Air Force taps female 2-star general to head up sex abuse prevention office

WASHINGTON – The Air Force is putting a female two-star general in charge of a reorganized sexual assault prevention office.

That elevates the status of a group whose previous leader was a lieutenant colonel who was arrested last month on charges of sexual battery. He was removed from the position, and the Air Force said Friday that it was raising the standing of the office by putting Maj. Gen. Margaret H. Woodward in charge.

Woodward is one of the Air Force's brightest stars. She ran the U.S. portion of the allied air campaign over Libya in 2011, and she most recently served as the Air Force's chief safety officer. She also oversaw an investigation of the sexual abuse scandal at the Air Force's training headquarters at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.