A high-ranking Air Force general, Maj. Gen. Phillip A. Stewart, is slated to face a court martial over allegations he raped a female officer, his attorney revealed. Stewart, the former head of the 19th Air Force in San Antonio, has been accused of sexually assaulting the officer on an Oklahoma base in April. According to San Antonio Express-News, if convicted, Stewart faces up to 20 years in prison.
Military prosecutors argued that the power dynamic between Stewart and the officer meant she had "no choice but to submit to his advances," despite claims from Stewart's defense that the relationship was consensual. The decision to proceed with a court-martial comes after Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, head of the Air Education and Training Command, overruled a hearing examiner's recommendation that found insufficient probable cause for a sexual assault charge. The trial will see Stewart, a combat-seasoned pilot who once commanded more than 32,000 employees and 1,530 aircraft, potentially become only the second Air Force general to be court-martialed for such charges, as reported by San Antonio Express-News.
The case against Stewart includes additional allegations of conduct unbecoming an officer, dereliction of duty, and extramarital sexual conduct, along with the rape charge. Furthermore, Stewart is accused of assuming control of an aircraft after consuming alcohol within 12 hours prior to takeoff on April 14. The court-martial follows the April hearing, reminiscent of a civilian grand jury proceeding, wherein the complexities of consent and authority within the military context spurred heated debate.
Indicative of this complexity, Stewart's attorney Keith Scherer stated, "His recommendation was that the sexual assault charges be dropped outright and that the other charges be resolved not in a court-martial but at an administrative level," referencing the initial advice of Col. Brian Thompson, who presided over the Article 32 evidentiary hearing. Scherer further contended that during the OSI's interview with the woman, there was "a lot of prompting and coaching" from investigators, "As they walk her through it, she’s telling the story of a consensual" affair, he said. Such conflicts highlight the ongoing challenge of prosecuting sexual assault within military ranks.
General Stewart, a figure who once soared in the realms of military strategy and air combat tactics, now finds himself navigating the tumultuous skies of military justice, shackled by the gravity of allegations that threaten to redefine his legacy and that of the institution he once represented. Defense counsel maintained their client's innocence and pledged to contest all charges moving forward. The Air Force stands at a juncture, confronted again by the specters of power abuse and systemic injustice that complicate consent's clear skies, leaving only the court-martial to seek clarity in this storm.
