COMMENTARY: Sexual Assault: It's not 'the' Air Force's problem, it's 'our' Air Force's problem

  • Published
  • By Maj. Michael "Boz" Boswell
  • 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron commander
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  It's amazing to me that as the world gets smaller through technology and globalization, we continue to struggle with issues like sexual assault and harassment.

While the Air Force has seen significant turmoil and change over the past three years regarding this crime, I still wonder if this change is enough to alter the tide. As a commander, sexual assault is one of a few issues I worry about constantly, and I reflect on whether I am doing enough to ensure the safety of the men and women whom I am entrusted to protect.

While I do not believe I have found the universal answer to eliminating this issue, I do believe it starts with two very simple facts. First, we must all understand that sexual assault is a crime. Second, each one of us must take ownership of this issue and make an individual stand to eliminate it from our Air Force.

Throughout my career, I have often heard and used the phrase, "We do not live in a one mistake Air Force." While I do believe this thinking, I don't consider sexual assault a "mistake." Sexual assault is a crime and nothing less. It's a crime that affects all of us, as Airmen, as Wingmen and as human beings.

While recognizing sexual assault as a crime, we must remain mindful of the rights of individuals accused of sexual assault, including the presumption of innocence for the accused of every offense unless proven guilty. The acceptance and recognition of sexual assault as a crime is only the first step. The next step is to own this problem.

As the commander, I often brief my Airmen that while I am accountable for everything, I cannot be everywhere. This means I empower my Airmen, NCOs, senior NCOs and junior officers to take responsibility for our squadron.

I believe every single Air Force member must know this isn't "the" Air Force's problem, but "our" Air Force's problem. The word "our" is possessive and denotes ownership and a personal interest. I would argue that the most effective way to address a problem is to have every Airman take ownership of it.

The U.S. Air Force is not just a profession of arms, it's our family. Individuals in our units are more like brothers and sisters vice co-workers. In some instances, our Air Force family understands us better than our own flesh and blood. We appreciate the toll deployments can take and the sacrifice of leaving our loved ones. We embrace late hours and long days and speak a common language in acronyms and broken sentences. That is why we also must see this pervasive crime as one that we are all responsible for eliminating. It begins with a simple change of lexicon - "our" verses "the" Air Force.

I believe we can and must eliminate sexual assault completely from our ranks. After discussing this issue with a professor at a service school I attended last year, she told me something that has forever changed my thinking of how to deal with this crime. She said, as a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, she wished she and her generation would have rooted out this crime so my generation wouldn't have had to deal with it.

After hearing this, I realized that it's my responsibility, as well as every individual in this generation, to change our culture now and forever. We must be vigilant and persistent in ensuring that we do not leave the next generation to struggle with the same issue we are struggling with in our Air Force today. Our sexual-assault-free Air Force starts with you and me, and it starts TODAY!