ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 10, 1996 TAG: 9611110069
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
The sex scandal that rocked the Army last week is the latest case of the military, a system based on unquestioned obedience to superiors, finding it still has a long way to go to eliminate sexual harassment.
``This is still a man's profession, with a lot of men who intellectually and emotionally have not accepted that the military could be women's work,'' said Lawrence Korb, a former Pentagon personnel director.
Four drill sergeants and a company commander were charged with crimes ranging from misconduct to rape of female trainees at the Army Ordnance Center at Aberdeen, Md., Army officials announced last week. The captain and two sergeants face courts-martial.
On Saturday, post spokesman John Yaquiant said 15 more drill sergeants and instructors were suspended from duty in a widening investigation. None has been charged yet, although charges could be filed, Yaquiant said.
The number of suspensions could increase or decrease as the probe continues, he said. Investigators have said they expect to find more alleged victims as they interview women who were trained at the post in the past two years. The post has 325 instructors and 37 drill sergeants.
Korb, a specialist on military issues at Washington's Brookings Institution, said the Army must investigate the harassment. It should look into why men with a tendency to abuse power over women would be put in such jobs and why the alleged incidents came to light only after a recruit complained months ago, he said.
``Trainees are our newest, most vulnerable members,'' Secretary of the Army Togo West said after the scandal was disclosed. ``It could be that embraced as they were in that training environment, where their sole authority and means of redress is the person who is in charge of the training, that they may not have felt they had a redress.''
Speaking on Friday's ``Newshour'' on PBS, West said that if violations are found to have occurred, the perpetrators will be held accountable. He said he is forming an advisory panel to determine ``whether this is any kind of a wake-up call for other places in our army where superiors lead subordinates and have the opportunity to take advantage of that authority.''
Rep. Patricia Schroeder, D-Colo., said the Army ``talks zero tolerance, but they implement it with a wink-wink.''
``It's a top-down hierarchy, and all males at the top,'' she said. ``Reporting sexual harassment requires listening to all people equally, no matter what their rank, and that's a radical concept for the military.''
In a Pentagon study on sexual harassment completed in May, the Navy was reported to have made more progress than the other services. The study found that the incidence of sexual harassment complaints is decreasing in all services, from 64 percent of women in 1988 to 55 percent last year. It also said the Army ranks second to the Marine Corps in its rate of sexual harassment.
The study defined sexual harassment as ``unwanted or uninvited sexual attention,'' ranging from actual or attempted rape and assault to such things as jokes and whistles.
The study of 90,000 service members appeared last week in Navy Times, a private publication focusing on military issues.
The survey reported that only 45 percent of Army women think their senior commanders make ``honest and reasonable efforts'' to halt sexual harassment, compared with 54 percent in 1988. It also found that Army women are losing confidence in their leaders' attempts to combat the problem.
The Aberdeen allegations didn't surprise some women at the Army post. ``Improper relationships, they happen all the time here. It can't be denied,'' said Pvt. Janita Mays, 19, a recent graduate.
Trainee Ruth Brown, 31, said she believes young female trainees seek sexual relations with superior officers.
``I don't believe [the allegations] are true. I think females are throwing themselves at drill sergeants,'' Brown said.
Female trainees seek sexual relations because ``they think it's a big deal, because they think it's going to get them somewhere.''
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Officials continue to investigate accusations ofby CNBsexual harassment by instructors at the Army Ordnance Center at
Aberdeen, Md. color.