Tag: Air Force Academy

Cadet’s haunting suicide note prompts parents to file wrongful death claims against Air Force Academy (November 14, 2023)

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Cadet’s haunting suicide note prompts parents to file wrongful death claims against Air Force Academy

(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A haunting note written by a former United States Air Force Academy cadet, now leading her parents to file wrongful death claims against the Academy.

“Do all that you can to make sure I am the last one,” was the chilling directive 22-year-old Cailin Foster left in her suicide note to her parents on Nov. 7, 2021.


Cailin Foster’s suicide note to her family, November 2021

Gary, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who graduated in 1990, attempted to engage with Academy leadership about what happened to his daughter. He spoke with people who were his former colleagues and friends, only to be met with what he described as people unable to comment. 

When they requested a report regarding the investigation into their daughter’s death, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base sent them 159 black pages of redacted content.


1 of 159-page report regarding Cailin’s death sent to The Fosters by USAFA. Courtesy: Gary Foster

“Not one letter, word, or punctuation mark was provided. They literally gave us 159 pages like this,” said Gary in disbelief. The Fosters say Air Force Academy has yet to provide any direct documentation to them.

Read more here.

Related Links:

Military Injustice: Nowhere to Turn, Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide; The Story of Kamisha Block and How U.S. Army Leadership Contributed to Her Death

DOD Releases Annual Report on Sexual Harassment & Violence at the Military Service Academies, Academic Program Year 2017-2018 (January 31, 2019)

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Felony Crime, In Their Name, Military Policy, Navy, Sexual Assault, USAF, USCG, USMCLeave a comment

Department of Defense“Today, the Department of Defense released the Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies, Academic Program Year 2017-2018…There were 117 reports of sexual assault received across all three academies. This is an increase of five from the prior academic program year, indicating confidence in response measures, however, surveyed measures of unwanted sexual contact and sexual harassment increased compared to rates last measured in 2016. There was also an overall increase in sexual harassment.” Read more here. -Department of Defense (January 31, 2019)

To view the full report, visit SAPR.mil.

Related Links:
DOD Releases Annual Report on Sexual Harassment & Violence at the Military Service Academies, Academic Program Year 2017-2018 (January 31, 2019)
Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies (MSAs) for Academic Program Year (APY) 2017-2018
USA Today publishes fake news story about sexual assault at the military academies | CAAFlog
Department of Defense Retaliation and Response Strategy (July 2017)
Fiscal Year 2017 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military (April 2018)
Department of Defense Instruction 6495.02 | Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Program Procedures

United States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals Upheld United States v. Jane Neubauer, US Air Force (2016)

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Retaliation

On March 10, 2016 the United States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals upheld United States v. Jane Neubauer, United States Air Force. Is this another case of federal government overreach and denial of due process rights? I think John Q Public‘s assessment of this case speaks volumes of the real issues behind the Command directed prosecution of an airman who blew the whistle after being recruited as an Office of Special Investigations (OSI) confidential informant. The same OSI office she exposed ended up investigating and assisting with her prosecution. This is yet another example of the importance of letting an impartial law enforcement official and prosecutor make decisions about whether to investigate, who should investigate, who to investigate, and whether or not they have the evidence to move forward with a case. The moment a military member asks for an attorney, all criminal justice communications with Commanders and their investigators must cease. Every accused military member should be represented by counsel and afforded their due process rights throughout the entire investigation including collection of evidence. Learn more about your due process rights here.

“There have been many sexual assault accusations far less credible than the accusation made by this Airman. Many that were enthusiastically pursued by prosecutors despite their frailty … many that did not result in disciplinary actions when they were revealed to have been false.

So, what was so special about this accusation?

Well, she was an OSI informant, and the situation cast OSI in an extremely negative light at a time when the OSI informant program was already under fire. The same organization that recruited her right out of BMT to help investigate drug activity at Keesler AFB conducted the investigation that eventually resulted in her prosecution.

If she’s wrong … if she’s bad … if she’s a liar … then obviously she’s the problem. She’ll absorb the negative attention and culpability … leaving OSI and its shady actions in this debacle comfortably out of the limelight.

Another example of prosecutorial inconsistency and arbitrariness in the USAF … demonstrating that it’s not operating an impartial justice system, but a score-settling control device on behalf of the chain of command.” ~John Q Public

Related Links:
United States v. Airman Basic Jane M. Neubauer, United States Air Force
Spies, Lies, and Rape in the Air Force: An Undercover Agent’s Story
Undercover Agent Says the Air Force Is Retaliating Against Her After She Was Raped
Air Force undercover informant claims she is being hounded out of the service after being raped while trying to root out drug rings
Gillibrand Reacts to Air Force Rape Case First Reported by The Daily Beast
The Pentagon’s shameful culture of sexual assault can still be uprooted
Air Force Charges Ex-Informant With Lying About Her Rape
Keesler Air Force Base ex-informant loses appeal
Former Air Force informant who made false rape charge loses appeal
Former Air Force Informant Who Made False Rape Charge Loses Appeal
Honor and deception: A secretive Air Force program recruits academy students to inform on fellow cadets and disavows them afterward
Air Force Cadet’s Secret Story: I Blew the Whistle on Football Players and Sex Assaults
Hearing testimony reveals subterfuge of Air Force Academy informant program
Informant Debate Renewed as Air Force Revisits Cadet Misconduct
Air Force Academy: Please Reinstate Cadet Eric Thomas and Reform the Confidential Informant Program!

Vanity Fair Confidential on Investigation Discovery Features ‘Code of Dishonor’

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There are thousands of victims. All members of the American Air Force. How far will they go to stop a covert war against women? -Vanity Fair Confidential

Vanity Fair Confidential on Investigation Discovery featured ‘Code of Dishonor’ which was an investigation of the issue of sexual assault in the military. They highlighted the US Air Force Academy sexual assault scandal back in 2003 and the more recent case of Myah Bilton-Smith, who was also a victim of sexual assault while serving in the United States Air Force. The show revealed that sexual assault can happen to anyone including officers and enlisted.

Related Links:
Code of Dishonor, Vanity Fair
Code of Dishonor Post-Script
Hidden Sexual Assault In The Military: Code Of Dishonor
Conduct Unbecoming
Former cadet talks about rape
`Expect rape,’ ex-cadet says she was warned
More Cadets Speaking Out About Assaults
Former cadets say rapes at academy ended dreams
Defense to investigate cadets’ rape allegations
Ex-Brass Deny Ignoring Victims
Demotion in air academy sex scandal / Air Force general loses one star before retirement
Ex-Superintendent of Air Force Academy Is Demoted in Wake of Rape Scandal
Air Force leadership blamed for sex scandal
Senate to hear female victims of Air Force academy sexual assaults
Interview with Beth Davis, former US Air Force Academy cadet
Air Force Sex Scandal Gets Hotter
Sexual Assault and Violence Against Women in the Military and at the Academies
C-SPAN: Sexual Misconduct in the Military (June 27, 2006)
Albuquerque Reporter Was A ‘Beautiful Girl Inside and Out’
Vanity Fair Confidential ‘Code of Dishonor’ (YouTube)

Gazette confirms former Air Force Academy cadet’s account (December 7, 2013)

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When former Air Force Academy cadet Eric Thomas faced a disciplinary board in August 2012, a special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations said he would come to explain how Thomas worked dozens of cases as a confidential informant and had been of great service to the Air Force.

The agent never showed up, and Thomas was expelled from the academy eight months later. On Friday, an active-duty member of the Air Force Academy with direct knowledge of the case said the agent, Brandon Enos, did not show up because he was told not to by the local OSI commander, Lt. Col. Vasaga Tilo.

Read more from the Gazette here.

The Gazette: Honor and Deception, A secretive Air Force program recruits academy students to inform on fellow cadets and disavows them afterward (December 1, 2013)

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Facing pressure to combat drug use and sexual assault at the Air Force Academy, the Air Force has created a secret system of cadet informants to hunt for misconduct among students.

Cadets who attend the publicly-funded academy near Colorado Springs must pledge never to lie. But the program pushes some to do just that: Informants are told to deceive classmates, professors and commanders while snapping photos, wearing recording devices and filing secret reports.

For one former academy student, becoming a covert government operative meant not only betraying the values he vowed to uphold, it meant being thrown out of the academy as punishment for doing the things the Air Force secretly told him to do.

Read more from the Gazette here.

The Gazette: AFA’s Cooks convicted in sexual assault case, booted from military (April 28, 2013)

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An Air Force Academy cadet has been convicted by a court martial panel on a sexual assault charge and kicked out of the military.

Air Force Academy cadet Jamil Cooks, who pleaded guilty last week to unlawfully entering women’s dorm rooms at the academy, was convicted by a court martial panel on a charge of abusive sexual contact, the academy announced Sunday morning.

Read more from the Gazette here.

The US Air Force Academy Sexual Assault Scandal, Colorado (2003)

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USAF Seal

On January 2, 2003, Jessica Brakey, a female cadet at the US Air Force Academy, contacted media and congressional representatives asking for help with sexual assault at the Academy. As a result of her coming forward, Senator Wayne Allard’s office was contacted by 38 former cadets, 23 current cadets, and one civilian, all of whom said they had been raped by Air Force Academy men. During the investigation into the scandal, the air force admitted that 16 graduates who were accused of sexual assaults were currently serving as officers in the military. Like every scandal before and since, the USAFA leaders at the time took the fall for the ‘scandal’ and the USAF promised they made sweeping changes in regards to how they will handle allegations of sexual abuse. They also claimed ‘the problem was isolated’ at the Academy in Colorado.

“It’s a terrible feeling when someone does this to you and gets away with it, and then you report it and the system punishes you. It’s almost worse than the actual act, that the system failed you.” ~Sharon Fullilove

Related Links:
2003 United States Air Force Academy sexual assault scandal
Air Force Academy Investigated 54 Sexual Assaults in 10 Years
Air Force Admits at Least 54 Cases of Rape and Sexual Assault at Air Force Academy–Scandal Called Bigger Than Tailhook: We’ll Talk to Two Survivors
The Air Force Academy Scandal
Survey: 20 percent of female cadets victims of sexual assault
Report finds sexual assault, drug use at Air Force Academy
Air Force Academy Sees New Assault, Drug Use Allegations
Air Force Rape Scandal Grows
Air Force Academy Ignores Rapes, Women Say
US Air Force Academy chiefs removed over rape scandal
Air Force leadership blamed for sex scandal
Pentagon blames Air Force Academy leaders for sexual misconduct scandal
Air Force: Sex assault scandal confined to the academy
Breaking Ranks
Code of Dishonor
Air Force Academy Whistleblower Alleges Dog Poisoned in Retaliation
No Simple Explanation In Air Force Academy Sex Crime Data
Honor and Deception: A secretive Air Force program recruits academy students to inform on fellow cadets and disavows them afterward
U.S. Air Force Academy — It Doesn’t Get Better

Adrianne Jones Murdered by Air Force Academy Cadet David Graham and Naval Academy Cadet Diane Zamora; Motive Was Jealousy (1995)

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Cold Cases, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Navy, Scandals, USAFLeave a comment

Grab Cut Insert Cut Grab Cut Insert Cut Grab Cut Insert Cut 8422901-3157.8362201 15176#corbis
Adrianne Jones

Adrianne Jones was murdered December 4th, 1995 by Air Force Academy Cadet David Graham and his girlfriend and Naval Academy Cadet Diane Zamora. The crime occurred while they were all still in high school in Texas prior to David joining the Air Force Academy and Diane joining the Naval Academy. All three of them had very bright futures. Adrianne Jones was missing for quite some time before her body was discovered. The case went unsolved until Diane Zamora admitted to some friends at the Naval Academy that she had killed someone with her boyfriend. David Graham admitted to his role in the crime; he was sentenced to life in prison. Diane Zamora denies her role in the crime to this day; she was sentenced to life in prison.

Related Links:
Obituary: Adrianne Jessica Jones
The Killer Cadets
Young, In Love, In Jail
Twisted Love in a Small Texas Town
A Tale of Love and Murder in a Small Town
Review: ‘Love’s Deadly Triangle: The Texas Cadet Murder’
Ex-cadet Recants His Confession In Teen’s Murder
2 Portraits of Midshipman Emerge at Murder Trial
Friend says Zamora told her of killing; Witness says parents of accused also knew months before arrest
Texas Murder Trial Winds Down Diane Zamora’s Riveting Testimony Appears Critical
Former Air Force cadet gets life in Texas teen’s slaying
Cadet’s conviction closes chapter
Diane Zamora: ‘I’m not a killer’
Inmates who never met say they want to marry
Former Air Force cadet expresses remorse for 1995 slaying of teen
Inmate David Graham starts prison blog
5 Things to Know About the ‘Sealed in Blood’ Case — Teenage Lovers Turned Murderers
Re-examining the Brutal Slaying of High Schooler Adrianne Jones, 21 Years Later
People Magazine Investigates murder of Adrianne Jones in Grand Prairie, Texas
True crime show investigates 20-year-old midshipman murder case
The Texas Cadet Killers: Revisiting the Adrianne Jones Murder
20 years later, Zamora maintains from prison she didn’t kill Adrianne Jones
Exclusive: ‘Killer Cadet’ speaks out from behind bars; ‘Lie Guy’ weighs in
Exclusive: ‘Killer Cadet’ Speaks Out From Behind Bars (Part 1)
Exclusive: ‘Killer Cadet’ Speaks Out From Behind Bars (Part 2)
People Magazine Investigates: ‘In the Name of Love’


“In 1995, bright 16-year old student Adrianne Jones is found shot to death in Grand Prairie, Texas. Police don’t have any strong suspects, until nine months later when a game of Truth-or-Dare leads to a startling confession.” -Investigation Discovery