Posted on 12/04/2009 11:19:01 AM PST by GATOR NAVY
The commanding officer and top enlisted sailor serving on the Norfolk-based destroyer James E. Williams were relieved of command today after numerous cases of fraternization among the crew and allegations of sexual assault.
Cmdr. Paul Marquis, skipper of the Williams, was assigned to administrative duty by Capt. Robert C. Barwis, the commander of Destroyer Squadron 26, according to a Navy spokesman. Master Chief Timothy Youell, who served as the command master chief on the Williams, also has been reassigned to an administrative job.
The actions come in the wake of nine fraternization cases between senior and junior enlisted personnel on the Williams, said Lt. Cmdr. Phil Rosi, a spokesman for the Navy’s Fleet Forces Command. Nine sailors on the Williams received nonjudicial punishment in November for fraternization, a military term for relationships that do not respect differences in rank. The military forbids “unduly familiar” relationships between officers and enlisted sailors, as well as between senior and junior enlisted personnel.
“Such a large number of fraternization cases in one command is a clear indication of a leadership failure,” Adm. J.C. Harvey Jr., commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, said in a news release. Authority requires both responsibility and accountability, Harvey said, and nobody trusts leaders who think they can’t be held accountable for their actions.
“This leadership failure fostered a command climate that allowed the fraternization to occur. ... The commanding officer and command master chief are being held accountable for the fraternization that occurred on their watch.”
The Navy said it has conducted separate investigations into allegations of sexual assault aboard the Williams, and charges have been filed. A pending Article 32 investigation – the military equivalent of a preliminary hearing – will determine whether to take those cases to courts-martial.
(Excerpt) Read more at hamptonroads.com ...
LOL...not in the least. Simply that the needs of good order and discipline are critical to the military, and consequently some acts that civilians perceive as minor, inoffensive or trivial are taken much more seriously in the military, to the point that they do in fact, constitute criminal behavior.
LOL! I had the same sort of extreme satisfaction watching a CO of mine get relieved. Old Pig Face had it coming also.
On the other hand, I watched good sailors absolutely ruined for small stuff by someone who disliked them. Depended on the Division, Department, XO and CO. What someone in AS Div skated on, someone in M Div was keelhauled for.
Old Pig Face? I can only imagine. I seem to remember CO’s becoming d*ck’s with ears when I made Chief. Old Pig Face definitely brought a smile to my face. Thanks.
I’ve seen that too...IMHO, it’s not a flaw in the system, just the people working it. Civilians get rail-roaded in court too, but yeah....the military’s a small community and once you’re on somebody’s sh!t-list, it can be hard to get off it.
I wouldn’t say I was ruined, but it took me 10 years to make Chief and that’s where I stayed for the next ten. I think I took the Chief Petty Officer creed too much to heart. I’m looking at it now. It’s right above my monitor. “These privileges, these responsibilities, do not appear in print, they have no official standing, they cannot be referred to by name, number, or file. They exist because for over 200 years chiefs before you have freely accepted responsibility beyond the call of printed assignment, and have by their actions and by their performance demanded the respect of their seniors, as well as their juniors. I’ll never forget that day I put on those anchors.
Absolutely the people working it. Petty tyrants with a LOT of power. Thank goodness most senior military folks are good, honest and fair. The bad ones can make life hell though.
From my last 9 years I wouldn’t say most. 5 of the last 8 O’s I worked for meaning DIVO’s non LDO’s, DH’s and CO’s, not including XO’s were POS’s. Holy Cow too many acronyms. Earth to Me, come back to civilian life. : )
What’s up. You guys moved on to Tiger Woods and his daddy?
Even with all the BS, I do not regret the 12 years that I served. Although, there were times during my service that I thought I would regret it.
I’ve gotten past most of the lingo, with the exception of the verbal punctuation (cussing) when excited or angry.
Damn. I’m too F-up’D. That’s it. we’re done. Merry Christmas.
Only if they want to get shot.
I never heard it called that.
brownsfan? Me too. Since 1968. I feel for you. Yes they do deserve.
Concur.
Even if it doesn't, it's distracting, and that can be deadly on a warship. I want that young man's eyes glued to the radar screen, not watching some girl's chest.
In my 20 years in the Nav, that depended on who you were.
Rosi would not comment on the nature of the Williams' fraternization cases, but said that nine sailors received non-judicial punishment for fraternization. Five were male chief petty officers, he said, and four were female junior enlisted sailors: one first class petty officer, two second class petty officers and one third class petty officer.
Idiots. Old enough to know to keep their zippers up.
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