The Air Force said Saturday that two more San Antonio-based basic training instructors are suspected of having illicit relationships with trainees. In all, 17 basic training instructors at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland have been or are being investigated. The Air Force has identified 43 victims; all are women. “Sadly, it comes as no surprise to us,” said Nancy Parrish, founder of Protect Our Defenders, an advocacy group for military sexual assault victims. “Every day, we receive horrific stories of young men and women currently on active duty having been assaulted and having nowhere to go, stories of them being blamed and retaliated against for reporting the crime.” The Air Force says it has treated all the women as victims, even though a number of them claim their encounters with the instructors were consensual. Until now, 15 basic training instructors were suspected of being involved with 38 women in basic and technical training. Two trainers were involved with 10 women each. In the latest cases, one instructor is accused of having sex with a technical training student. A second trainer is suspected of improper social media and texting contact with a technical training student. The Air Force bars trainers and their trainees from having personal relationships of any kind. Instructors are not allowed to communicate with any trainee by phone, social media, email or text messaging. Several investigations have been launched since July 2011. Dave Smith, a spokesman for the Air Education and Training Command, said he wasn't sure whether there would be more cases, but noted that agents are still working. “I don't know,” he said. “The investigations are continuing, and what we find, we find.” sigc@express-news.net