Thaindian News

Sydney, April 9 (IANS) A sex scandal that hit the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) and threatened to stain the institution’s reputation was described by the defence chief as an “abhorrent” but “isolated” incident.

The footage of its cadets having sex was broadcast via Skype to fellow students. It was filmed 12 days ago.

Defending the military against claims that it was still in the Dark Ages about gender issues, defence force chief, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said he was “passionate” about attracting more women into defence forces, The Age reported Saturday.

“Fundamentally, the incident involved 18-year-olds who had been in the defence force for around 10 weeks, and that’s something that’s been a little bit lost in some of the media commentary,” he told the newspaper.

“If you draw comparisons against similar institutions - I am talking about university campuses - I think the number of incidents of this kind is less at ADFA than at any other campus in the country.”

“Having said that, we have (things in) common with a lot of those institutions. This generation at universities tends to work very hard and then all of them, when they go out at weekends, they tend to … indulge in what I call binge drinking,” Houston said.

He refused to answer specific questions about the incident, saying natural justice and due process would not be served if he did.

“I just am absolutely shocked by it. We will ensure that it is fully investigated and those that are found to have failed in their responsibilities will be dealt with accordingly,” the Age quoted hHouston as saying.

Kate, the 18-year-old cadet who was covertly filmed, knew nothing of the incident until military investigators told her about it three days later.

The investigators had been tipped off by another cadet disturbed by photos of the incident circulating on mobile phones. Kate threw up when she was told what had happened.

But she was told the culprits were likely to get off with a relatively minor “prejudicial conduct” charge, she told Channel Ten.

The saga has thrown the defence hierarchy into crisis, and opened deep divisions within the broader defence community over whether the ADFA commandant, Bruce Kafer, has been unfairly scapegoated for his handling of the mess.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith showed a rare flash of anger this week when told Kate had been put through disciplinary proceedings on unrelated matters even as the Skype scandal was unfolding. The military had been “stupid in fact and in law” to allow that to occur, he told reporters.

Thirteen years ago a damning report on sexual assault and harassment at ADFA found nearly half of female cadets had experienced “unwanted gender or sex-related behaviours”.

More than 18 percent of naval personnel and 17 percent of air force personnel are women. Army lags badly, with only 9.8 percent of its ranks female. The most senior officers in the military are overwhelmingly male.