Posted on 04/15/2006 11:18:36 AM PDT by SmithL
Bremerton -- Seven sailors from the submarine USS Columbus face special courts-martial in connection with alleged assaults and hazing of two fellow crew members.
One victim allegedly was attacked over a seven-month period ending in March, when he reported the incidents to Naval Base Kitsap security and to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
His five alleged assailants are charged with various offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The charges include assault, hazing and dereliction of duty, according to Lt. Herlinda Rojas, a Navy spokeswoman.
The five sailors range in rank from third to first class petty officer. A sixth sailor, a senior chief petty officer, allegedly failed to report the abuse, Rojas said.
All of the sailors involved are electronics technicians or machinists mates who shared a workspace at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton. Columbus, a fast-attack submarine based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, has been at PSNS for maintenance since September 2004.
The names of the alleged perpetrators, details about the charges and possible penalties were not available Friday.
Three of the sailors are currently in pre-trial custody, in the brig at Bangor submarine base, Rojas said.
The original NCIS investigation focused on the first victim, a petty officer third class, Rojas said.
During that investigation, NCIS officers uncovered a separate alleged assault involving a second victim, she said. A seventh sailor, a petty officer third class, is charged in that case.
An official Navy instruction updated in July 2005 defines hazing as "any activity which is cruel, abusive, humiliating, oppressive, demeaning, or harmful."
The instruction also acknowledges hazing has been a part of Navy ceremonies, initiations and rites of passage in the past, but that it "is contrary to our core values of honor, courage and commitment."
Steely-eyed Killers of the Deep Active Ping
Yeah.....and there are always those who decide to take such "initiations" WAAAAAAY too far, then call the victims "pu**ies" if they complain. I have no stomach for such.
How did Sir Winston Churchill define the mainstays of the Naval discipline? "Rum, lash and sodomy"?
Anything that goes on for seven months can hardly be considered any sort of "initiation". Sure, 'the new guy' is likely to catch some good-natured grief for his first day, possibly two, but at that point it ends.
For surface sailor newbies 'mail buoy' watch was always a possibility. Not sure about submariners, they probably have an equivalent.
idea for a sam jackson movie: Snakes on a Sub
Well, as far as this being a suggestion, the U.S. Navy doesn't allow rum, the lash is not permitted by the UCMJ, and as for the latter, I'm sure you won't tell if they don't tell...
*sigh* The sissification of the Navy continues...
Rum, buggery and the lash...
Now, see for yourself: the rum rations of the offenders would be distributed to the rest of the crew, but in a way of compensation they would get the double doses of the rest.
Rocked in the cradle of the deep
Me hair is made of hemp
I'm hard I am I is I are
When I spits, I spits tar!
Anybody know what was involved here...Simple Crow tacking or something really bad? It's gotta be physical with the assualt charge.
I'm sure glad I'm retired. I would probably have been arrested many times for hazing. Sub Qualification, Crossing the Equator. Crossing the Equator at the Meridian, Chief Petty Officer. Dang. I guess I had all the good times before PC and now we know we were so bad.
Wonder why?
Cuz if they wrote any of it down, it would sound completely stupid and inane and unworthy of administrative consideration. There would be no cases of physical striking, or kicking, or whatever.
Just "hurt feelings" and gay $hit like that.
I managed to endure getting my crow and dolphins tacked-on, as well as initiation, but rumors are that there was MUCH more involved here. I refer you to The Stupid Shall Be Punished, especially the comments.
With what we know so far, I'm not ready to call this political correctness run amok or a keelhaulable offense. I want more information.
Thanks for the link. Wonder what was going on back there in Nuke land?
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