A day after describing an alleged case of sexual misconduct as an “isolated incident,” the Navy confirmed Thursday that in the last three months five instructors at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center have been accused of sexual misconduct and improper relationships with female recruits.
The accused include an instructor who in 1997 was named recruit division commander of the year at the base, the Navy’s only boot camp.
In those three months, Great Lakes has had the same number of sexual-misconduct cases as it did in its last 12- month reporting period, which began in October 1996. Three of the five accusations that year were proved.
There were 10 sexual-misconduct cases in the previous 12-month reporting period, eight of which were proved. All of the complaints involved instructors and students or recruits.
The five most recent allegations are the first since the latest reporting period began last October.
The news surfaced after the arrest of a 30-year-old petty officer second class who is being investigated for allegedly having an improper sexual relationship with an 18-year-old female recruit.
The revelations rocked the sprawling base near North Chicago and prompted top brass to maintain that male and female recruits can be trained together.
“I think it’s a very good thing because we currently have a fleet that is operating successfully today with men and women working together as a team,” said Rear Adm. Kevin Green, the base commander.
“Our challenge here at Great Lakes is to transform 50,000 recruits a year into sailors, where men and women don’t look at each other from a social context but from a professional context,” Green said.
Besides the case involving the petty officer second class, the Tribune has learned of at least four other investigations into alleged sexual misconduct and improper relationships between instructors and trainees:
– Earlier this month, officials began investigating an alleged case of sexual misconduct between an advanced-training instructor and two female junior sailors who were undergoing follow-up special training, which is provided to sailors who have completed boot camp.
– On April 29, a recruit division commander was referred to a special court-martial for allegedly having inappropriate personal relationships with four female recruits. Sexual misconduct was not alleged in this case.
– On April 2, a recruit division commander was referred to a special court-martial for allegedly having an improper sexual relationship with at least two female recruits. He faces charges of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and fraternization.
– On Feb. 19, the training center’s recruit division commander of the year was referred to a special court-martial for allegedly living with a female recruit and inappropriately kissing another female recruit on the base. He faces charges of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and fraternization.
Military officials refused to release the names of the accused instructors.
Navy officials said there is a variety of potential penalties for sexual misconduct, harassment and fraternization, including six months of confinement in a military jail cell, a bad-conduct discharge, six months forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month and/or demotion.
Several interviewed at the base Thursday said instructors should know better than to fraternize with recruits, especially considering they have been in the Navy for at least six years before they can become instructors.
More Top Picks Best Nmn Supplements With Resveratrol
“Every RDC knows the rules. There’s no way anyone can come here and not know the rules,” said Senior Chief Petty Officer Don Dahl.
“If the allegations are true, that individual needs to pay the price big time,” Dahl said. “If the allegations are false, that individual needs to go back to work.”
Yeoman 1st Class Vanesser Bajek, who is training men and women recruits, added: “That individual, if it’s true, didn’t hold up to his values, honor, courage and commitment. We set the example. You just know not to cross the line.”
Even as the Great Lakes cases unfold, efforts are under way in Washington to do away with coed boot camps. On Wednesday, the House National Security Committee voted to separate male and female recruits during basic training following a surge in reports of sexual misconduct and harassment in all branches of the military.
Among recent scandals are the sexual-misconduct court-martial of Sgt. Maj. Gene McKinney, once the highest-ranking enlisted man in the Army; the controversy over Air Force pilot Kelly Flinn’s admitted adultery; reports of widespread sexual misconduct at the Army’s Aberdeen, Md., training center; and the Navy’s 1991 Tailhook scandal, in which naval aviators and others assaulted women during a convention in Las Vegas.
During Wednesday’s congressional hearing, U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) argued that many military sex scandals could be avoided if men and women didn’t train together, a practice that began in 1992.
“Bowing at the altar of political correctness cannot change human nature,” Bartlett said. “The sexual dynamic is both an attraction and a distraction that has no place during the intense period of basic training that transforms civilians into military personnel.”
Lt. Col. Tom Begines, a Pentagon spokesman, said Thursday that U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen is reviewing recommendations from the four military branches on the fate of coed boot camps.
In February, Cohen rejected a task force’s call to train men and women separately but agreed that they should be housed separately during training.
Of the four U.S. boot camps that train men and women together, Great Lakes has the fewest complaints of sexual misconduct but also the fewest female recruits, according to Armed Forces statistics.