09 March 2004

As I've mentioned more than one time before—including while I was on active duty—the military has a much more serious problem with differing-sex rape than any potential problem with consenting same-sex activity or orientation. This includes not just the Air Force Academy, but the entire active duty force, as a recent study in PACAF shows. What I find curious is that only the USAF appears to be looking at the issue. Perhaps this reflects the higher proportion of female senior line officers in the USAF, compared to the Army, Navy, and Marines; perhaps it is the shock factor of the USAFA scandal; perhaps it is a difference in the openness of service cultures. As closed as the USAF's culture is, it is positively cosmopolitan compared to the Army, Navy, and Marines.