Three U.S. military judges overturned a West Point cadet's 2017 rape conviction on Monday, saying that it didn't seem plausible that it could have happened without both parties' consent.
An F-16 Fight Falcon is parked outside the U.S. Air Force Academy Chapel at Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the winter of 2015. (U.S. Air Force/Mike Kaplan)
A special operations pilot at the Air Force Academy is accused of rape, rape of a child and three counts of sexual abuse of a child, the school said Thursday.
The guided missile submarine Florida (SSGN-728) makes her way through Cumberland Sound to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, 11 April 2006. (U.S. Navy/Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Lynn Friant)
Editor's Note: This article by Gina Harkins originally appeared onMilitary.com, a leading source of news for the military and veteran community.
Navy leaders failed to address sailors' safety concerns after a sexually explicit list targeting female crew members surfaced aboard the service's second submarine to integrate women, resulting in the firing of a commanding officer and several other punishments.
A "rape list" was shared by members of the guided-missile submarine Florida's Gold crew, where investigators found "lewd and sexist comments and jokes were tolerated, and trust up and down the chain of command was nonexistent." That's according to a 74-page investigation into the misconduct, obtained exclusively by Military.com through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The Florida, homeported in Kings Bay, Georgia, was the second submarine to integrate enlisted women in February 2018. Capt. Gregory Kercher, who became the Florida Gold crew's commanding officer five months prior,was fired in August for a loss of confidence in his ability to lead.
At least two sailors assigned to the submarine have been separated from the military, and an undisclosed number faced administrative punishment in connection to the list, Navy officials said.
