Abuses call for inquiry by Congress

Air Force leaders are moving forward with prosecutions and investigations related to sexual abuse and misconduct at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.

Last month, Air Force prosecutors obtained a guilty verdict for Staff Sgt. Luis A. Walker on charges that he had illicit relationships with 10 women in basic training at Lackland.

Along with the appointment of Maj. Gen. Margaret Woodward to review the command environment at Lackland — home to all Air Force basic enlisted training — as well as at technical training units in 13 states, these are positive developments.

Veteran San Antonio Express-News military writer Sig Christenson has highlighted the growing scandal at Lackland in reports going back to late 2011 that eventually captured the attention of the Pentagon and now Congress.

Gary Martin of the Express-News Washington Bureau reported that Air Force Secretary Michael Donley briefed members of the House Armed Services Committee about the situation at Lackland — in a closed-door session. Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has called for public hearings on the scandal. Leaders on Capitol Hill and at the Pentagon should heed her call.

The scale of alleged criminal offenses at Lackland is shocking — and still growing. Walker is one of at least 36 instructors the Air Force has permanently removed from positions at Lackland. Though the Air Force will not confirm how many of those removals are directly related to the scandal, it recently added three more boot camp instructors to its list of 12 who are already under investigation for misconduct.

Meanwhile, the number of victims has grown to 38. One trainee reported Walker had assaulted her last year, though her report did not reach the squadron commander until a month later — after another assault by Walker was reported. Was that delay the result of a desire to protect military trainers or tamp down evidence of problems at Lackland?

The job of any institution or organization tasked with investigating wrongdoing in its own ranks is always difficult. That is especially the case here, with so many military careers and reputations on the line. The light sentence meted out by a recent court-martial in another case involving a trainer who engaged in improper relations with trainees doesn't inspire confidence in military justice.

Congress would be acting well within its authority to find out what went wrong at Lackland, the extent of the wrongdoing, and how to prevent volunteers in our nation's armed forces from being subjected to such abusive, criminal behavior in the future.