Colonel at Nellis vows to change culture on abuse

The pending court-martial of a Nellis Air Force Base officer for sexual assault is among the latest in what the Air Force’s top general says is a crisis that can be traced to a lack of respect for women — a culture that the Nellis base commander has vowed to change.

“What we’re talking about is the culture change to get a culture of respect where this issue of sexual assault in all forms becomes anathema to our ability to have an effective military,” said Col. Barry Cornish, commander of the 99th Air Base Wing at Nellis.

Cornish acknowledged in an interview last week that while there have been no sexual assault convictions of Nellis personnel in the past five years, a major at the base will appear July 8 for a general court-martial involving an alleged sexual offense.

Maj. Charles Cox, a nurse assigned to the 99th Medical Operations Squadron, is charged with abusive sexual contact on an unconscious person, assault by battery and conduct unbecoming of an officer.

Cornish said the case was reported through the base’s Sexual Assault Response Coordinator’s office, but he couldn’t release details or comment on it because of the ongoing investigation.

He did say, however, “This did not occur on base. It was reported through our channels, so we took action.”

Calls to Cox’s home in North Las Vegas went unanswered Monday.

Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, if Cox is convicted for abusive sexual contact he could be dishonorably discharged, confined for seven years and required to forfeit all pay and allowances.

His case comes as military leaders are cracking down in the aftermath of a Pentagon report about an epidemic of sex assaults in which the Air Force saw a 33 percent increase in reported cases, from 594 in 2011 to 792 in 2012.

Similarly, the Navy saw a 32 percent increase and the Marines had a 30 percent increase for the same period. Army cases dropped from 1,695 reported sexual assaults in 2011 to 1,432 in 2012.

Air Force Chief of Staff Mark Welsh said Friday reversing the trend is his No. 1 priority.

“We have a problem with respect for women that leads to many of the situations that result in sexual assault in our Air Force,” he said.

Members of Nevada’s congressional delegation have also joined in the effort to combat military sex offenses. Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., has co-sponsored a bill to protect military trainees from sexual advances by their instructors.

“Sexual assault in the military has been and continues to be an endemic problem,” Heck said. “Clearly, prior attempts by the Pentagon to address the issue have failed. It is time for significant changes in both prevention and prosecution.”

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., also expressed dismay with the rising number of cases. In a letter to the Senate Armed Services Committee, he called for eliminating the ability of military commanders to arbitrarily reverse convictions. He said the authority can be “exercised without any stated reason or regard for the merits of a case (and) cannot continue to be an impediment to accountability and justice.”

A catalyst for congressional outrage has been the disclosure of at least two cases in which a military member with responsibility for sexual assault prevention programs has himself been accused of sexual misconduct.

To curb that, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the military to recertify all 25,000 people involved with those programs. The order also applies to the 19,000 armed forces recruiters and must be completed by July 1.

At the Nellis base, Cornish said the number of airmen educators trained in sexual assault prevention and response increased under his command from 25 to 250 last year. They go to each unit to teach others about the program, citing facts that excessive alcohol consumption and lack of discipline are often contributing factors.

“We’re getting after the culture change,” he said. “The kind of metaphor I use is keeping the grass mowed short so that we don’t allow predators to hide in the grass.”

That is why “health and wellness” inspections were launched by the Air Force.

“We go into every workplace and look for evidence of anything that may be considered inappropriate material, whether it be a magazine or cartoon or whatever,” he said.

“This is inappropriate to foster a climate of respect, whether it’s gender, race, creed or sexual orientation. If it’s inappropriate, it doesn’t belong here. And that’s changing the culture. That is keeping the grass mowed.”

Cornish would not say how many reported cases there were at Nellis in 2011 and 2012 because he doesn’t want base statistics to have a chilling effect.

Restricted reports allow victims to get the care they need without having to testify. Unrestricted reports allow authorities to seek charges, meaning the victim could potentially testify.

“If you look at sexual assault cases in the military, those victims that report, those are red-blooded patriotic folks,” Cornish said. “In many cases they’re inhibited from reporting because they don’t want to see something derogatory said about their service. Rather than add to the statistics, they may not come forward.”

Review-Journal writer Brian Haynes and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.