Another committee begins its investigation into the Air Force Academy sex scandal first brought to light by a 7NEWS investigation.

The seven-member committee was created by Congress and is expected to meet for the first time Monday and has a 90-day deadline to complete its work. The committee plans to issue its report on Sept. 22.

But even before its first meeting, the committee has already begun showing its independence.

Committee chairwoman Tillie Fowler, a retired Republican representative from Florida, announced last week that the executive director named by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld would be replaced by a former federal prosecutor who works with her law firm.

"People who know me know that I do not shy away from any issues," Fowler, who was actively involved in monitoring military affairs during her eight years in Congress, said in a telephone interview.

The group will meet with any victims who want to talk in private. Some victims have declined to speak with anyone involved in the three separate military investigations of the scandal.

On Friday, executive director Anita Blair was replaced. And Amy McCarthy, a committee member who was publicly skeptical of claims of rape by female cadets, resigned.

Women's advocates had criticized Blair, a former vice president of the conservative Independent Women's Forum, for opposing the integration of women in the military.

Fowler made it clear her committee would look into whether any former commanders should be held responsible for the sexual assaults. Dozens of current and former female cadets say they were raped or sexually abused at the academy, and many say they were ignored or punished when they complained.

The rest of the committee is made up of scientists, medical personnel and retired military officers. The seventh member, a replacement for McCarthy, was expected to be named Monday and womens' groups have been pressing for a victims' advocate.

The first report of four official investigations into the Air Force Academy scandal was released last week. It concluded that there was no systematic mistreatment of cadets who reported sexual assaults.