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From the Editor: Cadet Twins Left Air Force Academy in Disgust By Ed Offley When news reports appeared two weeks ago that the Air Force has launched an outside investigation of the U.S. Air Force Academy, it came as a small comfort to Washington state residents William and Linda Graney. The issue at hand involves allegations from current and former female cadets that the institution has been unable or unwilling to forcefully investigate alleged sexual assaults against female cadets. Spurred by pressure from senior members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Air Force has dispatched a special investigative team to Colorado Springs, Colo., to investigate charges by 25 cadets that Academy officials had refused to seriously respond to their reports of alleged attacks, and in some cases had actually retaliated against the victims. Responding to the allegations, Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., told The New York Times last week that he feared the Academy – where about 640 of the 4,000 cadets are female – tolerated “one [behavior] standard for men and another for women.” Allard told reporters that he is ready to ask for a full hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee to probe the sexual harassment incidents. The Graneys are not directly involved with the ongoing probe, but they too have struggled to force the Academy to deal with what they describe as a wider issue – an atmosphere of failed leadership that they say drove their two sons out of the institution. The problem, as depicted by the Graneys in extensive interviews with DefenseWatch, is far more serious than even a dual standard favoring male cadets over females: It involves a disengaged Air Force commissioned officer cadre allowing the (largely-male) cadet chain of command to ignore longstanding regulations against physical and psychological abuse of cadets, and a propensity to sweep accusations of wrongdoing under the rug. The Graneys say they have come a long way from their excitement and pride in the summer of 2001 as their twin sons, Charlie and David, both arrived at Colorado Springs as “Doolie” (first-year) cadets in the Class of 2005. Instead of finding a strict and difficult but professional environment dedicated to teaching academic and military leadership skills, the Graneys say, their sons encountered a corrupt and dysfunctional institution where harassment and physical abuse was tolerated by the Academy brass. After Cadet Basic Training in the Summer of 2001, David Graney initially got off to a poor start during the academic year with the upper-class cadets in Cadet Squadron 17, particularly when he expressed dissatisfaction with the “four degree” system in which upper-class cadets train and discipline the newly-arrived “Doolies.” In early 2002, Graney found himself braced at attention by a cadet 3rd class (sophomore) who had been drinking. A cadet 1st class (senior) discovered this and turned the 3rd class into the Academy’s Honor Board for issues related to underage drinking. Graney subsequently testified to the Honor Board that he could smell alcohol on the cadet’s breath. After this incident, the Graneys said, other upper-class cadets singled out David Graney for extra “training” and multiple demerits in what his parents say was an obvious attempt to force him to resign. During the Academy’s annual “Recognition” training of the 4th class (freshman) cadets on March 17, 2002, and despite explicit regulations that prohibit physical hazing or contact, an upper-class cadet who was “training” David Graney, separated him from his peers against Academy regulations, and head-butted Graney twice as he performed pushups. The blows temporarily dazed Graney and as the upper-class cadet stood Graney up, he punched Graney in the torso. The blows to Graney’s head caused a bloody knot over his temple. David Graney reported the incident to his Academy Officer Commanding (AOC) the next day. The Graneys say that when they heard from their son a day after the assault, they also reported the incident by telephone to Graney’s AOC, an Air Force major, who assured them that this behavior was not tolerated at the Academy and that he would investigate. However, a month later in a follow-up conversation with the AOC initiated by Bill and Linda Graney, the parents realized that no investigation had occurred. After months of inquiries through the Academy chain of command, the Graneys learned from the results of three Freedom of Information Act requests they had filed that the AOC in late April – one month after the assault occurred – had finally ordered a probe, but assigned the investigation to the same upper-class cadets who had been harassing their son. The cadet investigators did secure an admission by the upper-class cadet that he had struck Graney, but they concluded that the matter could be resolved by “a handshake,” Bill Graney said. A few weeks later, the major commanding his cadet squadron referred David Graney for mental health counseling because of the cadet’s bitterness as to how the incident had been handled. The officer took no action against the cadet who has assaulted him, the Graneys said. At the end of the 2002 spring term, David Graney was assigned to a different cadet unit for summer training, and completed the military training with excellent marks, completed his one summer academic class with a passing grade, and with no disciplinary problems, Bill Graney said. However, after starting classes at the Academy for the 2002 fall term, in late August David Graney was notified that an administrative Military Review Committee would be considering him for disenrollment for excess demerits he had accumulated during the previous year. He continued with academic and military instruction until early November, when he was informed that he was being disenrolled – and being 14 weeks into the 17-week semester, he would lose all of the academic credits he was earning for the semester. To add insult to injury, Bill Graney said, the Academy formally gave David Graney a “5” (the lowest rating) as to his future commissionability in any other U.S. military service. This rating will prevent David from ever being accepted in any other officer commissioning program. Following months of correspondence, Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. John Dallager sent the Graneys a detailed response to their allegations of how their son’s case had been mishandled. The superintendent, in part: * Confirmed that the cadet 3rd class had violated training regulations in the after-hours incident where the upperclassman was accused of having consumed alcohol. (The cadet was exonerated of the charge of drinking but received administrative punishment for the training rule violation). * Confirmed that the March 17 incident where David Graney was head-butted and struck by an upper-class cadet was not an accident as the upper-class cadet initially said, but was “intentional.” Dallager claimed that the original investigative report by the Academy security forces unit concluding that the incident was intentional was misfiled and not found until recently, leading officials to proceed as if the incident had been an accident: “The Security Forces investigation was completed 25 Oct 02 and found the incident was intentional. However, the 34 TRW [cadet training wing] was briefed as the case progressed that the incident appeared to be accidental. This [Air Force Academy] IG [inspector general] inquiry discovered that the Security Forces mistakenly filed the final report without forwarding a copy of it to reach the 34 TRW command and legal channels until this inquiry. The TRW/CC has since received the official final report and took cadet disciplinary action against the accused.” An unspecified “command action” was subsequently taken against the cadet who struck Graney (but details were withheld from Dallager’s letter). * Admitted that a history instructor had publicly “humiliated” Graney in class despite Academy regulations prohibiting such conduct. * Admitted that the Academy proceeded to disenroll Graney despite previous assurances by Dallagar to Graney that no action would be taken until the then-ongoing investigations were completed. “Command action was taken to correct the actions involving the 13 [of 22] allegations [by Cadet Graney’s parents] that were substantiated or partially substantiated,” Dallager wrote. “Due to Privacy Act rules, I cannot go into specific details of the directed punishments. I can, however, assure you that those individuals now know their actions were wrong, and do not meet the standards of this institution or the United States Air Force.” However, Dallager went on to indicate that Cadet Graney’s disenrollment was justified by the number of demerits and other mis-steps that had resulted in his being put on probation. The general declined to re-open the disenrollment procedure and told the Graneys that it was his decision to recommend a “commissionability” grade of 5 which permanently blocks David Graney from ever being eligible for an officer’s commission in other programs. Bill and Linda Graney are convinced that Air Force Academy officials and some upper-class cadets colluded in the ouster of their son because of David’s and their attempts to force the Academy to fully investigate the March 2002 assault and other alleged problems at the Academy, including the now-publicized allegations of dozens of sexual assaults. In their attempts to get the issues properly investigated, the Graneys contacted the staff of Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Inspector General’s (IG) Office. Senator Murray’s staff coordinated for a Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector General’s Office investigation, which started in October 2002, Bill Graney said. Both sons have since left the Academy. After David Graney’s involuntary disenrollment, his brother Charlie voluntarily resigned from the Academy in disgust several months later because of his brother’s mistreatment, Bill Graney said. Bill Graney, a 13-year U.S. Army veteran, is still angry over the Air Force Academy’s handling of the incident. Speaking of David, Bill Graney wrote the DoD IG last year, “He is a citizen who volunteered to serve his country, he worked hard to qualify himself … so that he could provide that service in the future as an officer, and came to the USAFA with integrity.” “The current Air Force Academy leadership appears to value technology over morality, intelligence over integrity and public relations spin over honesty and honor,” Bill Graney said. The Defense Department Inspector General’s investigation into whether Academy officials engaged in reprisal against Cadet Graney is continuing.