He who is not ruled by the rudder will be ruled by the rock, according to an old nautical expression.
Rudderless Navy Capt. Owen Honors ran into a career rock Tuesday when he was relieved of duty as commander of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.
The Virginian-Pilot newspaper reported last weekend that Honors produced a series of raunchy videos for the ship's crew while deployed in 2006 and 2007 as part of the U.S. war in Iraq.
The Enterprise is the oldest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the Navy fleet and carries about 5,000 personnel. The videos were shown on "movie nights" through the ship's closed-circuit TV system and were intended to boost morale and break tension.
Honors starred in the videos featuring gross toilet scenes, masturbation, animal sex and even a mock rectal exam.
Most disturbing, however, was the disdain shown toward gays in the videos and the open way Honors mocked and dismissed the complaints of female sailors who objected to his obscene videos.
The revelations are particularly embarrassing for the Navy in light of Congress' decision last week to repeal the "don't ask don't tell" military policy that had been in effect since the Clinton administration.
But this is clearly not a case of a man trapped by changing public attitudes toward homosexuality.
This behavior from a commanding officer would long have been objectionable in any organization that valued leadership and discipline.
It would be naive to think this sort of humor doesn't occur in many large organizations, particularly the military.
There is always a temptation for the boss to be "one of the guys," and there are always constructive ways for doing that.
But the commander of a nation, the captain of a ship or the CEO of a large company sets the tone for the entire organization.
Having the boss show sexist and homophobic attitudes gives a green light to those below him or her do the same.
There is a certain amount of decorum and distance any leader must maintain to set an example for those under his command.
Honors may be an excellent officer in all other respects. But he failed this key test of leadership and must suffer the consequences.
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Navy Captain failed key test of leadership
Captain Honors was in a position to lead by example but instead he chose to act like a 19 year old frat brother. He should be held accountable for his poor judgement and unprofessional behavior.
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I agree that this guy didn't exercise the best judgement as XO. My only question is.....this was three maybe four years ago.....if it was THAT offensive......why did it take so long to surface? And....I am certain the captain of the ship then must have known about it. Why wasn't it stopped? Back then? I think we have witnessed yet another child of the PC police. Maybe someone wanted his job and did some digging. Or was passed over in favor of him and is vindictive.
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In the spring of 1967 my cruiser, USS Providence, pulled along side an aircraft carrier in the Tonkin Gulf off Vietnam so we could catch a USO show featuring Bob Hope, Ann Margarite and many other stars of the day. Now that was a morale builder and, oh ya, the carrier was the Enterprise!
Al
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I served 30 months in combat waters in Vietnam aboard 2 light cruisers. We needed morale boosters too. Our Captain and officer staff organized regular "smokers" on the ships fan tail.
A smoker, for those who don't speak navy, is a great barbi, steak and seafood followed by musicians, boxing and wrestling matches, and performances by any sailor that would amuse and entertain. We crossed the Equator 4 times and had polywog to shellback activities that were pretty gross but fun non the less. We had baseball, touch football and vollyball teams where officers and enlisted could blow pent up steam. But never, in my wildest dream, could I believe my old C.O. would conduct himself like Captain Honors for the sake of "morale" when there are so many other morale building activities and especially aboard a carrier! Perhaps he wants to be a youtube star. He's certainly getting great publicity.
Al Pelletier
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say they've seen worse on Saturday Night Live and some of those cartoons that pass these days for adult entertainment. And for that, he loses his job. Yes, he's been "reassigned." Want the naval translation of reassigned? Retired. A good man now a days is hard to find. It just got harder.
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Stow it Steve,
While the good Capt. has every right to entertain, to releive the "stress" of command, etc. himself he DOES NOT have a right to do it in a manner that is demeaning of others. Period. The Captain joined the navy of his own volition. He knew the rules and regs going in. Since he's in a command position, I would guess that he has some level of intelligence and could keep up with changes in the rules and regs, and if he didn't like them, he was also free to leave the service. I have a relative, by marriage, who was a West Point grad. He was a bright and promising officer, a first generation American of a family who emigrated from Eastern Europe. He happened to hit a brick wall in his advancement, however, because he could not accept the fact that blacks and hispanics could be officers and often made disparaging comments in the presence of other officers. Needless to say, his advancement in rank was short-stopped and he was forced to retire due to his prejudices. Seems Captain Honors is about to suffer the same fate. Sorry, but we don't need his kind running our military. If we, as a country, are going to hold ourselves up as the shining example for the rest of the world then we better make sure we're walking the walk as well as talking the talk.
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AARRGHH!!! Are you suggesting he should WALK THE PLANK?
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Well, I was trying to have a serious discussion, but.... YAAARRRRRR, he should be put in stocks for mutiny on the high seas. He only made the videos to distract the press from the fact that the Enterprise had found Davy Jone's Locker!!!!
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is a relative by marriage? You never served on active duty? As a young sailor over 40 years ago, I had the honor to serve under a commanding officer who came to my helicopter squadron from a combat squadron in Vietnam. He had an incredible appreciation and respect for those he commanded (no doubt born from the close-knit interdependancy between pilots, crewmen and maintainers in-country), and we, in turn, had an unwavering respect for him. He conducted recreational and morale-boosting events for us that would surely be frowned upon by the politically-correct wuzzies who seem to dominate the chain of command these days. He treated us like people not expendable resources, and we responded by performing our missions with a skill that resulted in performance awards for him, us and the whole squadron. Life in the military has no equivalent in the civilian world, and those who have never served cannot grasp the living and working conditions, the camraderie, the pressures, the hazards and the relief methods utilized by people who are so interdependent on one another for their very lives. Any action, reaction, trait, tendency or inclination that threatens the cohesion of a military unit must be dealt with to ensure success of the assigned mission. The commanding officer is responsible for this and all aspects of life for the people serving under his command; their business IS his business. And as for your comment, "Sorry, but we don't need his kind running our military", what do you know about our military other than what you derive from 90-second news stories on mainstream media?
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The type of man we need running our military is one with good judgement. This is a quality this guy lacked. I am neither defending nor decrying the content of the tapes, but he should have known it was a bad idea to begin with. You simply don't videotape any personal actions which could be considered controversial, especially when you're as high-ranking as he was. Bad judgement. Same thing with Abu Grahib and McChrystal.
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Firstly – The ONLY reason he was fired was because of the media back-lash that surrounded the release of the video. Had the media not gotten its hands on the footage and it were only his commanding officers viewing it, he may have been punished, but not so severely.
Second, who the eff cares? Honestly, he made a COMEDY video. Blacks can make fun of whites, gays can make fun of straights, but the second a Straight-white man pokes fun at a minority he immediately is branded a hate monger and the lashing begins.
The gawddamn PC crowd strikes again. An honest, hard-working serviceman who has dedicated his LIFE to the military, protecting the very freedoms that allow this editorial to be written has had his life torn apart for simply entertaining himself and his crew members. Sicking.
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First the ONLY reason he was fired is because he made the tapes. Stop blaming others for this guys HUGE mistake. The day of minstrel shows are long gone, get use to it. This man didn't 'lose' his job, he got reassigned. He should have been summarily dismissed, but he is allowed to continue to serve and get his pension.
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He was relived of his duty pending a more extensive investigation. He has not been assigned any other duties at this time, and it is likely he will be asked to leave the military.
With any luck he will receive an honorary discharge and continue to receive a pension. America OWES it too him.
He is a hero who has been victimized by the exploitations of the liberal media and it is disgusting. It is MEN like him who FIGHT to protect the freedoms of LITTLE BOYS like Tron.
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Just two questions: What has he done that is heroic?
What do you mean when you say he "FIGHT(s) to protect freedom"?
Failure to respond will show your ingnorance in this matter.
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He's banned, and you need to can it with the personal attacks, or I'll ban you too.
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Sorry, didn't mean for this to get so heated. To clarify: I was not insinuating anything about Veterans of Foreign Wars in general, or trying to detract from military decorations, I was only asking what qualified this one man as a hero.
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He is a veteran of a foreign war. He has flown 85 combat missions, and earned a Bronze star. He is a hero, and he fought to protect YOUR freedom.
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Ok, what is the criteria for being a veteran of a foreign war? Seems to me you just have to be around a danger area somewhere around the globe to be considered one. Combat missions? Who did he fight, the Red Baron? It's not exactly the most heroic thing to fly a jet at like Mach-4 over third world countries that have relatively no anti-air defense. Lastly, Bronze Star. I notice that you correctly left off the "with a combat "v"". A Bronze Star with "v" is a decoration for valour. I have seen Bronze Stars awarded to admin clerks who did a good job at pushing paper. Sorry, I don't consider that grounds for being a hero. I would gladly bestow that honor upon infantryman and other combat support personnel who volunteered to do a dirty, dangerous job. When has this guy ever slept in the dirt, or seen his friends die on front of him?
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Wow man. I want so badly to punch you in the effing mouth right now.
Any time, any place punck.
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That's it, you're done.
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Sure, just flag me down when you see me driving by. My truck has a Purple Heart license plate, so you should be able to recognize me. Glad we could handle this like civilized individuals. If you would like to pursue this shoot me your e-mail or phone number and I'll be in touch. Thanks for the entertainment, "punck" :)
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The Captain only has himself to blame.
Do I think the tapes are the end of the world? No.
But when your trying to get one fo the most prestigious jobs in the Navy, you can't do stuff like this. And it's not like this was when he was an Ensign. He was the XO of a carrier, he should have know that politics are a major part of his job at that level.
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He made participated in the production of comedic videos. So sad that he was fired for simply trying to pass the time.
America has become pussified.
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The Captain is obviously a big fan of McHales' Navy.
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Maybe a better way of passing the time would have been to mentor young sailors, conduct inspections, or attend intelligence briefings? ie- work that he is paid to do. Not to mention he probably used governemnt resources to make the videos.
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Another piece of journalistic junk undoubtedly written by someone who never served in the armed forces and was likely protesting the military while his peers were defending his right to protest...and subsequently compose an editorial opinion in a free press protected by people such as CAPT Honors. You obviously have no conception of the pressures and daily strife endured by our servicemen and servicewomen, nor do you understand the attempts, orthodox and extraordinary, by commanders to provide relief from those pressures to those serving in their commands. Unit morale and cohesion are as essential to success at the tip of the spear as are training and proficiency. Anything that threatens those qualities should and must be expunged, whether that threat be malfunctioning equipment, improper procedures, or unit members whose personal preferences and behaviors do not coincide with the unit as a whole. Before you take a pious, pompous approach to this situation, you should closely examine the reactions from CAPT Honors' crew, past and present, as to his ability to command, execute the mission and maintain high morale and esprit-de-corps.
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