Colorlines' Akiba Solomon argues that adultery is nothing compared to the troubling statistics that led to the Air Force's new "wingman policy."
Salacious details of Gen. David Petraus's adulterous relationship with biographer Paula Broadwell — and all of the attendant sexist framing — have eclipsed a much more important military story
Yesterday, the Air Force imposed what it calls a "wingman policy" requiring its trainees at the Lackland base in San Antonio, Texas, to be with at least one classmate at all times. The move comes in response to an Air Training and Command investigation that identified 23 instructors on the base who had allegedly raped, sexually harassed or had "unprofessional relationships" with 48 trainees.
Lackland trains all Air Force recruits … So far, five officials have been convicted in court martials on charges ranging from adultery to rape and others could face criminal charges.
Of course the epidemic of unpunished rape within the U.S. military — and the routine silencing of and retaliation against enlisted survivors who dare to report it — isn't new.
Read Akiba Solomon's entire piece at Colorlines.
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