Armed Forces News

Air Force Master Sgt. Michael Silva was sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping two women while he served as a recruit trainer at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, the San Antonio Express-News reported Jan. 30. One of the women Silva raped was a recruit under his tutelage at Lackland. The crimes took place in 1995 and 2007. Criminal investigators learned of Silva’s crimes during a probe of a larger scandal at the Texas base, in which 17 instructors faced accusations of sex-related crimes against as many as 43 female subordinate trainees. The illegal activity was traced back to 2009. Two commanders of the training squadrons involved in the allegations lost their jobs.