Air Force Songbook Again Cited, This Time in Sex Assault Lawsuit
Stars and Stripes
by Travis J. Tritten
Apr 01, 2015
WASHINGTON -- Sex assault victim advocates on Tuesday again pointed to an unofficial Air Force songbook with derogatory lyrics about women and gay airmen as a reason for filing a new lawsuit against the Defense Department.
The 130-page book was originally made public by an assault victim in 2012 and is stamped with the playing-cards logo of the 77th Fighter Squadron, which is known as the Gamblers and based at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. Despite an Air Force crackdown, advocates claimed too little was done and such songbooks are still being used by officers and commanders.
The lawsuit by sexual assault victims was filed in a Virginia federal court and calls for the DoD to stop using convening authorities to judge whether such cases go to court-martial. As the military struggles with an epidemic of sex assaults, the use of such authorities has brought widespread scrutiny from the public and some on Capitol Hill who say the practice is biased toward perpetrators.
The songbook is part of a continuing culture in the Air Force and military that glorifies sexual violence, said retired Air Force Col. Don Christensen, president of Protect Our Defenders, an advocacy group for military sex assault victims.
"This is something that is used by Air Force officers today," Christensen said. "These are the commanders who sing songs about raping women as fun."
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