Pacific command orders conduct review
Air Force finds 92 sexual assault allegations
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- At least 92 allegations of sexual assault, including rape, involving U.S. Air Force personnel in the Pacific were reported over the past three years, according to a review ordered by the region's commander.
Gen. William Begert, commander of Pacific Air Forces, called the situation "not a promising picture."
The five-month review prompted an overall investigation by the Air Force. (Full story) The Defense Department and Army have launched similar reviews.
The Pacific command review found 34 sexual assault investigations in 2001, 17 in 2002, and 41 in 2003. The review said the drop in 2002 probably can be attributed to increased activity after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
The review did not gather figures from previous years for comparison. It did point out that nationally, rapes increased 4.1 percent from 2001 to 2002, citing the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.
The 92 accusations involved 106 alleged perpetrators. Of those, 14 service members were tried by court-martial, 12 on rape charges. Seven were convicted and sentenced to an average of eight years in prison. Forty others received lesser punishments.
The review comes amid increased reports of sexual misconduct throughout the U.S. military, particularly in the Central Command area of operations, which includes Afghanistan, Kuwait and Iraq. (Full story)
Begert wanted to know the extent of the problem in his command and to develop remedies following the disclosure last year that more than 50 cases of alleged sexual assault or rape had been reported over the past decade at the Air Force Academy. (Full story)
The Pacific Air Forces command includes some 34,000 troops based in Japan, South Korea, Guam, Hawaii, Alaska, Singapore and Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean.
Begert has already ordered several actions, including sexual awareness training for both men and women, more responsive victim assistance and better data collection, particularly to understand why commanders may decide not to prosecute a case.
In a memo to his subordinate commanders, Begert noted that support also may be needed for suspects, citing the recent suicide of an Air Force chief master sergeant in Yokota, Japan, while facing a court-martial on a rape charge.
The Air Force found that 60 percent of alleged perpetrators were under the age of 25, as were 82 percent of alleged victims. Eighty percent of alleged victims and perpetrators knew each other.
Most of the incidents involved service members, but some of the alleged rapes were reported by civilian women, including married women and prostitutes, the review found.
One-third of the alleged rapes involved personnel in South Korea.
Alcohol was determined to be a major factor in about 60 percent of the cases, and many of the alleged assaults took place in military dorms. At least three Air Force wings now prohibit alcohol consumption in dorms.
Most of the alleged rapes occurred in locations where the victim was voluntarily present, the review found.
CNN's Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
