Health, welfare inspection finds 131 incidents at Academy

  • Published
  • By Don Branum
  • Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  An Air Force-wide health and welfare inspection conducted to emphasize an environment of respect, trust and professionalism in the workplace found 131 incidents of unprofessional, inappropriate or offensive displays at the Air Force Academy, according to inspection results released Jan. 18.

Findings were broken down by the type of unit where infractions occurred: 70 for cadet squadrons, 34 for educational departments, 16 for active-duty squadrons, seven for athletic teams, three for the Academy's headquarters unit and one unknown finding.

"This inspection helped ensure that we maintain a professional working and living environment for every one of our Airmen," said Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Mike Gould. "It all comes down to one overriding concept: respect. We see this and future inspections as one avenue to correct conditions detrimental to the culture of respect and inclusiveness we have all worked so hard to create at the Academy."

All but one of the findings were classified by the inspection as inappropriate or offensive, with the remaining finding categorized as unprofessional. Findings at the Air Force level ranged in severity from unprofessional to inappropriate or offensive to pornographic. No findings of the latter severity were issued at the Academy.

Areas inspected at the Academy included offices, common areas, locker rooms, cadet dormitories, restrooms and shared drives.

The Air Force-wide inspection included more than 32,000 findings. Inspectors found 631 instances of pornography, including magazines, calendars, pictures or videos that intentionally displayed nudity or depicted acts of sexual activity; 3,987 instances of unprofessional material, defined as material that promotes discrimination or is unprofessional in appearance; and 27,598 instances of inappropriate or offensive items, which includes magazines, calendars, posters, graffiti or art that displayed suggested nudity or vulgarity.

Identified items were documented and either removed or destroyed, according to the Air Force report. In some instances, findings were turned over to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

"Every Airman deserves to be treated with respect. They also deserve to work in a professional environment," said Gen. Mark Welsh III, Air Force chief of staff. "I've talked with Airmen across the force and believe that some units were not meeting those standards. It's simply unacceptable that we have people who don't feel comfortable in their workplace, so we're addressing it, head on.

"Every Airman is critically important and everyone deserves to be treated with respect. Anything less reflects a lack of discipline and a failure to honor our values. It also marginalizes great Airmen, degrades mission effectiveness and hurts unit morale. We simply can't, and won't, tolerate it," Welsh said.

The full inspection results are online at http://www.foia.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-130118-015.pdf.