Colonel's court martial shows military sex assault is moving target

Col. John Howard was the "mayor" of Scott Air Force Base for barely five months before he was suddenly gone and replaced. Now we know the loss of confidence in his leadership was because of allegations behind the charges that state he was grinding his pelvis against airmen and telling them in detail about how they aroused him.

Howard was briefly in command of the 375th Air Mobility Wing, which by default brings responsibility for the snow removal, policing and general operation of our region's biggest employer. The commander's job has been called the "mayor" of the base by a fine list of military leaders, usually who are on their way to career heights in the Air Force.

Howard's fall illustrates several things.

First, it shows how difficult it can be to stop a sexual deviant in the military.

Charges state Howard's predations on underlings extended to England, to Maine and possibly to here. The military moves people around, so both victims and perps could be almost anywhere when it happens and then wind up almost anywhere after. Local prosecutors often have trouble finding witnesses and victims in neighboring communities, so imagine the problems of getting convictions when the players are in different spots on the globe. Imagine the ease with which a predator can cover tracks through that mobility coupled with the power of command.

Fortunately, someone connected the dots in Howard's case.

Second, it shows there remains a sex abuse problem in the military.

Remote locations, violence, authority, opportunity all conspire to allow the potential, and there were a record number of 6,172 reports in 2016 of sexual assault. We hope the military is correct in its assertion that the high number shows more victims trust the system and are willing to report attacks. We expect the culture to change so there are fewer attacks to report.

Fortunately, someone was willing to report the assaults in Howard's case.

We ask our young people to potentially suffer physical and psychological wounds that they will carry for their lives. We ask them for their service to ensure our safety.

No job should come with a pervert for a boss, but especially not one that might call for the ultimate sacrifice.

This story was originally published June 7, 2018 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Colonel's court martial shows military sex assault is moving target."