Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld plans to appoint a brigadier general to head a newly created Pentagon office aimed at bringing more accountability to the military’s handling of sexual-assault cases.
Defense Department officials are expected to announce the selection of Brig. Gen. K.C. McClain, who directs technical training operations from Randolph Air Force Base in Texas, sometime this week.
McClain is no stranger to sexual-assault issues, having headed an internal investigation this year into a wave of rape cases at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas. Her investigation, initially criticized as inadequate by U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, eventually was broadened.
Though McClain found in her investigation that Sheppard’s leadership handled cases appropriately, her final report, obtained Wednesday, discovered through a survey that more than 200 Sheppard “students,” service members who were undergoing training at the base, “indicated they had been sexually assaulted” but apparently did not report the crimes.
Pentagon officials and McClain, who was promoted to brigadier general in July, declined to comment Wednesday.
“She can’t talk because there has not been an official announcement yet,” said Elaine Larson, public affairs spokesman for the Randolph-based Air Education and Training Command.
McClain will take charge of an office designed to improve the response to sexual assaults after a gale of controversy over the military’s bungling of cases at home and in the Iraq war zone. The office, championed by several members of Congress and recommended by a Rumsfeld task force, is designed to give victims more access to rights advocates and social services, including counseling.
The bulk of McClain’s experience, according to her rsum, is concentrated in administrative and personnel duties. Currently she oversees planning for basic Air Force training. Prior to joining Randolph, she commanded the Air Reserve Personnel Center in Denver.
Leaders of civilian victim-rights groups expressed mixed feelings about McClain. Some said her selection proves Rumsfeld is boldly addressing assault problems. Others said her track record is questionable.
“To date, her involvement with the Sheppard investigation is the only public example of what her work is on sexual-assault issues,” said Christine Hansen, director of The Miles Foundation, a civilian victim-support organization.
Said Sarah Graham Miller, spokeswoman for the Washington-based victim’s advocacy group RAINN: “It’s going to take a strong leader and commitment from the top ranks to get effective reforms implemented. We’re hopeful that McClain is that leader and look forward to working with her.”
McClain was assigned to investigate Sheppard following a Denver Post report that more than two dozen Sheppard servicewomen sought sexual-trauma counseling at First Step Inc., a civilian rape-crisis center in the adjacent city of Wichita Falls, in 2002 and 2003, saying they had been attacked by other service members. Five cases involved gang rapes. Several women said they faced repercussions for reporting crimes, while others feared retaliation.
Hutchison demanded an investigation. After a McClain- led task force issued a report two weeks later, the senator called it incomplete and urged her to survey thousands of students to gain a fuller picture.
In her final report, dated March 2004, McClain largely praised Sheppard’s leadership for handling cases in a “fair, consistent and balanced manner.” She pointed out deficiencies in training and support services for victims.
Statistics showing large numbers of assaults were downplayed, however. On page 13 of the 18-page report, she notes that 113 males and 106 females reported in a revised survey that “they were sexually assaulted.” But the report stated that the students “experienced incidents on the less-severe end of the sexual assault spectrum.” Still, the survey found that 24 percent of surveyed women “did not feel safe on base alone, after dark.”
Her report also noted that 30 percent of students indicated they would not report an assault if it “implicated them in misconduct.” Other students also cited embarrassment as a reason they would not report.
Staff writer Miles Moffeit can be reached at 303-820-1415 or mmoffeit@denverpost.com .
