Over the past 10 years, close to a hundred and fifty cases of sexual assault and abuse were reported at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Female cadets were raped, attacked, and humiliated on a regular basis, and despite a number of internal investigations, military brass did little to stop the violence or change the culture.
This week, a report by a congressional committee points at “a chasm of leadership” that “helped create an environment in which sexual assault became a part of life.” And the finger pointing doesn’t stop at the gates of the academy. Some say the blame goes all the way to the top, to the Air Force brass, and to the Pentagon. Others say nothing will change until leaders put an end to the macho and misogynistic culture of the military cadet.
Guests:
Judith Hicks Stiehm, Professor at the Department of Political Science, Florida International University and author of “Bring Me Men and Women”
Scott Silliman, director of the Duke Law School’s Center for Law, Ethics and National Security, and retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force
John Ferrugia, reporter for Denver’s ABC affiliate, KMGH
Aya LaBrie, enlisted in the Air Force academy in 1993.