[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 58 (Wednesday, May 7, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4081-S4082]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          GENDER SCHIZOPHRENIA

  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, by all accounts, Lt. Kelly Flinn has had a 
remarkable Air Force pilot's career. Becoming an astronaut was her 
childhood dream; becoming an Air Force pilot was an achievement 
accomplished upon completion of her basic pilot training in December 
1994. She was the most distinguished graduate of her training class, 
rated exceptionally qualified to fly a B-52 bomber, an assignment 
earned from her high class ranking.
  Today, she is confined to a desk job, stripped of her security 
clearance, grounded, publicly disgraced. On May 20 the Air Force will 
court martial her for adultery.
  The United States military has experienced its share of scandal in 
the past 5 years. In Aberdeen, MD, a court-martial jury recently 
convicted an Army drill sergeant of raping six soldiers under his 
command. In 1991 the Tailhook scandal rocked the Navy and the Marines. 
In both instances women were physically abused by their colleagues or 
superiors, on military facilities or at military functions. The acts 
committed against these women range from the lewd to the violent.
  Lt. Kelly Flinn stands accused of conducting an affair with a married 
man, a civilian, who lied to her about his martial status. Their 
relationship was for all intents and purposes a private matter; they 
did not attend military functions together or while she was in uniform. 
If she is convicted, she

[[Page S4082]]

will be grounded forever, dismissed from the Air Force and could even 
spend time in prison.
  I call attention to this particular case because I believe it speaks 
to the highly publicized gender schizophrenia we are witnessing as the 
military grapples with women's role in our Armed Forces. On one hand, 
women have had a traditional, but non-expanding role in the military. 
On the other hand, we are shocked by what appears to be a pervasive 
resistance to women in the ranks, and the scandals that bear the most 
extreme illustration of this behavior and mindset. Put differently, 
assimilation to the military's rules of conduct is separate and 
distinct from assimilation of the military's culture.
  The Armed Forces are institutions premised on order and command, 
governed rigidly by rules, written and implied; by codes, some 
memorized and some unspoken. In some instances however, the strict 
application of military codes appears to suspend reasonable judgment 
about the seriousness of the offense committed.
  In this case, clearly, the punishment does not appear to fit the 
crime. As Lieutenant Flinn says, ``I fell in love with the wrong man.'' 
For this offense, which she committed unknowingly because Mr. Zigo lied 
about being legally separated from his wife, her Air Force career is 
slated to come to an ignoble end.
  Lets not forget that of those 140 Navy officers involved in Tailhook, 
none were court-martialed.
  It is difficult for me as an officer who served for more than 20 
years as an Air Force judge advocate, to imagine that no other officer 
at Minot Air Force Base has committed the offense of which Lieutenant 
Flinn stands accused.
  Wisdom and good judgment seem clearly to demand a dismissal of the 
criminal charges against Lieutenant Flinn and the substitution of 
nonjudicial or informal sanctions. I trust that the Air Force will 
promptly see the wisdom of this suggestion.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. BINGAMAN addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico is recognized.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
allowed to speak for up to 5 minutes as if in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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