The Air Force has demoted a brigadier general to colonel in nonjudicial punishment meted out because it said the officer—Brig. Gen. Richard S. Hassan—engaged in “an unprofessional relationship” and acted in a “sexually harassing” manner with subordinates. The service also cited Hassan for “maltreatment of a subordinate.” Hassan, who was the head of the service’s senior leader management office, accepted the reduction in rank and agreed to retire on March 1, instead of facing a court-martial. This is the second such high-profile case of sexual misconduct within the Air Force in the past year. In January 2005, the Air Force demoted its Judge Advocate General, Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Fiscus, to colonel and directed his retirment.
A new Air Force plan for how many fighters it needs in the next decade marks a sharp upturn from what it thought it needed just seven years ago. But analysts worry that the aspirational plan now in Congress' hands doesn’t make a tight enough connection to national strategy.
