--- title: "The first ever court-martial for an Air Force general won’t include a jury" description: "The court-martial of Air Force Maj. Gen. William Cooley, accused of multiple counts of sexual assault, will not involve a jury of peers." date: "2022-04-18" modified: "2022-04-18" authors: - name: "Max Hauptman" job_title: "Breaking News Reporter" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/max-hauptman/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/air-force-general-court-martial-no-jury/" categories: - "Air Force" - "Around the World" - "Military Branches" - "News" - "United States" --- # The first ever court-martial for an Air Force general won’t include a jury ![]() *U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. William T. Cooley, Air Force Research Laboratory commander, delivers remarks during a press conference inside the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, April 18, 2019. (Wesley Farnsworth/U.S. Air Force) U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. William T. Cooley, Air Force Research Laboratory commander, delivers remarks during a press conference inside the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, April 18, 2019. (U.S. Air Force photo by Wesley Farnsworth)* The court-martial for a two-star Air Force general accused of sexual assault began on Monday. However, the historic trial will not have a jury, the Air Force confirmed to Task & Purpose. “Trial by military judge alone was requested and approved,” by the defense team for Maj. Gen. William Cooley, according to Air Force Materiel Command public affairs. The court-martial is being held at [Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]() in Ohio Air Force Maj. Gen. William Cooley was chief of the Air Force Research Laboratory in August 2018, when he was first accused of making unwanted sexual advances by [kissing and touching]() a female civilian. He is charged with [three counts]() of sexual assault under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Cooley [reportedly]() kissed a woman on her mouth and tongue without her consent. Cooley is the [first]() Air Force general officer to face a court-martial, in the branch’s history. He was relieved in January 2020, more than a year after the alleged incident occurred, and reassigned as a special assistant to [Gen. Arnold W. Bunch](), Jr., chief of Air Force Materiel Command. As the first general officer to face discipline for such an offense, Cooley’s court-martial is itself notable. It’s not often that people of Cooley’s rank face official discipline for misconduct. In 2004 [Maj. Gen. Thomas Fiscus]() was found by the Air Force Inspector General found to have made inappropriate sexual advances on 13 women. In 2005 the Air Force Inspector General found that [Brig. Gen. Richard Hassan]() had sexually harassed female subordinates and created a hostile work environment. These generals, however, were kept from facing court-martial by their peers at the top of the Air Force. As retired Air Force Lt. Colonel Rachel Van Landingham, a former judge advocate who now teaches at Southwestern University, [told]() Task & Purpose in 2020, “Many of them have integrity, but that track record doesn’t speak well on their behalf. It speaks of the euphemism ‘[different spanks for different ranks]().’” A jury trial would have required [eight of the Air Force’s 32 three-star generals]() to convene. And in the small community of Air Force generals, the chance that someone would be unfamiliar with or unbiased with regards to Cooley is exceptionally small. As Don Christenson, a retired Air Force colonel, and victim's advocate, told [Task & Purpose in 2020](), there are probably few who had never met Cooley or been the convening authority for a sexual misconduct case. Cooley’s court-martial was supposed to begin in January, but was delayed until now "in part, due to COVID-19 concerns among the trial participants," Air Force Material Command [previously announced](). ## What’s new on Task & Purpose - **The Marine Corps’** [**culture has to change**]() - **This Army ‘Best Ranger’ competitor showed soldier ingenuity that had**[ **instructors face-palming**]() - [**How an airman fought off a grizzly bear**]() **in Alaska** - **Tom Hanks to continue his absolute domination of** [**World War II entertainment**]() - **A soldier was left to die alone in his barracks for 5 days.** [**His family wants to know why**]() **Want to write for Task & Purpose?** [**Click here**]()**. Or check out the latest stories on** [**our homepage.**]() ## Author Max Hauptman is a former breaking news reporter at Task & Purpose. He previously worked at The Washington Post as a Military Veterans in Journalism Fellow, as well as covering local news in New England. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Instagram]()