The US Navy fired the captain of the USS Enterprise on Tuesday, more than three years after he made lewd videos to boost morale for his crew, timing that put the military under pressure to explain why it acted only after the videos became public.
Senior military officials said they were trying to determine who among navy leaders knew about the videos when they were shown repeatedly in 2006 and 2007 to thousands of crew members aboard the aircraft carrier.
An investigation by US Fleet Forces Command is also seeking to determine whether Captain Owen Honors was reprimanded at the time.
The episode has raised serious questions about whether military leaders can behave badly so long as the public doesn’t find out.
Just two days after the videos were shown repeatedly on television, the navy called a news conference on Tuesday in Norfolk, Virginia, to announce that Honors was stepping down as ship commander and being reassigned to administrative duties ashore.
“After personally reviewing the videos created while serving as executive officer, I have lost confidence in Captain Honors’ ability to lead effectively,” said Admiral John Harvey, head of US Fleet Forces Command.
Honors was set to deploy with the USS Enterprise this month as the ship’s commander when the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk obtained videos he made three and four years ago as the carrier’s executive officer. Honors appears in the videos using gay slurs, simulating masturbation and staging suggestive shower scenes.
One video also briefly included Glenn Close, which the actress called “deeply offensive and insulting.”
Close said in a statement that she appeared in a clip after a “seemingly innocent request” made during a visit to the USS Enterprise more than four years ago.
No leaders in senior posts at the Pentagon and in the Navy could explain why, if Honors’ conduct was so questionable, he was promoted after the videos aired.
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