Letter to Senate Armed Services Committee on James G. Roche nomination

National Alliance to End Sexual Violence
PO Box 1916
Sacramento CA 95812

Sen. John Warner
Chairman, US Senate Committee on Armed Services
228 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

The National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV) is submitting this letter to urge members of the US Senate Committee on Armed Services to oppose the recent nomination of James G. Roche to the position of the new Secretary of the Army. Dr. Roche has held the position of Secretary of the Air Forces since 2001; his duties include the oversight of policies and procedures, and providing for the welfare of nearly 370,000 men and women on active duty, 180,000 members of the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve, 160,000 civilians, and their families. In light of the recent publicity regarding mishandling of sexual assaults, inappropriate discipline of victims and alleged perpetrators, and the acknowledgement of a hostile, sexually abusive environment within the Air Force Academy, where the rapes and sexual assaults of female cadets occurred without recourse and victims were discouraged from reporting the assaults, the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence does not believe that Dr. Roche possesses the leadership or responsibility necessary to command the position of Secretary of the Army.

The NAESV, formerly the National Alliance of Sexual Assault Coalitions, is a social change organization dedicated to creating a social, political and economic environment where sexual violence no longer exists. Our Board of Directors consists of leaders of state sexual assault coalitions, sex offender treatment providers, policy experts, and others dedicated to eradicating sexual violence. We are writing to ask you to participate in our efforts by doing your part to change the institutional policies and cultural practices of the US Military by opposing the appointment of a man who has been indifferent to such things in his tenure with the Air Force, and preventing the spread of such indifference to the Army.

It has been revealed that women in the Air Force Academy have been victims of rapes, sexual assaults, widespread sexual harassment, and physical abuse. Women were also subject to being stalked, fondled, and various other types of sexual intimidation. The women that had the courage to tell their superiors about being attacked were met with hostility. Female cadets revealed that after they complained of harassment or sexual assaults, they were ostracized, ridiculed and reprimanded. While media attention to the current situation is new, awareness of such a hostile environment is not new to officials within the military. Surveys of cadets between 1998 and 2002 showed dozens of women reporting that they had been sexually assaulted, and large percentages of respondents saying that they feared reprisal if they reported their attacks.

Indications of an environment hostile, and potentially dangerous, to women have been documented since the early 1990's. The Air Force Academy's Ad Hoc Committee on Respect and Dignity reported to the school's superintendent in May 1993 that "disturbing numbers of female cadets reported to the superintendent that instances of sexual assault, improper fondling, and sexual harassment and discrimination had occurred to them while at the academy." In each of the past five years except 1999, the Air Force Academy has conducted annual surveys of cadets on the school's "social climate," which include questions about sexual harassment and assault.

Secretary Roche has been reluctant to find fault with the Academy's top commanders, instead blaming the ambiguous "culture" of the Air Force Academy. The New York Times (May 22, 2003) reported that, "Air Force Secretary James Roche has said the (General Council Working Group) report wouldn't blame specific officers but would document how procedures designed to guard against assault deteriorated during the past decade, gradually giving rise to a hostile environment for women." The inference that the top commanders have had no part in the structure or maintenance of cultural codes of conduct is inconsistent with the type of oversight, responsibility, and leadership qualities needed to prevent and address sexual violence in any body of the United States Military.

We are asking that the US Senate Committee on Armed Forces show support for women in the military, and insistence upon higher standards of responsibility and leadership, by opposing Secretary Roche's nomination to be the new Secretary of the Army. Roche's inability to convey leadership, rational judgment, and justice in the face of the sexual assault allegations should be proof enough that he is not qualified for the position.

Thank you,

Gail Burn-Smith
President of the Board