COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The 45th class of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs graduated today under the cloud of several scandals first reported by 7NEWS.

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Air Force Cadets Celebrate Graduation

Reports that 57 female cadets were sexually assaulted between 1990 and 2003 led to removal of the superintendent and commandant last month.

It looked like any other Air Force Academy graduation, caps tossed in the air, Thunderbirds screaming overhead.

But the senior commanders who had led the 974 cadets through their last two years weren't present Wednesday, removed because of a sexual assault scandal at the school. Two senior cadets scheduled to graduate were omitted at the last minute.

One of them, Sterling Barnes (pictured, left), is on administrative hold after being accused of running an Internet pornographic operation from his dormitory room, said spokesman John Van Winkle. He declined to say why the other cadet didn't graduate.

Shannon Moran of Buffalo, N.Y., was among the 138 women and 836 men getting their commissions as second lieutenants. "It doesn't damper the day at all," she said of the scandal.

"It feels awesome. Better even than I thought it would be." Robert Rauch of Lake Mary, Fla., smoking a cigar, agreed. "I feel ecstatic. It is the greatest feeling I have ever had," he said.

The day started with Air Force Secretary James Roche saying four Air Force Academy officers who were reassigned over a sex scandal could be punished if it was shown they had failed to take appropriate action in wake of cadet complaints.

The decision will be made after Roche and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper review an investigative report into the scandal.

The two will look at whether the commanders should have noticed problems and whether they did anything to make it more difficult for female cadets to report assaults.

Roche and Jumper both addressed the cadets during commencement but did not mention the sex scandal then.

"We've said everything we have to say to the corps of cadets. There is no reason to continue to berate them," Roche told reporters.

The Gazette of Colorado Springs reported that parents had warned against criticism of the cadet corps during the graduation, saying they might boo or turn their backs. Roche said he had heard by e-mail from several hundred.

Dozens of current and former female cadets have said they were ostracized or reprimanded after they reported being raped or sexually abused at the academy near Colorado Springs.

Last month, the academy announced it was investigating a senior cadet for allegedly sending e-mails to hundreds of people and organizing group sex sessions. Officials did not identify him until Wednesday.

Roche (pictured, right) had announced in late March that Air Force Superintendent Lt. Gen. John D. Dallager, Commandant Brig. Gen. S. Taco Gilbert III and two other leaders would be reassigned. But Roche said at the time that a climate that had festered for years was to blame for the academy's problems, not the generals.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a leading critic of the handling of the rape allegations, said then that Roche was shirking his responsibility to hold leaders accountable.

An Air Force review found 57 reported incidents of sexual misconduct between 1990 and 2003. Forty male cadets had been punished in those cases, that report said.

Three military reviews have been launched and an independent panel has been formed to investigate the allegations. Roche said the first of the reports has yet to be completed.

Amy McCarthy, a United Airlines pilot and 1982 Air Force Academy graduate, said in March that "one or two" rape cases are probably legitimate, but "it's going to be a very small minority," the Rocky Mountain News reported in Wednesday's editions.

McCarthy told the newspaper on Tuesday that her comments were about women in the airline industry and not about the academy.

"I will be very objective with any investigation, any personal opinions aside," McCarthy said.

McCarthy was one of seven people appointed on Tuesday by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld for the review panel mandated by Congress.

Dozens of current and former female cadets have said they were raped or sexually abused at the academy, and many said they were ignored or punished when they complained.

The News had interviewed McCarthy in March for a story about how academy graduates were reacting to the allegations.

She said in that interview that women who complain about sexual harassment tend to have competency problems and use the complaint for leverage, the newspaper said.

"It's an easy way out, and I, as a woman, don't appreciate that," McCarthy said.

Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., who pushed for establishing the panel, isn't overly concerned by McCarthy's comments, his spokesman, Dick Wadhams, said.

"Obviously, this is a diverse committee. There are going to be diverse opinions," Wadhams said. "She's only one of seven members."

Allard has "tremendous confidence" in former U.S. Rep. Tillie Fowler, who will chair the panel, Wadhams said.

The panel will take 90 days to study how the policies, management and culture at the Colorado Springs academy may have contributed to the problem.

Other members of the panel include:

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Josiah Bunting, the former superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute. Bunting oversaw the court-ordered integration of women into the state-funded military school.
Laura L. Miller, a social scientist at the Rand Corp. think tank and a former assistant professor of sociology at the University of California at Los Angeles. Miller is an expert in organizational behavior.
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Michael J. Nardotti, a partner at the Washington law firm of Patton, Boggs, LLP. Nardotti is the former judge advocate general of the Army, the service's chief prosecutor.
John W. Ripley, director of the Marine Corps History Center and Museum and the former president of Southern Virginia College.
Sally L. Satel, a psychiatrist at the Oasis Drug Treatment Center in Washington. Satel is an expert in addiction and how it relates to sexual misconduct.

The panel will release a report on its findings to Rumsfeld and the chairmen of the Senate and House Armed Services committees.