Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland

Female Boot Camp Instructor Sentenced at Lackland

Eileen Pace — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:35:12 +0000

Update: (May 2, 3:20 p.m.) Allen was sentenced to three months confinement, reduction to the grade of E-3 (Airman First Class) and hard labor without confinement for 30 days.

Allen's is the 18th completed courts-martial in the ongoing Lackland sex scandal involving military training instructors.

Lackland Begins Article 32 Hearing Against Another Military Training Instructor

Eileen Pace — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 14:07:35 +0000

An Article 32 evidentiary hearing is scheduled for this morning in the case against Senior Airman Christopher Oliver of the 324^th Training Squadron.

The former military training instructor is charged with having unprofessional relationships with three basic trainees and a fourth woman who was a tech training student. Oliver also faces charges of sexual assault and sodomy against one of the trainees, as well as maltreatment of trainees, and obstruction of justice.

Cross-Cultural Expert Brought In For Lackland Court-Martial

Eileen Pace — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 03:35:32 +0000

A Lackland judge is hearing the case against a former Air Force instructor accused of rape.

Staff Sgt. Eddy Soto, formerly with the 323rd Training Squadron, pleaded guilty to five of the charges against him, including sexual assault, wrongful sexual contact, lying to officials, and having unprofessional relationships with trainees.

Soto’s court-martial opened in January with a request from the government to postpone the proceedings so it could bring in a cross-cultural expert.

Deraas Pleads Guilty, Gets Bad Conduct Discharge

Eileen Pace — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:45:43 +0000

A former military training instructor at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland has been sentenced following his court-martial that began Monday morning.

Staff Sgt. Ryan Derass pleaded guilty to charges of pursuing sexual relationships with five female trainees in another training class and to charges of dereliction of duty for forcing the recruits in his training class to fill their canteens with water from the toilet.

Court Martial Begins In First Case Involving Physical Assault Charges

Eileen Pace — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:47:01 +0000

Another court-martial began Friday of a former Air Force boot camp instructor accused of dereliction of duty, assaulting male trainees, and trying to develop unprofessional sexual relationships with female trainees.

In the Article 32 evidentiary hearing late last year, four female airmen testified that Staff Sgt. Ryan Deraas found them on Facebook and began sexting them and sending them photos.

Military Dogs Showing Signs Of PTSD From Combat Deployments

Ryan Loyd — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:19:34 +0000

America’s wars have long taken their toll on the people who fight them, and the recent attention to post-traumatic stress disorder has helped improve treatment for those who suffer; however, nightly newscasts and newspaper headlines never mention the military working dogs who are also changed by the combat zone.

"Ultimately we want these dogs to become military working dogs and go down range and save lives,” said Tech. Sgt. Joe Null, who fosters canine companions for the first few months of their lives to socialize them.

Update: Judge Grants Defense Motion To Supress Cell Phone Evidence

Eileen Pace — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:13:46 +0000

(Update: 2/22/2013) Military Judge Don Eller ruled the government’s 77-page list of cell phone data violates the instructor’s Constitutional rights, saying investigators extracted the information without a search warrant.

He added that at some point during the investigation, somebody at Joint Base San Antonio should have had a light bulb go on that told them to find a magistrate and file affidavits to get a search warrant.

Another Court-Martial, Another Article 32 Hearing At Lackland

Eileen Pace — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 00:40:40 +0000

The Air Force takes another military training instructor to court today in its broadening investigation of sexual misconduct at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.

Tech. Sgt. Samuel Wicks is accused of committing an indecent act and having unprofessional relationships with three trainees.

LeBlanc Acquitted Of Sexual Assault, Sentenced For Other Charges

Eileen Pace — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:53:48 +0000

(Update: 02/15/2013): The judge sentenced LeBlanc to prison for 30 months, reduced his rank to E-1 and issued an order for a dishonorable discharge. Seventy-seven days will be subtracted from his sentence, which LeBlanc has spent in pre-trial lockup due to continued misbehavior.

In Latest Court-Martial, Instructor Pleads Guilty To Nine Of 12 Charges

Eileen Pace — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:04:09 +0000

Testimony got underway Tuesday in the court-martial of a former military training instructor who is alleged to have sexually assaulted one trainee and had sexual relationships with two others.

Those are the most serious of 12 charges leveled against Staff Sgt. Craig LeBlanc, the latest military training instructor to go to trial in the growing sex scandal at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.

In a trial before the court, LeBlanc pled guilty to nine of the 12 charges, including having sex with one trainee from Lackland and a technical trainee from Fort Sam Houston.