retired Air Force Col. Morris Davis cautioned that jail time often skyrockets when there are many allegations. Someone writing three $500 hot checks could risk 15 years in prison, he said.

“Some of my clients would come in and say, 'How much am I facing?' and I said 143 years,” said Davis, a professor at Howard University School of Law who led the Air Force's judiciary. “Once they regained consciousness, then you'd talk about what a realistic sentence was, which was often a fraction of the potential maximum.”

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Lackland instructor poured bleach on floor, sickened recruits

A former Air Force instructor pleaded guilty today to having sex with a recruit in basic training and also sickening airmen in a boot camp flight he led after pouring two gallons of bleach in a latrine.

Trainees in Staff Sgt. Robert Hudson's flight grew dizzy, coughed and got watery eyes after he dumped the bleach into toilets and onto the floor, complaining that the latrine smelled like urine.

One of the recruits collapsed and had to be dragged away by two airmen, and another became so ill he tried to vomit but could not, causing blood vessels in his eyes to burst.

“I should have pulled them out of that situation,” Hudson, a veteran basic training instructor, told Col. Donald Eller Jr., the military judge.

One of 33 basic training instructors so far investigated for misconduct with 63 recruits and technical training students at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, he is being prosecuted for having sex with a trainee, as well as adultery. But unlike many of those instructors, Hudson also was charged with abusing trainees under his command.

There was no explanation for why he abused them throughout a long morning of questioning by Eller, who is required to ensure that Hudson understands the plea agreement struck with the prosecution.

The 17th instructor to go on trial, Hudson admitted to rebuking the trainees as they choked on bleach fumes, using a pejorative phrase to describe them as weak. He even ordered some of the trainees to re-enter the latrine a second time, after telling them to put T-shirts over their faces.

The judge asked if he had training in dealing with hazardous materials. Hudson, an F-15 mechanic after joining the Air Force 12 years ago, conceded he did not.

But that didn't stop him from trying to force the recruits to continue cleaning up the bleach. He used a fan to disperse the fumes, and trained a water hose on the latrine as well.

Some of the trainees were given medical treatment after the incident, and one posted a subpar time on his next physical training run.

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Ex-Lackland instructor not guilty in rape

A former Air Force basic training instructor was found guilty Tuesday of abusing recruits four years ago at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, but he was acquitted of raping an airman during a stint overseas.

Tech. Sgt. Bobby Bass, who is on trial at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Miss., faces as much as 33 years in prison, but prosecutors sought just 24 months' confinement.

Witnesses took the stand to recount how he treated them, with one saying boot camp had destroyed his career.

“He said that 'these incidents broke what I believed would happen and who I would become,'” said Col. Polly Kenny, a top lawyer with the 2nd Air Force in Biloxi.

The rape allegation was the most serious charge faced by Bass, who was an instructor at Lackland before and after a deployment to Kyrgyzstan. Kenny said jurors could have found him guilty of a lesser offense stemming from the incident at Manas Air Base, but did not. They did, however, decide that Bass had an unprofessional relationship with the airman, who said they shared alcohol before the alleged sexual assault.

One of 33 instructors accused of misconduct with 63 recruits and technical school trainees at Lackland since 2008, Bass was found guilty of a long list of charges alleging he abused recruits in a flight he led from Aug. 1-Oct. 31, 2009.

Jurors weighed punishment for about 80 minutes before breaking for the day. As they return to court this morning, the panel of two officers and six NCOs will consider a defense plea to give Bass hard labor.

“They asked for mercy for the family,” Kenny said, noting that the defense said confinement “should be measured in days, not months or years,” if ordered.

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Fort Sam's Fiesta 'ready, resilient'

The budget sequester took the fireworks out of Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston's Fiesta celebration Sunday night, but that did nothing to dampen the event's festive spirit.

Hundreds of soldiers, families and friends converged on the post's historic Quadrangle late in the afternoon, many of them civilians wearing rows of shiny Fiesta medals.

The 323rd Army Band performed patriotic tunes as Fort Sam made the best of its most strained fiscal year in memory, and the crowd was treated to the U.S. Army Soldier Show, a troupe of 22 GIs who put on a musical called “Ready and Resilient” — a fitting theme for Fiesta 2013.

“We didn't have the carnival, we weren't going to have the fireworks, we weren't going to have a large extravaganza of food and drink, but it was all about being together,” said Lt. Gen. William Caldwell IV, commander of U.S. Army North.

The Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines will contribute to Fiesta celebrations throughout the week, despite the spending cutbacks imposed on federal activities thanks to sequestration.

Larry Benson Sr., Rey Feo LXV, mingled with a crowd that drifted toward Caldwell, Gen. Edward Rice Jr., head of the Air Force's training command, and many other troops .

“To tell you we've noticed it, not really, except for a couple of things, obviously, the fireworks and the flyovers at Randolph,” Benson, 67, of Shavano Park said.

Joint Base San Antonio, which oversees Fort Sam and two other installations here, opted to scratch the fireworks show and carnival because of overtime costs for civil service workers.

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Jury gets Air Force trainer case

A military jury spent four hours Monday weighing the fate of a former Air Force basic training instructor accused of raping one airman and abusing recruits under his command.

Jurors broke for the day after poring over seven charges and 34 specifications against Tech. Sgt. Bobby Bass, who could receive life if convicted of sexually assaulting the airman.

Bass also faces 32 years on charges of abusing 19 other airmen at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland four years ago. No other instructor in the Lackland boot camp scandal has been charged with so many offenses or faced such a lengthy potential prison sentence.

“To my knowledge, it's more charges and specifications than anyone else,” said Col. Polly Kenny, a top lawyer with the 2nd Air Force at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Miss.

Bass is one of 33 Lackland instructors who've fallen under investigation in the past year for misconduct with 63 victims on the base, home of Air Force basic training and a technical school hub.

He led the flight Aug. 1-Oct. 31, 2009, and was an instructor before and after deploying to Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan. The Air Force says that while in Kyrgyzstan in 2007-08, Bass forcibly sodomized an airman, identified as Victim 1.Prosecutors and the defense on Monday sketched vastly different interpretations of what happened in Kyrgyzstan and at Lackland in their closing arguments.

Kenny said a prosecutor, Capt. Matthew Neil, told the jury that Bass had failed to lead his flight, saying, “The role of the (instructor) is to build up an airman, not to tear them down.”

The defense countered that prosecutors hadn't proven anything beyond a reasonable doubt, and noted that 32 trainees from the Lackland flight had not testified.

“They just said he was a drug user and he was not credible, and that he made the allegations so that he could get benefits,” Kenny said, referring to the defense's view of Victim 1. Testimony showed the incident in Kyrgyzstan began when Bass and other airmen went to a base recreation center and drank beer, and later went to the victim's quarters, where Bass offered him two cups of liquor.

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Airman woke up as he was being raped

A former airman he said he awoke to find a training instructor having sex with him after a night of drinking on their base in Kyrgyzstan — and later learned he was positive for the virus that causes AIDS.

A doctor testified Friday that Tech. Sgt. Bobby Bass, who faces life in prison on charges of sexually assaulting the airman and abusing 16 other recruits in basic training, is not HIV-positive.

But the airman, identified as Victim 1, said his life unraveled after the incident and led to his dismissal from the Air Force on drug charges.

“He says he felt like, in a split second he had two choices: One, he could go absolutely crazy or two, he could just be quiet, and he chose to be quiet,” said Col. Polly Kenny, staff judge advocate for the 2nd Air Force in Biloxi, Miss., where Bass is on trial.

Prosecutors and the defense wrapped up their cases Friday without Bass taking the stand. He is among 33 instructors from Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland who have fallen under investigation for misconduct with 63 victims on the base.

Bass was a military training instructor at Lackland before deploying to Kyrgyzstan, and he returned to San Antonio to resume his duties after his tour. In August 2009, he took charge of an all-male basic training flight. Most of the allegations against him involve recruits under his command at Lackland.

The Air Force says he forcibly sodomized Victim 1 between Oct. 22, 2007, and Jan. 31, 2008, at Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan. Kenny said testimony showed the incident began when Bass and other airmen went to a base recreation center and drank beer. Troops there were given a ration of two beers a day.

Bass and some of the airmen later drank liquor in the victim's room. The victim testified he drank two cups and woke up at 3 a.m. as Bass finished having sex with him.

“Sgt. Bass leaned and whispered in his ear, 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen that way,' or something to that effect, crawled over him and left the room,” Kenny said.

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Lackland trainer on trial for abuse charges

A former Air Force training instructor faces life in prison on charges of sexually assaulting an airman and abusing 16 other recruits in basic training after giving bizarre orders to the victims — all men.

Prosecutors say Tech. Sgt. Bobby Bass, whose trial began Monday at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Miss., made trainees under his command at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland stand naked against a latrine wall, sometimes touching each other.

The Air Force said he made recruits perform physical training in a bathroom and watched as he ordered two of his trainees to rub a muscle cream on their genitals that increases blood flow.

None of the Lackland victims reported their mistreatment, and years passed before one airman, who accused Bass of sexual assault, notified authorities last year.

“I think that we're all concerned there are cases out there, not just from this incident but what we've discovered from the increased scrutiny and widening investigative effort that the Air Force has put into Lackland,” said Col. Polly Kenny, staff judge advocate for the 2nd Air Force in Biloxi.

“Certainly, we're discovering more now than we were and, yes, we are concerned that there are undetected and unreported offenses that have occurred or that may have occurred,” she said.

Bass is among 33 Lackland instructors who have fallen under investigation in what has become the Air Force's worst sex scandal. So far, investigators have found 63 victims, but they continue to look into new cases.

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Ex-Lackland instructor faces 16 allegations of cruelty

A one-time Air Force basic training instructor went on trial today facing two dozen allegations of cruelty and mistreating recruits, as well as sexual assault and forcible sodomy.

The Air Force also lodged two sexual assault charges against Tech. Sgt. Bobby Bass, whose court-martial began this morning at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Miss.

Prosecutors say the sexual assault cases took place at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, home of Air Force basic training, but few details were available and lawyers for the service couldn't be reached.

So far, at least 14 instructors have gone to trial at Lackland over the past year in a growing sex scandal involving trainers, recruits in basic training and technical school students.

The Air Force said today that 33 instructors have fallen under investigation for illicit contact with 63 recruits and technical school trainees in cases that go back to 2008.

Bass is accused of 16 specifications of cruelty and maltreatment, two specifications of wrongful sexual contact and four specifications of assault while a basic training instructor in 2009.

But there are two other allegations stemming from an overseas deployment from 2007 to 2008. Those charges include forcible sodomy and having an unprofessional relationship.

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Anti-missile system faces first test as Korea crisis deepens

El PASO — An Army unit at Fort Bliss is poised to deploy a sophisticated anti-missile system to Guam amid escalating tensions with North Korea, which is preparing a possible launch of a medium-range rocket capable of reaching the U.S. territory.

Capt. Cesar Torres, commander of the battery that will defend the island, said Thursday his crew trained in the Pacific against the very threat facing Guam and is “absolutely” confident the system will work.

“This is a historic mission,” he said of the unit's deployment from Fort Bliss, which until the last base-closure round had been a hub for rocket research and air defense artillery training.

“We have ready, trained soldiers,” added Torres, 38, of Los Angeles. “The equipment's ready and the experience that's within the battery is more than capable of handling any situation that may arise.”

The troops and the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency say the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, dubbed THAAD, is 10 for 10 in tests, including one test against the kind of rocket that could reach Guam.

The crew and launch system are expected to fly to the Pacific soon, but the Army wouldn't say exactly when.

THAAD is part of the nation's growing ground-and sea-based missile-defense network. Each battery, with six truck-mounted launchers, can fire 48 interceptors. The Pentagon says it has been successfully tested since 2005.

All three THAAD batteries in the Army's arsenal are at Fort Bliss. Two of them have been fielded, fully staffed and are operational, Chief Warrant Officer 4 John Fallin said. The Army plans to eventually field six batteries, with a cost per battery of about $850 million.

Bigger than the Patriot missiles that became famous in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, a THAAD interceptor has a range of about 100 miles and is designed to take down a medium-range ballistic missile. The truck-mounted THAAD launchers are mobile and can be quickly flown to hot spots on C-5 and C-17 cargo planes.

“We're very, very proud of them,” said Maj. Gen. Dana J.H. Pittard, commander of Fort Bliss, noting “it's the first real-world operation” for a THAAD battery. “They will be a part of a protective shield for our country in case of a missile attack from North Korea or wherever.”

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