Tailhook scandal
Encyclopedia
The Tailhook scandal refers to a series of incidents where more than 100 U.S. Navy and United States Marine Corps
aviation officers were alleged to have sexually assaulted
at least 87 women, or otherwise engaged in "improper and indecent" conduct at the Las Vegas Hilton
in Las Vegas, Nevada
. The events took place at the 35th Annual Tailhook Association
Symposium from September 8–12, 1991. The term can also refer to the resulting investigations conducted by the United States Navy
(USN) and United States Department of Defense
.
As a result of the subsequent investigations, a number of officers were formally disciplined or refused advancement in rank. Controversially, military officers and observers have alleged that flag officer
s attending the symposium were not held accountable for knowingly allowing the behavior in question to occur. Military critics claimed that the scandal highlighted a hostile attitude in US military culture towards women in the areas of sexual harassment
, sexual assault
, and equal treatment of women in career advancement and opportunity.
in Las Vegas
featured a two-day debrief on Navy and Marine Corps
aviation in Operation Desert Storm. It was the largest such meeting yet held, with some 4,000 attendees: active, reserve, and retired personnel.
After his return to the USS Midway
, in port in Seattle for Seafair
, then Tailhook president Capt. Rick Ludwig pulled all Air Wing commanding officers
, staff, and Flag Staff officers and debriefed them on initial reports of misbehavior and incidents of fisticuffs in the hallways and on the patio by the pool.
According to a Department of Defense
(DoD) report, 83 women and 7 men stated that they had been victims of sexual assault and harassment during the meeting. Several participants later stated that a number of flag officers attending the meetings were aware of the sexual assaults, but did nothing to stop them.
On October 29, 1991, the Department of the Navy terminated all ties to the Tailhook Association
. Ties were not restored with the Navy until January 19, 1999.
The issues were never quite settled, and as late as 2002, the Tailhook chairman spoke of "the alleged misconduct that occurred in 1991". For several years after Tailhook '91 Promotion board results were delayed while a special review was conducted to ensure that any person with an adverse connection to Tailhook '91 was not promoted.
launched an investigation, led by Naval Investigative Service under the command of Rear Admiral
Duvall M. Williams, Jr. This group initially released a report which concluded that the incident was mainly the fault of low-ranked enlisted men behaving poorly.
Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs)
Barbara S. Pope
refused to accept the results of this investigation, especially after Rear Admiral Williams, made sexist remarks in Pope's presence, most notably a comment that he believed that "a lot of female Navy pilots
are go-go dancers
, topless dancers or hookers
". When Admiral Williams issued his final report, finding that no senior Navy officials bore responsibility for what occurred in Las Vegas, Pope went to United States Secretary of the Navy
Henry L. Garrett III
and told him that she would resign if the United States Department of the Navy did not "do another report and look at what we needed to do about accountability and responsibility and the larger issues at hand." Garrett agreed with Pope, and a further investigation was conducted, headed by Derek J. Vander Schaaf, the Inspector General
of the United States Department of Defense
.
Vander Schaaf's report was ultimately released in September 1992 by Acting Secretary of the Navy Sean O'Keefe
. The release of Vander Schaaf's report led to the resignation of Admiral Williams, and his superior, Rear Adm. John E. Gordon
, the Judge Advocate General of the Navy
, for their failure to conduct a thorough investigation into the Tailhook allegations.
Frontline on PBS
reported:
In the wake of Vander Schaaf's report, the Naval Investigative Service was reorganized as the Naval Criminal Investigative Service
.
Author Jean Zimmerman
developed the thesis that the scandal underscored the shifting status of women in the military and particularly the role of women in combat
.
The controversy was dramatized in the 1995 TV film She Stood Alone: The Tailhook Scandal. Since the scandal, women have become more accepted as aviators in the US Navy's aviation community.
, speaking at the Naval Academy
said, "when the Tailhook investigation began, and certain political elements used the incident to bring discredit on naval aviation as a whole, and then on the Navy writ large, one is entitled to ask... Who fought this? Who condemned it? When a whole generation of officers is asked to accept ... the destruction of the careers of some of the finest aviators in the Navy based on hearsay, unsubstantiated allegations, in some cases after a full repudiation of anonymous charges that resemble the worst elements of McCarthyism ... what admiral has had the courage to risk his own career by putting his stars on the table, and defending the integrity of the process and of its people?"
Another former SecNav, John Lehman
, "condemned the Clinton White House for imposing policies of 'political correctness' on the Navy and the Senate Armed Services Committee for impeding the career advancements of officers linked to the 1991 Tailhook sexual assault scandal. It is 'terribly damaging to the very fiber of the Navy as an institution, this continuing attack from so many quarters'... Officers were victims of media 'character assassination.' Following what should have been a minor story, he said, '14 admirals have been cashiered, 300 naval aviators have been driven out of the Navy or their careers terminated.'"
Writing in Reason, Jack Kammer said "This is not to deny that some unsuspecting women were caught in activities they understandably found offensive. But after Lt. Paula Coughlin captured the media with her unquestioned, though questionable, claim that she was among the truly unsuspecting and offended ones, women's activists began to spin Tailhook like a top. Following their success with the Dreyer incident, they insisted that the drunken aviators in Las Vegas represented a widespread culture of oppression and hostility toward military women. How did the Navy defend itself? By hoisting a white flag."
Many officers raised the case of decorated Blue Angels
commanding officer Bob Stumpf, who was denied promotion and retired simply for having gone to Tailhook '91 to receive an award. . Stumpf himself has decried the post-Tailhook climate and its effect on morale and readiness: "[T]he essence of that warrior culture has been severely diluted in this decade. Politically inspired social edicts enforced since Tailhook '91 have rendered a ready room atmosphere so different now that it is nearly unrecognizable... Pilots are hampered in their ability to train as warriors by the policies of their senior leaders. They are faced with social experimentation and double standards in training. Experienced pilots are forced to qualify certain trainees who may or may not demonstrate established quality standards. This leads to distrust and resentment, two powerfully harmful factors in terms of unit morale, and thus military effectiveness."
John Lehman, in 2011, lamented what he considered to be a negative legacy from Tailhook on the Navy's aviation culture. Lehman felt that the scandal had removed the necessary swagger and confidence from the Navy's aviation culture and replaced it with a focus on integrating women and, more recently, homosexuality.
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
aviation officers were alleged to have sexually assaulted
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
at least 87 women, or otherwise engaged in "improper and indecent" conduct at the Las Vegas Hilton
Las Vegas Hilton
The Las Vegas Hilton is a hotel, casino, and convention center in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is a joint venture between Colony Capital, which owns 60 percent, and New York City-based REIT Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, which owns the remaining 40 percent...
in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. The events took place at the 35th Annual Tailhook Association
Tailhook Association
The Tailhook Association is a U.S.-based, fraternal, non-profit organization, supporting the interests of sea-based aviation, with emphasis on aircraft carriers...
Symposium from September 8–12, 1991. The term can also refer to the resulting investigations conducted by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
(USN) and United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
.
As a result of the subsequent investigations, a number of officers were formally disciplined or refused advancement in rank. Controversially, military officers and observers have alleged that flag officer
Flag Officer
A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark where the officer exercises command. The term usually refers to the senior officers in an English-speaking nation's navy, specifically those who hold any of the admiral ranks; in...
s attending the symposium were not held accountable for knowingly allowing the behavior in question to occur. Military critics claimed that the scandal highlighted a hostile attitude in US military culture towards women in the areas of sexual harassment
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
, sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
, and equal treatment of women in career advancement and opportunity.
Incident
In September 1991, the 35th annual symposiumSymposium
In ancient Greece, the symposium was a drinking party. Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two Socratic dialogues, Plato's Symposium and Xenophon's Symposium, as well as a number of Greek poems such as the elegies of Theognis of Megara...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
featured a two-day debrief on Navy and Marine Corps
Marine corps
A marine is a member of a force that specializes in expeditionary operations such as amphibious assault and occupation. The marines traditionally have strong links with the country's navy...
aviation in Operation Desert Storm. It was the largest such meeting yet held, with some 4,000 attendees: active, reserve, and retired personnel.
After his return to the USS Midway
USS Midway
USS Midway may refer to:, which was the Oritani and then the Tyree before being chartered as a general auxiliary in 1942, renamed to Panay in 1943, and returned to her owner in 1946...
, in port in Seattle for Seafair
Seafair
Seafair is a summer festival in Seattle, Washington, USA that encompasses a wide variety of small neighborhood events leading up to several major city-wide celebrations...
, then Tailhook president Capt. Rick Ludwig pulled all Air Wing commanding officers
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
, staff, and Flag Staff officers and debriefed them on initial reports of misbehavior and incidents of fisticuffs in the hallways and on the patio by the pool.
According to a Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
(DoD) report, 83 women and 7 men stated that they had been victims of sexual assault and harassment during the meeting. Several participants later stated that a number of flag officers attending the meetings were aware of the sexual assaults, but did nothing to stop them.
On October 29, 1991, the Department of the Navy terminated all ties to the Tailhook Association
Tailhook Association
The Tailhook Association is a U.S.-based, fraternal, non-profit organization, supporting the interests of sea-based aviation, with emphasis on aircraft carriers...
. Ties were not restored with the Navy until January 19, 1999.
The issues were never quite settled, and as late as 2002, the Tailhook chairman spoke of "the alleged misconduct that occurred in 1991". For several years after Tailhook '91 Promotion board results were delayed while a special review was conducted to ensure that any person with an adverse connection to Tailhook '91 was not promoted.
Investigation and aftermath
In response to media reports about the Las Vegas Tailhook Association meetings, the United States Department of the NavyUnited States Department of the Navy
The Department of the Navy of the United States of America was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, to provide a government organizational structure to the United States Navy and, from 1834 onwards, for the United States Marine Corps, and when directed by the President, of the...
launched an investigation, led by Naval Investigative Service under the command of Rear Admiral
Rear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
Duvall M. Williams, Jr. This group initially released a report which concluded that the incident was mainly the fault of low-ranked enlisted men behaving poorly.
Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs)
Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs)
The Assistant Secretary of the Navy is a civilian office in the United States Department of the Navy...
Barbara S. Pope
Barbara S. Pope
Barbara Spyridon Pope was United States Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1989 to 1993. She gained notoriety during the Tailhook scandal for her opposition to the initial investigation conducted by Rear Admiral Duvall M. Williams, Jr., which she felt was a whitewash.-Biography:Barbara S. Pope...
refused to accept the results of this investigation, especially after Rear Admiral Williams, made sexist remarks in Pope's presence, most notably a comment that he believed that "a lot of female Navy pilots
United States Naval Aviator
A United States Naval Aviator is a qualified pilot in the United States Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard.-Naming Conventions:Most Naval Aviators are Unrestricted Line Officers; however, a small number of Limited Duty Officers and Chief Warrant Officers are also trained as Naval Aviators.Until 1981...
are go-go dancers
Go-Go dancing
Go-go dancers are dancers who are employed to entertain crowds at a discotheque. Go-go dancing originated in the early 1960s when women at the Peppermint Lounge in New York City began to get up on tables and dance the twist...
, topless dancers or hookers
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
". When Admiral Williams issued his final report, finding that no senior Navy officials bore responsibility for what occurred in Las Vegas, Pope went to United States Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
Henry L. Garrett III
Henry L. Garrett III
Henry Lawrence Garrett, III served as the 68th Secretary of the Navy from May 15, 1989 to June 26, 1992 in the administration of George H. W. Bush.-References:...
and told him that she would resign if the United States Department of the Navy did not "do another report and look at what we needed to do about accountability and responsibility and the larger issues at hand." Garrett agreed with Pope, and a further investigation was conducted, headed by Derek J. Vander Schaaf, the Inspector General
Inspector General
An Inspector General is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.-Bangladesh:...
of the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
.
Vander Schaaf's report was ultimately released in September 1992 by Acting Secretary of the Navy Sean O'Keefe
Sean O'Keefe
Sean O'Keefe is the CEO of EADS North America, a subsidiary of the European aerospace firm EADS, a former Administrator of NASA, and former chancellor of Louisiana State University . O'Keefe is also a former member of the board of directors of DuPont...
. The release of Vander Schaaf's report led to the resignation of Admiral Williams, and his superior, Rear Adm. John E. Gordon
John E. Gordon
John Edward "Ted" Gordon is a retired United States Rear Admiral who served as Judge Advocate General of the Navy from 1990 until 1992, when he was forced to resign in the aftermath of the Tailhook scandal.-Biography:...
, the Judge Advocate General of the Navy
Judge Advocate General of the Navy
The Judge Advocate General of the Navy is the highest ranking uniformed lawyer in the United States Department of the Navy. The Judge Advocate General is the principal advisor to the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations on legal matters pertaining to the Navy...
, for their failure to conduct a thorough investigation into the Tailhook allegations.
Frontline on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
reported:
Ultimately the careers of fourteen admirals and almost 300 naval aviators were scuttled or damaged by Tailhook. For example Secretary of the Navy H. Lawrence Garrett III and CNOChief of Naval OperationsThe Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
Admiral Frank KelsoFrank B. Kelso IIFrank Benton Kelso II is a retired admiral of the United States Navy, who served as Chief of Naval Operations in the early 1990s.-Early life:...
were both at Tailhook '91. Garrett ultimately resigned and Kelso retired early two years after the convention. Vice Admiral Richard DunleavyRichard DunleavyAdmiral Richard Dunleavy was a US naval officer who retired as a two-star Rear Admiral in 1993 after being demoted from the rank of three-star Vice Admiral as a result of the Tailhook scandal....
, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air Warfare, was demoted to a two-star Admiral (from a three-star Admiral) and retired because of the scandal.
In the wake of Vander Schaaf's report, the Naval Investigative Service was reorganized as the Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
The United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service is the primary security, counter-intelligence, counter-terrorism, and law enforcement agency of the United States Department of the Navy...
.
Author Jean Zimmerman
Jean Zimmerman
-Biography:A graduate of Barnard College, Zimmerman earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry from the Columbia University School of the Arts, and was awarded a New York State Fine Arts grant in 1983.For her first book Zimmerman coauthored, with Felice N...
developed the thesis that the scandal underscored the shifting status of women in the military and particularly the role of women in combat
Women in combat
Women in the military have a history that extends over 4,000 years into the past, throughout a vast number of cultures and nations. Women have played many roles in the military, from ancient warrior women, to the women currently serving in conflicts....
.
The controversy was dramatized in the 1995 TV film She Stood Alone: The Tailhook Scandal. Since the scandal, women have become more accepted as aviators in the US Navy's aviation community.
Criticism
The aftermath of the scandal was not without controversy. Many conservatives and retired officers alleged that in ending the careers of over 300 officers, the Clinton administration had gone far beyond punishing wrongdoers and had used the scandal as a pretext for carrying out a purge of the officer corps. Former Navy Secretary James WebbJames Webb
James Webb, Jim Webb or Jimmy Webb may refer to:Public service*James B. Webb, known as J. B. Webb , influential in shaping Australia's international relations and aid during the 1950s, 60s and 70s*James E...
, speaking at the Naval Academy
Naval Academy
-Institutions:* The United States Naval Academy* The Indian Naval Academy of India* The Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy of Bulgaria* The Imperial Japanese Naval Academy* The École Navale of France* The Britannia Royal Naval College of the United Kingdom...
said, "when the Tailhook investigation began, and certain political elements used the incident to bring discredit on naval aviation as a whole, and then on the Navy writ large, one is entitled to ask... Who fought this? Who condemned it? When a whole generation of officers is asked to accept ... the destruction of the careers of some of the finest aviators in the Navy based on hearsay, unsubstantiated allegations, in some cases after a full repudiation of anonymous charges that resemble the worst elements of McCarthyism ... what admiral has had the courage to risk his own career by putting his stars on the table, and defending the integrity of the process and of its people?"
Another former SecNav, John Lehman
John Lehman
John F. Lehman, Jr. is an American investment banker and writer who served as Secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration and in 2003–04 was a member of the 9/11 Commission....
, "condemned the Clinton White House for imposing policies of 'political correctness' on the Navy and the Senate Armed Services Committee for impeding the career advancements of officers linked to the 1991 Tailhook sexual assault scandal. It is 'terribly damaging to the very fiber of the Navy as an institution, this continuing attack from so many quarters'... Officers were victims of media 'character assassination.' Following what should have been a minor story, he said, '14 admirals have been cashiered, 300 naval aviators have been driven out of the Navy or their careers terminated.'"
Writing in Reason, Jack Kammer said "This is not to deny that some unsuspecting women were caught in activities they understandably found offensive. But after Lt. Paula Coughlin captured the media with her unquestioned, though questionable, claim that she was among the truly unsuspecting and offended ones, women's activists began to spin Tailhook like a top. Following their success with the Dreyer incident, they insisted that the drunken aviators in Las Vegas represented a widespread culture of oppression and hostility toward military women. How did the Navy defend itself? By hoisting a white flag."
Many officers raised the case of decorated Blue Angels
Blue Angels
The United States Navy's Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, popularly known as the Blue Angels, was formed in 1946 and is currently the oldest formal flying aerobatic team...
commanding officer Bob Stumpf, who was denied promotion and retired simply for having gone to Tailhook '91 to receive an award. . Stumpf himself has decried the post-Tailhook climate and its effect on morale and readiness: "[T]he essence of that warrior culture has been severely diluted in this decade. Politically inspired social edicts enforced since Tailhook '91 have rendered a ready room atmosphere so different now that it is nearly unrecognizable... Pilots are hampered in their ability to train as warriors by the policies of their senior leaders. They are faced with social experimentation and double standards in training. Experienced pilots are forced to qualify certain trainees who may or may not demonstrate established quality standards. This leads to distrust and resentment, two powerfully harmful factors in terms of unit morale, and thus military effectiveness."
John Lehman, in 2011, lamented what he considered to be a negative legacy from Tailhook on the Navy's aviation culture. Lehman felt that the scandal had removed the necessary swagger and confidence from the Navy's aviation culture and replaced it with a focus on integrating women and, more recently, homosexuality.