DENVER -- On Tuesday, there will be a closed-door meeting in Washington to talk about the sex assaults at the Air Force Academy. 7NEWS Investigator John Ferrugia has learned that top Air Force officials will tell the Senate Armed Services Committee about changes at the academy.

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Air Force sources said Secretary James Roche and Gen. John Jumper will also give the committee an update on the investigation into sexual assaults at the academy.

The Air Force is expected to hold a news conference Wednesday to outline those changes to the public.

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, along with a senator from Colorado, are calling for a change in leadership at the Air Force Academy, including putting a woman in a leadership position, possibly as superintendent or commandant.

7NEWS obtained a letter to the secretary of the Air Force, signed by both Sen. John Warner and Sen. Wayne Allard.

They question why this current leadership has remained in place.

"It seems apparent to us that despite warnings and clear indications that remedial action was needed these officers failed to take effective action," Warner, R-Va., and Allard, R-Colo., wrote in the letter.

The letter goes on to say, "We have concluded that change in leadership at the academy should be your highest priority in effecting much needed change in the culture of the academy."

A spokesman for the Air Force declined to comment, saying that Roche had not seen the letter.

All of this comes in response to a 7NEWS investigation into alleged sexual assaults at the academy, and allegations that female cadets were reprimanded or ostracized for reporting sexual assaults.

The Air Force has two investigations under way into the alleged sexual assaults.

The Defense Department's inspector general plans to start its own investigation by the end of March.

The Air Force says there have been at least 56 reports of sexual assaults of female cadets over the last decade. Allard earlier rejected calls for replacing the commanders, saying it could be an excuse for resolving the real problems at the academy.

Lt. Gen. John Dallager has been academy superintendent since June 2000 and was scheduled to retire this summer, and Brig. Gen. Sylvanus Taco Gilbert has been commandant since 2001. The Air Force has said the two would not lose their jobs because the problems predate their leadership.

Dallager and Gilbert "have been energetic in helping the Air Force leadership address current problems," Roche and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper said in a recent statement.

Earlier this month, Roche said few, if any, female officers would be qualified to lead the academy, where about 15 percent of the cadets are women.

Superintendents usually are three-star generals and commandants have typically been one-star generals or colonels who get their first star while at the academy.

Currently, the Air Force only has one female three-star general -- Lt. Gen. Leslie Kenne, at headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The highest ranking female officer at the academy is Col. Sue Slaveck, who commands the 34th Training Group, which is part of the 34th Training Wing headed by Gilbert.

There are currently 423 female colonels in the Air Force, seven brigadier generals and six colonels who soon will be appointed brigadier generals, Air Force spokesman Capt. Peter Kerr said.

"But just because these women may be eligible, it doesn't mean they would be selected. It just narrows the pool," Kerr said.

Typically, officers who are superintendents and commandants attended one of the three military academies.

It takes about 25 years for an officer to move up the ranks, and the first class of women graduated from the academy in 1980, Air Force Academy spokeswoman Pam Ancker said.

"That means many women are getting close, especially if they are promoted faster than their peers," Ancker said. "But there are already many women in office here."

Warner and Allard wrote their letter on behalf of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The House Armed Services Committee was also planning to look into the allegations.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo R-Colo., has already called for the dismissal of top academy commanders.

A civilian investigation is also under way by the El Paso County district attorney's office at the request of an alleged victim.

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