Courts-martial set in Air Force sex scandal

Female airmen march during graduation at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio in this June 22, 2012, image made from video. / AP Photo

Updated at 12:53 p.m. ET

(CBS News) The Air Force announced Wednesday that two training instructors at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas were referred to special courts-martial in a growing sexual misconduct scandal.

Master Sgt. Jamey Crawford was accused of wrongfully conducting a sexual relationship with a basic trainee and other offenses. Allegations against Tech. Sgt. Christopher Smith included wrongfully making sexual advances toward a trainee.

Their trial dates have not yet been set.

A dozen instructors have been suspected of assaulting female recruits.

Allegations of sexual misconduct between instructors and cadets began there last summer, and the Pentagon has ordered a comprehensive strategic review of the entire Air Force training community.

The widespread criminal investigation is looking into the possibility that cases of sexual misconduct extend beyond Lackland.

Investigators are looking at four Air Force bases in two states.

Since allegations of misconduct began, 35 military instructors have been removed from their posts. Four have been accused.

Sgt. Luis Walker, one of the accused instructors, pleaded not guilty and faces court-martial. He's charged with raping or sexually assaulting 10 recruits between October 2010 and January 2011.

The Air Force says it's being fully transparent.

"I want the public to know what's going on," said Lackland's Col. Glenn Palmer. "I don't want the possibility of someone saying, 'Well look - they're trying to cover it up.'"

The investigation comes as Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced wider plans to deal with the issue.

In April, he said, "We will continue to develop our strategies. We'll continue to devote our energy and our intention to enforcing our department's zero-tolerance policy on sexual assault."

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers such as Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., want to investigate the matter further with a hearing of their own.

"Congress has known about this problem in the military for 25 years," she said in an interview broadcast on "CBS This Morning" Wednesday. "We've had lots of hearings, lots of reports. But are we willing to step up and do the right thing by taking it out of the chain of command so the victims really have the freedom to report these crimes and feel that they are not going to be marginalized and labeled and then dismissed from the military?"

This could be the worst sexual misconduct scandal to hit the military since a similar case involving the Army in Aberdeen, Md., in 1996.

On Wednesday, victims of military sexual assault planned to lobby members of Congress seeking support for legislation sponsored by Speier called the Stop Act. It would take probes of military sexual assault away from commanders and put them in the hands of a separate military unit.

[AFRet4life]

We are a rare...lol

[AFRet4life]

Every one always assumes it's the males raping the females. When I was active, rumors, stories, gossip had been out for years about the large gay ring of MTIs at Lackland AFB. Several men got together regularly for "ON-the-DownLow" activites...and yes, they all had wives. All this talk about men and women being separated, feminist wing, ect...WAKE Up. It's not about gender, it's about power. Lastly, I was brought up in the AF that officers were held to a higher standard, if an E and an O committed the same violation of the UCMJ, the O would pay the higher price. In my career the E always paid the price, and the Os were quietly, quickly removed. The higher the E rank, the higher the exposure/punishment; the higher the O rank, ..well you already know. that's a fact.

[OIF_to_USC]

The Marines are the only branch of the armed forces that train men and women seperately and they are the only service branch that acknowledges the difference between men and women. When will the other services quit the PC crap and comply with common sense?

[trackmate]

I am in total agreement, these politicians with their "the military needs to be held to a higher standard" but hiding their concubines out of the spotlight need to get it right. Hell this is a sexual society and it will always be that way. If they wish to legislate something they need to legislate that soldiers are human too. If they wish to stop this then they need to have separate basic trainings for males and females! They are all idiots!

[Drivelphobe001]

Women and homosexuals do not belong in the general military and this is living proof. If you want women soldiers, they should be in separate units and the the same for GLBT. You cannot mix those of the opposite sexual orientation with their targets. This is no surprise and just makes it clear that the military should be composed of tested heterosexual males only. Enough is enough.

[norjak71]

and your a moron who has no business commenting on the likes of military operations. idiots like you really have no business commenting on public forums embarrassing themselves and every other unfortunate soul that has to come in contact with them. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

[WoodenU]

" He's charged with raping or sexually assaulting 10 recruits between October 2010 and January 2011."
What other job can you rape 10 people before anyone stops you?
(Besides Catholics, Penn State, & TSA)

[WoodenU]

" He's charged with raping or sexually assaulting 10 recruits between October 2010 and January 2011."
What other job can you rape 10 people before anyone stops you?
(Besides Catholics, Penn State, & TSA)

[imright12]

This is why heterosexuals shouldn't be allowed in the military.

[Mitt_is_a_dufus]

This is a warning to women what happens to many of them when they enlist in the military. The women need to know this is probably just the tip of the iceburg. this is how the military treats women.

[norjak71]

"this is how the military treats woman"??? NO MORON, this is how one idiot treats woman. the entire military as a whole is filled with great people, you WOULDNT know, but i guess you like to open your mouth about things you have NO idea about. idiot.

[dlindahl]

I was a CIVILLIAN working for the National Guard and it happened to me. The federal "No Fear Act" is a joke!! retaliation is real! Most of the military world is great - but a few bad apples NEED to be court martialed!

[pr_boxer]

Of course it's Sgts, Cpls, and PvtS Who'll be nailed, you know all the Officers are total gentlemen. Sure they are ......

[OIF_to_USC]

Officers get nailed all the time. A lesbian commanding officer of a Ticondaroga-class guided missile cruiser was relieved of her command and charged with bird-dogging the female members of her crew and making life difficult for the male personnel. The same happened to the male heterosexual commanding officer of an aircraft carrier for simply making a sexual comment on the ships internal TV station. Both stories were reported on Mil.com and AFN. The bottom line is that there is no place for "sexual anything" in the armed forces. If you wanna do it/say it -- then do it/say off duty and with somebody outside of your unit/organization.

[trackmate]

I am sick of hearing how people judge the drill sergeants in which they hear about having had a sexual relationship with a trainee. No one takes into account that the so called victim might had been the one who initiated the whole thing. Never once have you thought about the mindset of the drill sergeant. I am a former drill sergeant who was court martialed for having a sexual relationship with a trainee in which the relationship was initiated from the trainee. I spent five months in confinement and now have to deal with it on my criminal record. At the time I had just returned from a deployment and pushed to go right on to drill sergeant duty. My family had fell apart because my wife cheated and left with the kids after putting me through abuse. Then to spend 15 to 18 hrs away from home did not help. Every case is not the same though the UCMJ sees them all as the same. You will never know what it is like until you have been in the boots of a male drill sergeant. You people have no clue. Now there are those who do prey on these females and many are not caught but I say again every case is not the same. Remember this, drill sergeants are human as well. Heck look at your politicians before you put down a drill sergeant. Separate basic training across the military just like the marine corp does! Legislate that!

[AOCGUY]

Regardless of who initiated the contact, if you as a Drill Sergeant had a relationship with a traineee (who you had power over) then you committed a grevious error and should have been punished. Pretty pathetic that you think DIs should be compared to politicians who are the least respected occupation in this country.

[trackmate]

AOCGUY I just pray that you never find yourself in any situation that would remotely close to this because you will find yourself wishing that people would look at things differently. Lets try innocent until proven guilty, it is obvious that you are a person who is so gung ho that you could never make a mistake or find yourself at your weakest point wishing to be understood! Good luck guy!