Tailhook scandal

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The Tailhook scandal was an American political affair from 1991/1992, which occurred on the basis of sexual excesses at the 35th Tailhook Symposium , which was attended mainly by naval aviators , from May 5th to 8th. Developed September 1991 in Las Vegas . As a result, 14 admirals and about 300 other officers of the United States Navy had to take their hats or suffered in some other form, sometimes considerable career setbacks. There were no criminal convictions for the sexual assault.

The Tailhook Symposia

The Tailhook Association is a not-for-profit private association of naval aviators. Anyone who has ever hit the safety rope of an aircraft carrier with a hook can become a full member of the Association. All other friends of naval aviation have the opportunity to become a sustaining member.

Since 1956, the association has organized the “Tailhook” symposium once a year, where lectures can be given, stories can be told and contacts can be made. Almost nowhere else do pilots have the opportunity to speak freely with the responsible admirals and commanders. Since 1963 the symposium has always taken place in Las Vegas, before that time they had met in Tijuana . Over the years, Congress had become a semi-official Navy event. The lecture program was partly planned directly by the Navy, and the participating officers were flown to Las Vegas by Navy aircraft from across the country. The entire 3rd floor of the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas with all suites was rented for the congress . After the lectures, the focus was on socializing. In the early years, corporate sponsors from the armaments industry paid for the suites and hospitality for guests. However, since the late 1970s, military personnel have been banned from accepting favors from companies. Since then, several squadrons have come together to jointly plan the “program” for a suite and to entertain the guests with drinks and food. The costs were paid from the communal coffers in the officers' mess. Over the years there has been a real competition between the seasons to find out who can attract the most visitors to their suite with the most creative ideas possible. The social part of the congress was known for its rough and drinkable atmosphere.

Tailhook '91

The 1991 lecture program was shaped by Operation Desert Storm, which was fought out at the beginning of the year . Most of the lectures dealt with a review of the operation and insights into the effectiveness of the airborne weapon systems, some of which were used for the first time. The second large block consisted of glimpses into the future of naval aviation, for example the F / A-18E / F Super Hornet aircraft, which was still under development at the time, or the future base and budget planning of the Navy. As in every year, the event ended with a free panel discussion with several high-ranking admirals.

In terms of visitor numbers, the 1991 event was the largest Tailhook symposium to date. About 5000 visitors were counted. The Hilton hotel was booked up to the last room. In the social part of the congress there were several "derailments" and criminal offenses that later turned into a scandal:

  • At least six seasons tried to lighten the mood in their suites with performances by striptease dancers . Sometimes it was decent, depending on the circumstances, if the performance was only intended for a small group of season members, but sometimes there were also sexual excesses in the audience and on the makeshift stages.
  • The VAW-110 ( Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron ) had set up a booth in their suite where female guests could have their legs shaved. According to witness statements, intimate shaves were also carried out in front of an audience in individual cases.
  • The VMFP-3 ( Marine Corps Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron ), whose mascot was a rhinoceros, offered alcoholic "rhinoceros sperm", which was drawn from a dummy rhinoceros via a kind of dildo . Female guests simulated oral sex on this dildo.
  • Alcohol was occasionally distributed to minors and pornographic material made available to them.
  • Drunken officers rioted in the suites. The total damage to the hotel furnishings later amounted to $ 23,000, including $ 18,000 for re-laying the carpet.
  • In the hallway in front of the elevator on the 3rd floor there was a "gauntlet" for many female guests. When they tried to pass through the area, men (200–300 people) standing on the left and right of the aisle touched them immorally and sometimes forcibly stripped them. There were repeated attacks on women throughout the rest of the third floor. The investigation report later listed 83 women who were sexually molested in various ways.

Investigation of the Incidents

After or during the Congress , at least 10 women filed sexual assault complaints with the Las Vegas Police Department . The Navy was forced to investigate the behavior of its officers. The result was a 2,000-page investigation report compiled by the Naval Investigative Service (NIS) and the Inspector General of the Navy, published in April 1992. The report was soon heavily criticized for apparently not telling the truth in some areas in order not to paint a bad image in public. For example, the role of senior officers (squadron commanders and admirals) was only mentioned in passing. In response to the vocal criticism, Secretary of the Navy Garrett launched an investigation into the investigation on June 18, 1992. It was conducted by the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (DoD). His report, published September 22, 1992, harshly criticized the NIS investigation. Apparently the investigators had been thwarted from above when it was discovered that they had stung a wasp's nest. At a later date, the DoD Inspector General wanted to submit his own investigation into the Tailhook incidents. This report was completed in mid-February 1993 and published on April 12, 1993. He listed 90 victims of sexual assault, 83 women and seven men, numerous other cases of unworthy behavior, and convicted 50 officers of lying. The investigation files into the behavior of 140 officers (119 Navy and 21 Marine Corps), who could be identified by name, were handed over to the acting Secretary of the Navy Sean O'Keefe for possible prosecution.

Paula Coughlin

The most famous victim of the Tailhook incidents was Lt. Paula Coughlin , then a helicopter pilot and staff member of Admiral Snyder, commandant of the Naval Air Test Center. On Saturday evening, she became a victim of running the gauntlet. She was first jostled and held by the buttocks. Other men pulled on their clothes and grabbed their breasts. Coughlin kicked around, tried to break away from the group, and bit one of the attackers twice on the arm. Finally she was able to escape to one of the suites.

Coughlin lodged a complaint through official channels. Admiral Snyder declined to pursue the case on the grounds that Coughlin should have known that the said things could happen to her if she deliberately exposed "a deck full of drunk fliers". She decided to go public with her case. On June 24, 1992, a report on the ABC Evening News roused the nation.

Coughlin was able to identify her main attacker, but no witnesses were found to corroborate her story. The investigation has stopped. Later investigations revealed that all of the officers questioned had either lied, allegedly unable to remember because of too much alcohol consumption, or were walling up to protect their comrades.

A real campaign against Coughlin began as a “return coach”. Anonymous allegations circulated that Coughlin had deliberately exposed himself to the gauntlet and that he was involved in indecent behavior that evening. It wasn't until the DoD investigation, which found that there were no witnesses for these allegations, that Coughlin's reputation was washed clean. There had actually been cases of women enjoying Gauntlet treatment, but Coughlin was not one of them.

Consequences

On October 29, 1991, Secretary of the Navy Garrett withdrew the Navy's official support for the Tailhook Association in a letter to Tailhook Association Chairman Captain FW Ludwig expressing his deep disappointment with the behavior of many officers at Congress. It was not until January 1999 that the cautious approach to the Tailhook Association began again. As Lt. Coughlin went public with her story, Garrett was forced to resign from his post due to public pressure. He had also been present at the convention but denied seeing any cases of bad conduct himself. The office was temporarily taken over by Sean O'Keefe .

Following the publication of the Second Inspector General Report, O'Keefe dismissed the Chief of the Naval Investigative Service , Admiral Duvall Williams , and the Judge Advocate General of the Navy, Rear Admiral John Gordon. Rear Admiral George Davis, then Inspector General of the Navy, was transferred to a sentence. Lt. Coughlin's superior, Admiral Snyder, was removed from his post because he had refused to pursue Coughlin's allegations. The affair later cost Admiral Frank Kelso, chief of naval operations, the post. The new Secretary of the Navy, John Dalton, fired him because he had also attended Congress but had not intervened when events got out of hand.

The office of the Inspector General of the Navy was reformed: in future it was filled with a three- instead of two-star general to emphasize its importance. It was also made clear to the aspirants that this would be their last post before retirement, so that they would not have to consider their future careers in their decisions.

None of the 140 officers identified by the DoD have ever been tried. In about half of the cases, insufficient evidence could not be found. This included the majority of sexual attacks on women. The other half of the officers were reprimanded out of court by their superiors. Their careers took a turn, and sometimes heavy fines had to be paid.

For many years after the scandal, Tailhook '91 was a career barrier for officers who took part. Before they were promoted, a thorough check was carried out to see whether they were guilty of anything at the congress. When in doubt, they were deferred from promotion - some even though it was proven that they had done nothing wrong.

"Tailhook '91" became a publicity disaster for the Navy. The public got the impression that the elite cadre of naval aviators consisted predominantly of drunk men who were intellectually still in their teenage years, attacking women. In the years that followed, the Navy tried to appear particularly women-friendly. Tailhook trauma also became a determining factor in the abolition of Combat Exclusion Laws , which prohibited women from actively participating in combat operations, specifically combat missions using airplanes. After the abolition of these laws, the Navy tried to get women into the planes as quickly as possible in order to give a positive image to the public again. The accidental death of F-14 pilot Kara Spears Hultgreen in October 1994 led to a new low in the ratio of men to women in the Navy. Theories have been voiced that women were given preference in flight training due to “tail hooks” and were actually not well trained enough to fly.

Paula Coughlin's story was turned into a not overly successful film for television in 1995 under the title She Stood Alone: ​​The Tailhook Scandal (German title: Brutale Exzesse - Scandal in the Navy ).

Web links

Commons : Tailhook Association  - album containing pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ William H. McMichael: The mother of all hooks: the story of the US Navy's Tailhook Scandal . Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick in NJ 1997, ISBN 0-585-33725-X , p. 113 f.