Survey finds 20% oppose female (Air Force Academy) cadets

[CShine]

A new survey of Air Force Academy cadets has found continued resistance to the presence of female cadets more than a year after a sexual assault scandal at the school. A survey last year found 20 percent of male cadets opposed having female cadets. The latest survey, done in March and covering about a third of senior cadets, revealed the same percentage.

<snip>


"I'm encouraged by the initial indications that we've gotten. But it brings me back to the reality that we are making progress, but we have a long way to go," said Lt. Gen. John Rosa, academy superintendent.

Given to seniors only, the survey was similar to a 100-question poll taken by all classes Aug. 27 that drew responses from 86 percent of the 4,100 cadets.

Lt. Col. Chris Luedtke, who administered the latest survey, said it found trust and confidence in leaders is high but fell slightly from a year ago. That suggests "the honeymoon is over" for commanders installed last year in fallout from the scandal, Luedtke said.

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~27375~2150259,00.html

[Frodo]

1. That's not so bad.

I was at a better service academy in the late 80's and I can tell you that the percentage was a LOT higher than that.

To ask a predominantly male military institution essentially "should women serve in combat" and to get only 20% saying "no"?

That's big time progress.




And what's the tie to the scandals? You should or should not believe in women being at the academy based on how some idiots treated them?


And, for the record, while I was on the other side of the question - the treatment of women at the Academy was one of the BIGGEST reasons I left.

[aquart]

2. Only 20%? That's amazing.

Consider how little support women cadets get at our military institutions, I would have thought it was higher.

[moof]

3. Wonder which way the guys that rape them voted ?

[saigon68]

6. They Voted YES and send more to us

Creeps. They can go to work at Abu Ghraib raping the prisoners there.

Disgusting.

[WhiteTara]

4. Why doesn't the survey response say 80% FAVOR

female cadets? Sounds like a poll bias to me. 

[salin]

8. or at least bias reporting

thought the same thing.

[atreides1]

5. That 20% Needs to Be Removed from the Academy Now

That 20% who are still against females in the Academy will one day be in positions of command, where they will be able to continue their discrimination against female officers.

And please don't think that it cannot be done without violating the current rules in place. The rape scandal at the Academy showed that the rules can be adjusted to favor the males over the females.

[Frodo]

10. Nah,

there's a difference between whether you believe women "should" (in some perfect world) be in combat/academy positions and whether you mistreat them when they ARE in those units.

One is a personal belief (and irrelevant), the other is whether you are able to obey orders.

That's what got me at the Academy. I could respect someone who thought "women can't fight in combat so they shouldn't be taking slots from people who can" or even people who thought there were "proper roles" for the sexes. But once women ARE at the Academy, it's because your chain of command says so. If you have a problem with that you don't belong in the military. And obviously, if you take your own personal bigotry as license to abuse, beat, rape, or just "look down on" your classmates? That's illegal as well as unethical/immoral and outside the Honor Code.

In my personal experience - that was greater than 20% by itself. This poll is a substantial improvement.

[davidinalameda]

11. exactly

drum them out--they're the next generation of leaders in the Air Force and they have this kind of attitude?

[damnraddem]

7. 80% approve of female cadets

And who cares? Cadets are there to learn, not to set institutional policy.

[Mixxster]

9. Interesting point

When some of the assaulted former cadets appeared on TV, one of them pointed out that none of the cadets now attending the academy had even been born before women were admitted. The academy has been co-ed their entire lifetimes but still some resist.