Scandal-Plagued Academy Shuffles Staff

U.S. Air Force leaders told senators Tuesday they will replace four top officers at the Air Force Academy, which is embroiled in a sexual assault scandal, a senator said.

The Air Force officials also said two women would be included in the new leadership, said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.

Clinton spoke after Air Force Secretary James Roche and others gave a closed-door briefing to senators on the Armed Services Committee to discuss the allegations that female cadets at the academy were ostracized and reprimanded after they reported they were raped.

"No, I'm not satisfied, but I believe they are making progress," Clinton said. "I believe that changing the leadership is a serious action but it is not sufficient."

Clinton did not name the ousted officers, but The Denver Post on Tuesday identified them as Brig. Gen. S. Taco Gilbert III, the commandant of cadets and second in charge at the academy; Col. Steve Eddy, vice superintendent; Col. Bob Eskridge, vice commander; and Col. Sue Slavec, training group commander.

Lt. Gen. John R. Dallager will remain as superintendent and the top official at the 4,100-cadet institution until his scheduled retirement in June, the newspaper said.

A formal announcement was expected from the Air Force on Wednesday, when changes in policies and procedures also were to be announced.

Sen. Wayne Allard of Colorado said after the closed-door meeting that he expects the academy to change its record-keeping process as well as the way rapes and sex assaults are reported at the academy, which is just north of Colorado Springs, Colo. He said Air Force officials were vague about when the changes would take place.

"The evidence indicates now that we need to have some changes in leadership at the top," Allard said. "I think they're moving in the right direction."

Allard and two other Republicans - Sen. John Warner of Virginia and Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado - have all called for a change in leadership at the academy.

Allard said victims are unwilling to talk with Air Force investigators while the current commanders are in place.

He said Tuesday that up to 50 cases of rape or sexual assault at the academy have been reported to his office. A significant portion of those are from the last two years, he added. Allard has said that Gilbert is a "common thread" in the reports.

Gilbert, who declined to comment, was scheduled to leave the academy this summer after completing a standard two-year tour.

In late January, Gilbert said that every case of sexual assault has been thoroughly investigated and that misconduct was punished.

Two investigative teams are looking into the reports of rapes at the academy. A third team from the Department of Defense inspector general's office was to arrive at the academy this week for its own investigation.

By Robert Gehrke