THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 12, 1996 TAG: 9611120259
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 44 lines
The Army is prepared to take action at a Missouri training base against the first of several male soldiers suspected of sexual misconduct, a Pentagon official said Monday.
The move, which could come as soon as today, would be the second taken against military trainers at a major Army installation within a week.
The Army has filed criminal charges against three military trainers and administrative charges against two more - all married - at a maintenance training base in Aberdeen, Md. The charges range from rape to sending improper love letters to female trainees. An additional 15 instructors have been placed on paid administrative duty.
The Army confirmed that an investigation also has been under way at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., but it declined to offer any details.
An Army source said initially Monday that the investigation in Missouri involved allegations of sexual misconduct ranging from rape to fraternization.
However, a Pentagon source said later that the charges would involve other forms of sexual assault or misconduct, but not rape. Three or four individuals were involved, said the source.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the Army was ``casting its net very wide'' to find problems elsewhere. Indications were additional charges might be imminent.
Gen. John Shalikashvili, making the rounds of television talk shows in honor of Veterans Day, was asked whether he had any evidence sexual abuse was occurring at other training sites.
``We certainly have to assume that it could be happening somewhere else, and that's why the Army is casting its net very wide all across the Army, and certainly all training centers, to get to the bottom of this,'' the four-star Army general said on CBS' ``This Morning.''
``But right now, I don't think we have all the evidence, or it's very difficult to determine just how big that problem really is,'' he added.
Some 1,999 phone calls had been made to a toll-free hot line set up at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground, near Baltimore.
KEYWORDS: SEX SCANDAL ARMY SEXUAL MISCONDUCT SEXUAL
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