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The 1996 scnadal at the Aberbeen Proving Ground blew the lid on Army-wide gender problems. But even a bastion of male culture can cahnge-to some degree. Slowly.
The U.S. Army was still on a high in the fall of 1996. Public confidence and pride in its esprit de corps and professionalism were soaring as a result of its spectacular performance in the Gulf War.
Even the recruitment numbers were looking good-for both genders. Young women increasingly were signing up for noncombat jobs, and career tracks formerly designated exclusively for men were opening up.
Yet all the while an elephant was slumbering in the barracks-a huge HR problem that the Army had yet to acknowledge publicly. In early November, accusations emerged of shocking sexual misconduct at the Army Ordnance Center and School at Aberdeen, Md. Female trainees leveled all manner of accusations-ranging from rape to inappropriate touching-against their male drill sergeants. The disclosures ignited a public furor.
And with that, the elephant sprang to life, trumpeting a jarring reveilli.
Abuses at Aberdeen
Each year about 7,500 troops, many of them young and fresh out of basic training, come to Aberdeen for Advanced Individual Training (AIT), which consists of eight to 25 weeks of instruction in mechanics-such as repairing guns, tanks, air conditioners and generators.
But in 1996, something more nefarious than training was taking place at Aberdeen. Army investigators discovered that drill sergeants and other instructors routinely engaged in sexual conduct with female trainees. Some 50 victims were identified; 1,800 witnesses were interviewed; 20 instructors were suspended from duty.
Ultimately, a dozen drill instructors were charged with sex crimes under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Four were sent to prison; eight others were discharged or punished administratively. Letters of reprimand were issued to Aberdeen's commanding general and three other senior officers.
The most serious punishment was handed down to Staff Sgt. Delmar Simpson, a drill sergeant sentenced to 25 years in prison for numerous counts of rape and abuse.
Tip of the Bayonet
By the time the dust settled, Aberdeen had been dubbed the home of the worst sex scandal in U.S. military history. But it was more than an isolated incident-it also was an indication of a larger, endemic problem.
Several committees and...