The U.S. Naval Academy has appointed its first female commandant of midshipmen as military institutions nationwide report that 50 percent of women in their academies said they were a victim of sexual harassment.
Naval Flight Officer Capt. Margaret Klein, a member of the second class of women to graduate from the Naval Academy in 1981, will become the 82nd commandant, who trains and disciplines the academy?s 4,200 midshipmen.
The academy would not comment on whether a female commandant will improve circumstances for the academy?s female students, spokeswoman Deborah Goode said. About 17 percent of the academy?s 4,200 students are female.
More than 50 percent of women in U.S. Naval, Marine and Air Force academies said they had been victims of sexual harassment at the institutions, according to the June 2005 report from the Department of Defense “Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies,” which is the most recent report.
Kenny Morrison, a former Naval Academy football player, will begin a hearing on Nov. 2 on charges of raping two female midshipmen. In August, Lamar Owens, another former football player at the academy, was acquitted of charges of raping a female midshipmen.
Klein will take over for Capt. Bruce Grooms, who was promoted to rear admiral, and will serve as the deputy director of the Submarine Warfare Division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
Klein could not be reached for comment because she is on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Strike Group, where she is chief of staff to the commander.
