Rape cases rise at Texas air base.

[CShine]

A wave of sexual assaults has gone largely unnoticed here, sweeping through the ranks of Sheppard Air Force Base women who are too scared to go public, victim advocates say.

The scope of the problem is hinted at in the growing stacks of reports taken at a nearby civilian rape-crisis center. In a year's span, more than two dozen women stationed at the north Texas air base have sought help for sexual assaults allegedly committed by 40 fellow soldiers, according to First Step Inc. Five cases involved gang rapes.

Sheppard's problems come to light at a time when Congress and the Pentagon are investigating how the armed forces address complaints of sexual assault, particularly combat cases in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. Dozens of lawmakers are calling for congressional hearings, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has ordered an investigation into the military's handling of sexual-assault cases, particularly in cases of combat troops.

The Sheppard cases steer the focus back to problems closer to home and to another single installation. The situation at Sheppard could rival or be even worse than that of the Air Force Academy - where problems with the military's handling of sexual-assault complaints were exposed last year - based on reports from case files at First Step.

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~30137~1948337,00.html