SAN ANTONIO- Members of the House Armed Services Committee paid a visit to Joint Base San Antonio - Lackland Tuesday afternoon. The visit comes in light of the sex scandal that has plagued the Air Force base.
The group gauged the impact the investigations and trials have had on basic training students and base personnel.
The three democratic congresswomen from California: Loretta Sanchez, Jackie Spier and Susan Davis all had a chance to speak to instructors, students, base leaders and military legal advocates. They even spoke to at least two victims via conference call. Representative Loretta Sanchez said they learned a lot to take back and figure out.
Rep. Loretta Sanchez explained, “What types of programs, what types of checklists do we need for people to feel safe that when they see something that's going wrong they actually step forward”.
The committee plans to recommend that a hotline be set up for victims and whistle-blowers, adding that they learned many people are afraid to report any wrongdoing for fear of retaliation. The group also plans to recommend that the investigation into sex scandals involving military instructors and students go back to 2002, adding there is new reason to believe there could be more cases dating back farther.
