The case is not set to go to the court martial stage yet. After an investigation by the Office of Special Investigations, a charge and three specifications of violating Article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military were brought against Cooley. Article 120 concerns sexual assault.
Don Christensen, a former chief prosecutor for the Air Force and the president of the group Protect Our Defenders, told the Dayton Daily News in November that if the Cooley case goes to court-martial, he will be the first general officer in Air Force history to do so. Protect Our Defenders is an organization that advocates for victims of sexual assault in the military.
“An Air Force general has never been court-martialed,” Christensen said at the time. “It’s a big deal that they’re doing this.”
Cooley led AFRL since May 2017. The lab employs about 10,000 military and civilian personnel, including directorates in several states.
Gen. Arnold W. Bunch Jr., commander of Air Force Materiel Command, relieved Cooley from command in January 2020 due “to a loss of confidence in his ability to lead, related to alleged misconduct which is currently under investigation,” AFMC said at the time.
The attorney for the accuser, Ryan Guilds, declined to comment, while Cooley’s attorney, Dan Conway, confirmed the date change for the hearing.
AFMC and AFRL are both headquartered at Wright-Patterson.
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