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10 witnesses take the stand in historic sex assault court martial of Air Force general

U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Phillip Stewart, formerly the 19th Air Force commander, observed an MQ-9 Reaper student pilot and sensor operator in a ground control station at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, Sep. 29, 2022.
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Reuters
U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Phillip Stewart, formerly the 19th Air Force commander, observed an MQ-9 Reaper student pilot and sensor operator in a ground control station at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, Sep. 29, 2022.

FORT SAM HOUSTON — A total of 10 witnesses have taken the stand to testify in the court martial of Air Force Maj. Gen. Phillip Stewart. Nine of them testified on Wednesday.

The female officer formerly under Stewart's command testified on Tuesday that she was assaulted by Stewart during a trip to Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma in April 2023.

Stewart, who pleaded guilty to two lesser charges, maintained it was a consensual relationship.

The officer said she felt no choice but to submit to him due to his rank after he invited her to his quarters for a glass of wine. She said she also tried to prevent him from breaking the "bottle to throttle" rule of flying an aircraft within 12 hours of consuming alcohol.

The second day of the historic court martial of a two-star Air Force general was filled with tense testimony from the woman he's accused of sexually assaulting.

The next witness was Chief Master Sgt. James Cromwell, the first person she called after the incident.

Cromwell, the senior enlisted leader at 62nd Operations Group, Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, worked with her in 2022.

A member of the three star general jury panel asked Cromwell if he’d ever seen her drunk and questioned her decision making abilities while under the influence. He said she had “fine decision making,” and he’d never seen her drunk.

The third witness was Office of Special Investigations Special Agent Adam Hershey. He worked on the initial investigation with the alleged victim's husband and handled a phone call interception operation between him and Stewart.

The recording of the phone call was played in the courtroom from a CD that was entered into evidence. The call was around 34 minutes long. Hershey testified that he was in the room with the woman’s husband throughout the call. They communicated via a white board and non-verbal cues.

“Look man, what she had to tell me wasn’t what I wanted to hear,” her husband said in the recorded call. “Did you have sex with my wife?”

The man questioned Stewart if he was able to control himself around women.

Stewart added that he was used to traveling with men, and it wasn’t unusual to have a few drinks.

“I can’t remember all of it,” Stewart said. He added he only remembered “bits and pieces.”

The husband proceeded to tell him that the alleged victim had “nothing but admiration” for Stewart as a commander.

He asked how Stewart thought she was consenting. He said, “You sexually assaulted my wife.”

“We’d done something we shouldn’t have done,” Stewart said on the call. “I’m living with guilt and shame too.”

Hershey said he felt any emotions the husband presented were fictional. He explained they ran through scenarios and made sure Stewart couldn’t tell it was an OSI investigation.

“You don’t know me and the shadow I’m going to cast over you,” the alleged victim's husband told Stewart. “Pray you don’t see me on the street.”

Another witness was Air Force Maj. Gen. Jennifer Short. She testified about a phone call between her and Stewart on Aug. 8, 2023, at the end of her day.

The conversation consisted of Stewart informing her of an alleged inspector general investigation and the OSI investigation into Stewart. He informed her of being accused of Article 120, sexual assault. “That was the last thing I thought I would hear,” Short testified.

The last time Short spoke to Stewart was that day.

Air Force Master Sgt. Andrew Bryan and Chief Master Sgt. Justin Apticar both worked in the front office of the 19th Air Force under Stewart.

Both the airmen testified that they attended a conference in Denver with Stewart and the alleged victim over a month before the Altus trip. Bryan commented that he saw the alleged victim's demeanor change when she received the texts from Stewart in Denver.

“She felt belittled by it,” Bryan said. “Obviously she was annoyed by it.”

Bryan said the alleged victim made a comment that she wouldn’t be receiving those texts if she was a man.

Apticar, who retired three weeks ago after 30 years of service, said the messages the woman received were odd. He offered to speak with Stewart about it.

The alleged victim approached Apticar the next day asking him not to say anything, that she may have overreacted.

“Just so you know — I’m going to be paying attention,” Apticar said he told the alleged victim.

On Altus Air Force Base a over a month later, he said he was surprised by the invite to the two star general's quarters, when the pair usually go back to the chief's lodging to debrief and plan for the following day.

Bryan said they spent around an hour there and then said their goodbyes to both Stewart and the alleged victim. He said they waited outside for the alleged victim to follow and were surprised when she didn’t.

“It was clear we were heading out,” Bryan said. “I think we were expecting her to leave with us.”

After returning to the chief's quarters, Bryan messaged the woman to check on her. He said he and the chief discussed their stance on her staying back alone.

“We weren’t necessarily happy about it,” Bryan said. “Assume the best, prepare for the worst.”

Bryan later clarified that "the worst" would be sexual assault. Apticar asked Bryan to message the alleged victim to check on her after they left. “I needed to close my own conscience of nothing happening,” Apticar said.

Apticar added that he hadn’t been in contact with Stewart since he was relieved of his command.

Stewart pleaded guilty to two of the lesser charges against him — one of dereliction of duty under Article 92 and extramarital sexual conduct under Article 134 — before Monday's opening statements.

He is being tried for willful dereliction of duty, two counts of sexual assault, and conduct unbecoming of an officer. If he is found guilty, he faces up to 60 years in prison.

The court expected to hear from at least two more witnesses on Thursday before the prosecution rests.

Stewart's case was the first time an Air Force general has faced a jury court-martial for sexual assault.

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Gabriella Alcorta-Solorio is a reporter for Texas Public Radio. She recently graduated from Texas State University with a major in journalism, minoring in women’s studies. She has previously worked as a photojournalist with The Ranger and has reported on Alzheimer’s and dementia in South Texas using public health data. Her main focuses include reporting on health as well as military and veterans issues. Alcorta-Solorio is a U.S. Army veteran.