Conduct unbecoming: allegations of sexual misconduct at the United States Air Force Academy.
Emery, Charles R. ; Benton, James E.
CASE DESCRIPTION
The primary subject matter of this case involves the detection of
cause factors and proposal of corrective actions to eliminate chronic
sexual misconduct in an organization that rewards machismo. Despite the
Academy's emphasis on officer integrity and honor, previous
attempts over the last decade, to correct these problems have failed.
Secondary issues examined include leadership, ethics, whistle blowing,
sexual harassment, and the confidentiality of reporting along with how
to develop character and plant seeds for organizational change. The
objective is to make the students develop an investigative process that
examines interrelated and often subtle cause factors to develop well
justified corrective actions. This case is appropriate for junior or
senior undergraduate students as well as graduate students studying
business policy or strategy, human resource management, organizational
behavior and ethics. This case can be easily varied in its scope through
the array of focused discussion questions. The case is designed to be
taught in one class hour and is expected to require three to four hours
of outside preparation depending upon the level of sophistication; it is
ideal for either individual or team assignments/presentations.
CASE SYNOPSIS
Imagine the outrage if one out of five female American P.O.Ws said
they had been sexually assaulted by Iraqi. Well, that's how many
female Air Force cadets say they have been assaulted--not by the enemy,
but by men supposed to be their comrades in arms. This case study
chronicles the June-September, 2003, investigation of a decade of
alleged sexual misconduct at the United States Air Force Academy. A
panel of investigators, appointed by the Secretary of Defense and headed
by the Honorable Tillie K. Fowler, examined the awareness of misconduct
and the Academy's organizational culture, climate, structure,
curriculum, reporting and response procedures and leadership (internal
and external) in an attempt to identify root causes and to provide
lasting recommendations for the prevention and intervention of any
future abuses.
INSTRUCTORS' NOTES
Recommendations for Teaching Approaches
This case on the investigation and correction of alleged sexual
misconduct will generate a lot of discussion (and often heated debate)
and as such, requires the instructor to focus on issues related to the
course. While students will easily identify with the circumstances
surrounding this case, they may often overlook the subtlety and
interrelationship of cause factors and the delicate balance of
corrective actions. This is an excellent vehicle to familiarize your
class with an investigative process, particularly one under the
microscope of the press. As such, it works well to have teams develop
and implement their investigative process to determine the cause factors
and corrective actions. The teams should pay particular attention to why
the previous attempts to eliminate the problems failed and the array of
ingredients necessary to produce organizational change. A fitting
assignment scenario is to have a team present their case to a simulated
Congressional Committee. Further, the instructor may want to order a
video tape of the ABC 20/20 story "Under Fire at the Academy"
aired February 13, 2004. This case chronicles the first Air Force
Academy cadet scheduled to be court-martialed for allegedly raping a
female cadet. The case illustrates the fine line between consensual sex
and date rape when alcohol is involved. Additionally, the ABC 20/20
website (www.abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/US/Court_Martial_
040213-1.html) has links to other sexual misconduct cases at the U.S.
Air Force Academy they have aired. For example, "Slap on the
Wrist" discusses an Air Force cadet that gets 60 days for sexually
assaulting a 13-year old girl. "Rape without Repercussion?"
reviews the stories of seven female cadets who say their charges of
sexual assault were ignored and "Conduct Unbecoming" examines
the case of a cadet who allegedly runs a porn ring and arranges group
sex at the Academy.
Individual assignments might center on the issues of character
development, whistle blowing and organizational change in addition to
identifying cause factors and suggesting corrective actions. Also, you
may find it interesting to have the class debate: (1) whether there
really is a sexual abuse problem at the Air Force Academy that is any
different than any other college or university, (2) whether the
toleration of misconduct by fellow cadets can be eradicated, and (3)
whether a victim's confidentiality should be maintained or should
the Academy's chain of command be notified. The following section
contains a number of discussion/assignment questions that can be
tailored to your class subject area. Note: Each question often contains
several subquestions and suggestions that might further satisfy your
teaching needs.
ASSIGNMENT OR DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Determine the root causes of the abnormally high incidence of
sexual misconduct at the USAF Academy and offer short and long term
recommendations to resolve this problem.
Students should ask: Is the sexual misconduct abnormally high at
the Academy versus civilian work environments and state or private
university settings? Those assaults that are committed against female
students attending other universities may not be counted as an assault
on that particular college campus if the assault took place off campus.
Often times the university only reports sexual assaults that occur
against students on campus. Those that occur off campus are the
communities' problem versus the reporting of all sexual assaults on
female cadets regardless of where they took place. Furthermore, the
academies are able to more easily account for the reported assaults
because of the closed community the cadets live in. Notwithstanding,
however, is the point that cadets may be less likely to report sexual
misconduct than co-eds at other colleges and universities. What about a
comparison of sexual misconduct at the Academy vs. society as a whole?
Do a different set of social norms come into play?
Students should discuss the panel's recommendation that the
academy should place a renewed emphasis on education and encouragement
of responsible consumption of alcohol for all cadets. The panel found
that drinking was highly correlated to sexual misconduct. Additionally,
a novel of cadet life at the U.S. Air Force Academy by Mark Pizzimenti
(1998) suggests that alcohol abuse is out-of-control.
Students should discuss the panel's recommendation that the
academy implement a policy permitting unrestricted (i.e., no explanation
required at any time) private access to telephones for the use by any
cadet, including Fourth-Class cadets, in an emergency (Panel of House
Armed Services; 2003).
Students should discuss the panel's recommendation that the
Center for Character Development education instruction be mandatory for
all cadets. The Panel further recommended that the cadet curriculum
require completion of at least one course per year that emphasizes
character values, for which cadets shall receive a grade and academic
credit (Panel of House Armed Services; 2003).
Students should ask if the 4th class system should be to blame. Is
it too much to ask of those so young to have so much power over other
young people? Also discuss how power of upper classmen over
underclassmen could possibly contribute to such abuses.
Students should examine several issues surrounding the selection of
cadets. For example, are there personality characteristics of male
students who attend the service academies predisposed to showing overly
aggressive behavior towards women? Are the female students who attend
the service academies more promiscuous and prone to getting into sexual
situations that could get out of control? What percentage of male and
female applicants have previously been involved in sexual misconduct
incidents?
Is there a way for separating out the males and females, where
females are in charge of females and males are in charge of males? Is
this feasible? Are there drawbacks or disadvantages to this and what are
they? Some disadvantages are the perception that the females do not have
to do as much or work as hard as the males and also a lack of working
together for a common goal together but segregated.
Is it feasible that males and females can never be alone
(one-on-one) together? Chaperone type of meetings to include room
inspections.
Students should suggest that a cadet's history of interaction
with the opposite gender be a consideration for promotion to cadet ranks
or supervisory positions at the Academy. In other words, limit
promotions to males who prove/show an understanding of the leadership
responsibilities over others to include interactions with females. The
same type of provision would apply to promotion for female cadets.
Students should discuss sexual assault in the workplace and how
this can be handled both from a preventative point of view and from a
reporting perspective.
Note: The panel's recommendations have been scattered
throughout this section on assignment questions. If you need a complete
and orderly listing of recommendations, refer to
www.usafa.af.mil/d20030922usafareport1.pdf or the actual report document
(Panel of House Armed Services; 2003).
2. The Panel recommends a through review of the accountability of
Academy and Air Force Headquarters leadership in attempts to fix the
sexual assault problems at the Academy over the last decade. The review
should consider the adequacy of personnel actions taken, the accuracy of
individual performance evaluations, the validity of decorations awarded
and the appropriateness of follow-on assignments. Further, if the
leaders are found remiss in the execution of their duties, punitive
measures should be considered (e.g., removal of decorations associated
with the applicable tour of duty, adjustment to the individual's
performance appraisal, written reprimands, dismissal, immediate
retirement, reduction in active duty or retirement grade, etc.). Do you
think leadership should be held accountable for failures to fix an
organization's culture? If so, to what extent should they be held
accountable? To what extent should the leaders of corporations be held
accountable for failures to change organizational culture? Would this
type of accountability improve future performance or have a negative
impact on perceptions of procedural and distributive justice?
Students should discuss the difference between authority and
responsibility. Which one can be delegated and which one cannot? Who is
ultimately accountable for an organization? Students should clearly
understand that the senior leadership team which includes the board of
directors and all senior executives of the organization is accountable.
Students may want to discuss how a leader or leadership team can
change an organization's culture and what it would take to do such
a thing. There is a common belief that the organization takes on the
culture or model the behavior of the leadership team. In other words,
junior officers in the military (as well as junior managers in civilian
organizations) will act in a manner that is consistent with the explicit
and implicit actions and beliefs of the senior leadership team. As such,
does this suggest that top leadership is clearly at fault when a
dysfunctional culture is slow to change?
Students should discuss the various measures available for failure
to accomplish a change in the organization's culture such as grade
reduction and loss of awards for the military to paying back of bonuses
or options in the corporate world. This discussion should also include
how difficult this would be to implement, where the lines are between
criminal and civil penalties as well as whether these measures are too
severe or not severe enough. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice
(UCMJ) officers and cadets can be prosecuted for conduct that many
civilians may consider as minor personal offenses. However, leaders in
the military feel that there is a higher standard for officers because
of the authority and responsibility they have for others lives.
Students should discuss whether the culture of an organization
really has an impact on an organization's ability over the long run
especially in the business world. Examples such as Microsoft, Intel,
IBM, Southwest Airlines, Enron, Pepsi-Cola and GE may be discussed to
look at the culture and how that culture was developed and what impact
the culture has had on the success of the businesses.
Students should discuss the panel's following recommendations
that: (1) The Secretary of the Air Force adopt a management plan that
includes the creation of an Executive Steering Group, as the permanent
organizational structure by which the senior Air Force leadership will
exercise effective oversight of the Academy's deterrence of and
response to incidents of sexual assault and sexual harassment; (2) The
Air Force extend the tour length of the Superintendent to four years and
the tour length of the Commandant of Cadets to three years in order to
provide for greater continuity and stability in Academy leadership; and
(3) The Air Force prepare a legislative proposal to revise 10 U.S.C.
[sections] 9335(a) to expand the available pool of potential candidates
for the position of Dean of Faculty beyond the current limitation to
permanent professors (Panel of House Armed Services; 2003).
3. The Panel believed that the USAF Academy Board of Visitors
failed to perform their oversight duties. Do you agree? What is the
basis of your agreement or disagreement? Is it the responsibility of a
Board of Directors to have ethical oversight of a company? Can members
of the Board of Directors be held accountable for failure to uphold this
responsibility?
Students should discuss the amount of effort put forth by the
Academy Board of Visitors and the time spent on their duties. They may
want to explore what their duties were and were these duties delineated by law or agreement or ... and also were these duties communicated to
the individual board members when they were asked to serve as a board
member.
Students should discuss the oversight responsibilities of Corporate
Board of Directors. What is their function and responsibilities and
where are these responsibilities spelled out (e.g., Articles of
Incorporation and Bylaws)?
Students should discuss the consequences to the individual board
members on corporate boards when corporations seriously stumble or
worse, fail, and how individual board members can protect themselves in
today's legal and business environment.
Students should discuss the various duties that board members have
in organizations, especially in business, such as:
Fiduciary Duty: To put the best interests of the organization first
above the interests of the individual members.
Duty of Care: To act in a good faith manner and to exercise the
care that an ordinary prudent person would exercise in a similar
circumstance.
Duty of Informed and Reasonable Decisions: Meet the expectations of
being informed on organizational matters and carefully study a situation
and its alternatives prior to making decisions that impact the
organization.
Duty of Reasonable Supervision: To supervise the senior leadership
team who has the responsibilities for day-to-day operations.
Duty of Loyalty and Conflicts of Interest: See Fiduciary Duty.
Students may want to discuss the Business Judgment Rule here. How
board members can avoid personal liability for missteps of the
organization as long as they adhere to all of their duties listed above
and yet still make a bad business decision (e.g., various acquisitions,
joint ventures, product launches).
Students should discuss the panel's recommendations that the
Board of Visitors operate more like a corporate board of directors with
regularly organized committees charged with distinctive
responsibilities. The board should meet not less than four times per
year, with at least two of those meetings at the Academy. Board members
must have unfettered access to Academy grounds and cadets, to include
attending classes and meeting with cadets informally and privately. The
board members must also receive candid and complete disclosure by the
Secretary of the Air Force and the Academy Superintendent of all
institutional problems, including but not limited to, all gender related
matters, cadet surveys and information related to culture and climate
and incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assaults (Panel of House
Armed Services; 2003).
The panel further recommended that the Air Force prepare a
legislative proposal to revise 10 U.S.C. [section] 9355 with changes as
follows: (1) Changing the composition of the Board to include fewer
Congressional members, more women and minority individuals and at least
two Academy graduates; (2) Requiring that any individual who accepts an
appointment as a Board member does, thereby, pledge full commitment to
attend each meeting of the Board, and to carry out all of the duties and
responsibilities of a Board member, to the fullest extent practical; (3)
Terminating any Board member's appointment who fails to attend or
fully participate in two successive Board meetings, unless granted prior
excusal for good cause by the Board Chairman; (4) Providing clear
oversight authority of the Board over the Academy, and direct that, in
addition to the reports of its annual meetings required to be furnished
to the President, it shall submit those reports and such other reports
it prepares, to the Chairmen of the Senate and House Armed Services
Committees, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Air Force,
in order to identify all matters of the Board's concerns with or
about the Air Force Academy and to recommend appropriate action thereon;
and (5) Eliminating the current requirement for Secretarial approval for
the Board to visit the Academy for other than annual visits (Panel of
House Armed Services; 2003).
4. One might assume that the Academy's image has been damaged
in the eyes of prospective recruits. If you were in charge of
recruitment at the Academy, how would you develop a program to repair
the Academy's image? Can the Academy's image be repaired?
Students may discuss a number of alternatives some of which may be:
(1) Appealing to the individual recruits sense of change and how they
can be the ones who change it for the better in the future by doing
today what should have been done previously; (2) Publicly announcing the
changes that are taking place at the Academy as well as the hoped for
outcomes from the changes; (3) Playing on the positive of the academy
schooling such as the leadership development and service to country; (4)
Demonstrate that all cases will be publicly prosecuted no matter how
sufficient the evidence; and (5) Students should discuss how the
cultural changes must also start with current graduates such as those
who attend academy events with the t-shirts and other paraphernalia with
the letters "LCWB", last class without bitches (or broads).
Should the academy restrict these graduates from attending events and if
still currently serving in uniform, could there be some sort of
punishment for continuing such open disregard for the women at the
academy.
5. The Panel noted that there have been numerous incidents and
indicators, investigations, working group discussions, and high-level
meetings on sexual assault and harassment issues over the last ten
years. Why has this problem been so hard to fix? Is there a common theme
or root cause that occurs in all "hard to fix" problems?
Students should discuss the proposed solutions that various leaders
have proposed in the past and their follow-up after implementation. They
should discuss whether these proposed solutions were adequate (e.g.,
drinking policies, confidential reporting schemes, character education,
self-defense courses, clustering of rooms) or merely band-aides for more
serious problems. Additionally, students should discuss whether they
perceive that the cadets were taking this problem seriously.
Students should discuss whether they think the honor code is a
deterrent to sexual misconduct or just wishful thinking. It appears that
some cadets believe the "not tolerating those who do" portion
of the code is in conflict with loyalty to their fellow cadets. This
suggests that their primary loyalty is not with the leadership and the
Academy. What can the leadership do to change cadet loyalties without
jeopardizing cadet camaraderie and teamwork? Currently, the
Academy's leadership continues to believe that punishing
"those who tolerate" is the only answer.
Students may want to discuss the legal outcomes and punishments for
those who were accused of committing the sexual assaults and whether
legal prosecution and punishment would or should have been an effective
deterrent if done early.
Students may want to discuss how all hard to fix problems deal with
people and the interactions of people.
Students should discuss the panel's recommendations regarding
this area. The panel recommended that the Air Force extend the tour
length of the Superintendent to four years and the tour length of the
Commandant of Cadets to three years in order to provide for greater
continuity and stability in Academy leadership (Panel of House Armed
Services; 2003). If this is a concern of the panel regarding the
leadership team at the Air Force Academy could there also be concern in
the business world were it is not uncommon to send executives to various
assignments for short durations to get experience in every area of the
company? Does this type of mind set, although good in thought breed a
short term mentality among executives to include short term profits
versus long term company viability? Students should also discuss the
other panel recommendations as noted in question 3 above.
6. On June 3, 1996, a psychiatric consultant assigned to the Air
Force Surgeon General briefed the Air Force Chief of Staff that
"the problem of sexual assault and victimization continues at the
Academy in large measure due to cultural or institutional value system.
What was he suggesting? How are these issues corrected?
Students should talk about how this climate promotes silence and
discourages victims from obtaining help while increasing the
victim's fear of reprisal. Further, the climate promotes an
atmosphere of fraternity-like machismo, sexual grossness and, in
general, "boy behaving badly." How does a college or
university modify this type of behavior? As the students should recall,
research indicates that sexual harassment is the gateway to sexual
misconduct.
Students should discuss the panel recommendations such as: (1) The
Academy place a renewed emphasis on education and encouragement of
responsible consumption of alcohol for all cadets; and (2) The Academy
focus on providing better training to the trainers of prevention and
awareness classes including enlisting the aid of faculty members who are
sell-skilled in group presentation techniques that are effective and
energize the cadets, developing small group training sessions which will
be more effective than large audience presentations, developing training
sessions that educate the students on the reporting process and Air
Force Office of Special Investigations investigatory practices and
procedures, and establishing a review process for training session
materials that includes the use of the Academy Response Team and cadet
cadre or some other multi-disciplinary group of experts (Panel of House
Armed Services; 2003).
7. In 1997, the Academy requested and was granted a waiver from
requiring Academy medical personnel to report all information
surrounding sexual assault incidents to the Commandant of Cadets and the
Security Police Office of Investigations (SPOI). Why would such a waiver
be requested? What are the tradeoffs?
Students should discuss the reasoning behind the waiver request,
i.e., to encourage the victims to come forward without feeling that they
must report the incident to the law enforcement and legal authorities.
They should also discuss other reasons why victims of sexual assaults
fail to report the incidents such as low self-esteem stemming from the
incident, that somehow the assault was for some reason their fault or
the embarrassment from the incident. Additionally, the victims may feel
shock that a fellow cadet would sexually assault them and the feeling
that reporting the incident may show that they cannot handle adversity
which is required of the cadets and future military officers.
Students may want to discuss whether this action helped to
encourage victims to report incidents of sexual assault to medical
personnel or not.
Students should discuss the dangers of not reporting incidents of
sexual assault to authorities other than medical personnel such as lack
of evidence collection and those who committed the acts of sexual
assault escaping prosecution and punishment which in turn fails to deter
others in the future.
Students should discuss the panel's recommendation that the
Air Force Office of Special Investigations Academy detachment
participate fully in the recently established Academy Response Team and
use it for informing and educating Academy leadership, victim advocates
and CASIE representatives of their responsibilities and limitations.
Educational efforts by the AFOSI should include programs that provide a
basic understanding of how and why it takes certain investigative
actions, and the benefits of timely reporting and investigation of all
sexual assault incidents.
Students should discuss the panel's recommendation that the
Air Force establish a policy that achieves a better balance of interests
and properly employs psychotherapist-patient counseling, and its
associated privilege, for the benefit of cadet victims. The Panel also
recommended that the Academy's policy for sexual assault reporting
clearly recognize the applicability of the psychotherapist-patient
privilege and that the Academy staff the Cadet Counseling Center with at
least one Victim Advocate provider who meets the legal definition of
"psychotherapist." Further, the Panel recommends that the
individual assigned to serve as the initial point of reporting, whether
by "hotline" or in person, be a qualified psychotherapist who
has completed a recognized rape crisis certification program. Optimally,
the Victim Advocate psychotherapist should be in charge of the sexual
assault program within the Cadet Counseling Center and will provide
direction and supervision to those assistants supporting the assigned
psychotherapists.
8. The Academy failed to provide the Panel with information on
climate surveys prior to 1998. Further, they indicated that they did not
perform a climate survey in 1999 and that the surveys performed in 1998,
2000, 2001 and 2002 were statistically invalid. Is this a significant
shortcoming? Why? Develop several survey questions that might serve as
indicators of a culture that tolerates sexual harassment and abuse.
Students should discuss the purposes behind climate surveys in the
armed services as well as in the business world. Why do we do them, what
do we do with the information from them and how can they be used to
affect change?
Students may want to discuss the possible connection between the
cultural attitude towards sexual assaults and women at the USAF Academy
and the care used in doing the climate surveys and the general makeup of
the survey itself. Was the leadership just going through the motions of
doing the survey so they can say that they did it or were they serious
in gaining important information from the respective survey to change
the climate at the academy?
The survey should identify new areas of concern and assess the
corrective progress against cause factors. As such, the administration
may want to focus on whether the cadets understand the factual
definitions of sexual assault, sexual harassment and sexual abuse. In
other words, ensure that the cadets understand what is and what is not
allowed or tolerated. Further, it is important to continue asking
questions regarding the acceptance of females at the academy as well as
supervisors or superior officers. As the students should recall, it was
not uncommon for male upperclassmen to direct "Fourth Class"
males to disregard any orders given by a female cadet. Additionally,
questions are needed to ascertain the cadets' perceptions of
drinking and alcohol abuse, toleration of sexual misconduct (cadet and
active duty), respect for leadership (cadet and active duty) and various
reporting issues (e.g., willingness, availability, confidentiality,
retribution). Another interesting question might be to ask the cadets
whether they would recommend the Academy to their younger sister or
daughter.
Students should discuss the panel's recommendation that the
Academy draw upon climate survey resources at the Air Force Personnel
Center Survey Branch for assistance in creating and administering the
social climate surveys. Additionally the panel recommended that the
Academy keep centralized records of all surveys, responses and reports
and keep typed records of all written comments to be provided as an
appendix to any report. All such reports must be provided to Academy
leadership.
9. Are character development programs an effective deterrent of
sexual misconduct and harassment? Why? Develop six elements of a
character development program. Would this type of program be worthwhile
in industry?
The character development program at the U.S. Air Force Academy has
five key components: (1) Ethics and moral reasoning courses (e.g. study
of the great philosophers); (2) Moral dilemma tests are administered and
moral dilemma case studies are discussed along with Kohlberg's
levels of moral development; (3) Honor Code workshops and discussions;
(4) Leadership character courses (e.g., discussions of moral excellence
and moral traits); and (5) Self-adjustment training (i.e., a probation
program for minor Honor Code violations). This character development
effort emphasizes the theme "leaders of character". For
further information regarding the Academy's revised character
development program, contact Dr. Hurlie Hendrix at
William.Hendrix@USAFA.af.mil .
Research on character development clearly indicates that character
education is significantly effective at increasing scores on those
factors generally regard to make up one's character (e.g.,
integrity, competency, selflessness, spiritual appreciation) (Hendrix
& Barlow, 2004). Further, their research indicates the effectiveness
of education over and above the simple progression of age within the
teenage years. Additional reviews and investigations of character
research have been conducted by Astin (1993), Barlow (2002), Barlow, et
el. (2003), Bebeau (2002), Berkowitz (2002), Likona (1991), Myyry and
Helkama (2002), Paxcarella and Terenzini (1991), Walker and Pitts
(1998). Currently, the U.S. Air Force Academy is considering plans to
compare the character of entering and graduating cadets against those of
several benchmark colleges and universities.
Students should discuss the panel's recommendation that the
Center for Character Development develop education instruction that is
mandatory for all cadets. The Panel further recommended that the cadet
curriculum require completion of at least one course per year that
emphasizes character values, for which cadets shall receive a grade and
academic credit.
10. The previous reviews of sexual misconduct at the USAF Academy
did not attempt to classify rapes in terms of type (e.g., date rape or
criminal assault) or cause factors. Is this an important oversight? As a
review panel member, would you classify the sexual abuse of female
cadets any differently than the abuse by male cadets of local females?
Students should discuss different categories of sexual assault to
reveal the potentially different cause factors and solutions. For
example, are the circumstances different that lead to date rape or
hazing generated sexual assault from those in which a cadet breaks into
a female cadet's room? Additionally, students should be asked to
comment on the comments of a past Commandant of Cadets and the officer
in charge of cadet conduct suggesting that (1) the victims brought the
misconduct upon themselves and (2) the misconduct wasn't truly
criminal assault. (See the case subsection titled Command Supervision of
the Academy.)
Furthermore, students may be asked if a female cadet is any
different from a local female and whether the sexual assault of a local
female would be different from the sexual assault of a female cadet.
Does the fact that a female cadet is under the total control of
upperclassmen make it more criminal or morally distasteful.
Additionally, students should be asked if the male cadets should be
treated any differently as to prosecution and punishment based on
whether they sexually assaulted a female cadet or a local civilian
female.
Students may want to discuss the percentage of sexual assault cases
that had alcohol involved.
11. The Honor Code (no lying, cheating, stealing and tolerating
those who do) at the USAF Academy is meant to represent the
"minimum standard" of conduct for cadets. A majority of
cadets, however, believe that disenrollment as the typical sanction for
an Honor Code violation should be abandoned, especially in cases of
toleration. Do you think the Honor Code covers sexual misconduct? What
is your feeling about punishing those cadets that fail to report
incidents (i.e., toleration)?
Students may be asked if they believe the honor code is a floor, a
minimum standard or a ceiling, a maximum standard and where crimes such
as sexual assault would fall with these thresholds in mind.
Students should discuss their beliefs about telling on others. Why
is this important and what ramifications are there in the corporate
world by not telling on others when they do something wrong, especially
something illegal as well as ramifications from telling on others such
as co-workers.
Students should discuss the conflict that is created by such an
honor code at the Air Force Academy. The cadets are taught teamwork and
loyalty to your teammates is of the utmost importance. However, the
honor code instills a loyalty to the institution over fellow cadets in
requiring that cadets turn in fellow cadets when they are aware of a
violation. If they fail to report a fellow cadet who violates the honor
code that they themselves are violating the honor code.
12. The USAF Academy attempts to instill group loyalty as a
critical value. Does this value have an adverse impact on the reporting
of sexual misconduct? If so, how does one overcome this hurdle?
Students should discuss the importance of the critical value of
group loyalty to group effectiveness, especially in the armed services.
They should also discuss dysfunctional groupthink and how group dynamics are affected when members of the group break the law and at what point
does the group breakdown when one or more members of the group fail to
uphold core values adhered to by the group as a whole.
Students may want to discuss situations where loyalty to those
within the group is detrimental to the whole group and individuals
within the group.
Students should discuss the idea that one bad apple can spoil the
whole basket if not taken care of and how they would propose taking care
of bad apples within the group.
Students may want to discuss society's views on group loyalty
and whistle blowing. When does society consider the behavior of
tattletales, informants, and snitches to be appropriate and when is it
inappropriate? Should informing on a fellow cadet be rewarded as a
demonstration of honor and courage? Practically speaking, will incidents
of informing have both positive and negative effects on the Air Force
and the informant's career?
Students may be asked when does loyalty have to end and what
situations should cause the loyalty to end towards individuals within
the group as well as towards the group itself.
Students should discuss the conflict that is created by such an
honor code at the Air Force Academy. The cadets are taught teamwork and
loyalty to your teammates is of the utmost importance. However, the
honor code instills a loyalty to the institution over fellow cadets in
requiring that cadets turn in fellow cadets when they are aware of a
violation. If they fail to report a fellow cadet who violates the honor
code that they themselves are violating the honor code.
Students should discuss the panel's recommendations that the
Academy establish a program that combines the existing CASIE program
with a Victim Advocate psychotherapist managing the program, and which
offers cadets a choice in reporting either to the psychotherapist or to
a cadet peer. If reports to CASIE representatives continue to be
considered non-confidential, then the Panel recommends that cadets be
clearly advised of this fact and further advised that a confidential
reporting option is available through the Victim Advocate
psychotherapist. As an alternative, it is possible for CASIE cadet
representatives to come within the protective umbrella of the
psychotherapist-patient privilege if they meet the definition of being
an "assistant to a psychotherapist." Furthermore, the Air
Force should review the West Point and Navel Academy policies to
encourage reporting of sexual assault and adopt its own clear policy to
encourage reporting (Panel of House Armed Services; 2003).
13. Does hazing encourage sexual misconduct? Is there any positive
impact to hazing freshman? If so, would you recommend transferring this
tradition to corporate America?
Students should discuss their views on why new members in certain
organizations are subjected to hazing, what is the purpose behind hazing
and is it effective in accomplishing its intended purpose? Also, are
there more effective ways of accomplishing the same purpose?
Students should discuss the various beliefs behind the continuation
of hazing of freshman and whether these are valid factually supported or
myths.
Students should discuss whether they would like to see hazing
brought into the corporate world. Would they like to be hazed for a
certain period of time at a new job and what would be the advantages
versus disadvantages of this happening in a corporate environment.
Further discussions could address any legal issues between
employer/employees if hazing were allowed in corporations.
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Charles R. Emery, Lander University
James E. Benton, Lander University
