A training instructor at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland is facing court-martial for having sex with three trainees he was in charge of, the 37th Training Wing said.
Staff Sgt. Davonte Hardaway, who served as a basic military training instructor with the 324th Training Squadron, is accused of having “improper relationships with students.” The charges include three allegations of “prohibited sexual activity with students.” The San Antonio Express-News first reported on the court-martial against Hardaway on Thursday.
Hardway has been with the 324th Training Squadron since October 2023, but is “not currently performing MTI duties,” according to a spokesperson for the 37th Training Wing. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations investigated allegations against the training instructor and the wing’s commander referred the case to trial by special court-martial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
According to the Air Force’s legal docket, Hardaway is being charged for Article 92, unprofessional relationship and Article 93a, prohibited activities with recruit or trainee. His trial is set to start June 8 and run through June 13. He faces multiple penalties if found guilty, including forfeiture of part of his pay, a bad conduct discharge or reduction in his rank.
The training wing noted that the charges against Hardaway — who the Air Force noted is innocent until proven guilty — come from part of the Air Force provision regarding professional relationships, which “prohibit instructors from developing personal relationships with trainees within six months after a trainee completes initial skills training and reports to their first permanent duty station or follow-on training program.”
Top Stories This Week
The 37th Training Wing did not provide additional details on the charges or Hardaway’s service record, citing a need to not interfere with ongoing proceedings.
Hardaway is the first training instructor to face such charges in more than a decade. In the early 2010s, the Air Force was rocked by a massive scandal involving nearly three dozen instructors at Lackland Air Force Base. They were investigated for allegations of having sexually assaulted or abused more than 60 trainees between 2009-2011. Multiple commanders were relieved of their positions during the course of the investigation.
The 37th Training Wing, based out of Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, is part of the Air Education and Training Command and is the largest training unit in the Air Force. More than 30,000 recruits train there each year.
