First Female Submariners Taped in Showers

Navy criminal investigators are looking into who secretly filmed female officers of a submarine crew while they were showering and changing clothes aboard the USS Wyoming's unisex heads.

Petty officers recording female shipmates in showers, really? Really guys?!  It's noteworthy that this is the first submarine to have women serving onboard, and these are the first female submariners. 

According to a Navy Times article, up to a dozen sailors are suspected of viewing secretly recorded videos of their female shipmates undressing in a submarine shower over a period of 10 months.

Navy Vice Adm. M.J. Connor wrote that "an investigation is in progress." He also noted the women affected were provided assistance and the alleged perpetrators were removed from the ship pending the investigation's results.  "The Navy has successfully integrated women into our aviation, surface warfare and expeditionary warfare communities," Connor wrote in the letter. "It would be inaccurate to say that we achieved this without incident, but I can say unequivocally that we are a better force because of that integration."

At least official Navy acknowledges the service has had its share of "incidents" in transitioning into a seamless, fully integrated force.

AFA Cadets Rape, Smoke Pot and Cheat

Even in today's highly scrutinized and controlled environment, despicable action by young men continues.  For the latest Air Force Academy scandal as reported on military.com, click here.

Also, in January, the Defense Department released a report stating that more than two-thirds of the sexual assaults reported at the military academies in academic year 2012-13 occurred at the Air Force Academy.

The annual report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Service Academies showed that the total number of sexual assaults reported was 70 at the Air Force Academy, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and the Naval Academy in academic year 2012-13. That was a decrease from 80 reported at the academies in the previous year.  The Air Force Academy had 45 reports, the Naval Academy had 15, and West Point had 10 reports of sexual assault.

Changing the culture in the military, even for cadets and midshipmen who are just commencing their careers, is proving highly problematic many years after women were fully integrated into the armed forces.

Navy to stop SHOUTING in ALL CAPS

Graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy face a future that includes lower-case letters.

In a period of sequestration, spiking sexual assaults and controversial drones, the Navy has decided to make meaningful, substantive change . . . by altering the way its messages are typed. Since 1850, all message traffic and orders have been typed in ALL CAPS.  The Navy is altering this "annoying and rude" format to be less offensive to younger sailors. I didn't make this up; there's an article in today's Wall Street Journal.

Proposed New Law For Military Sexual Assault Prosecutions

Two lawmakers leading the fight to stop sexual assault in the military told CBS' "Face the Nation" that the military has "dropped the ball" in its handling of sexual abuse cases, touting legislation that would empower trained military prosecutors - rather than the chain of command - to investigate and adjudicate sexual assault cases.

Under her legislation, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said the decision to bring a sexual abuse case to trial would rest "with a trained military prosecutor. And in that way, there's objectivity. They're going to base it on the facts of the case and nothing else. No pressure about their own promotion. No bias, perhaps, because they know the perpetrator or know the victim." She expressed her hope that such a change would "instill more confidence by the victim, in the system, that he or she has a chance to receive justice."

Though most of the times I am against civilians in Congress with no prior service telling the military how to do their job; in this instance, the proposed legislation sounds reasonable and necessary. Now, let's hope the politics of DC don't hijack the bill.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

If it weren't so egregious, it would almost be comical...

Air Force's Sex-Abuse Prevention Chief Charged with Sexual Assault. The US Air Force's official in charge of its sexual-assault prevention program was arrested yesterday for allegedly groping a civilian. As shown in the mug shot, looks like the victim got in a few good shots of her own.

As best said by Forrest Gump, "Stupid is as stupid does." But seriously? You simply can't make this stuff up.

Air Force Porn Sweep

The Air Force announced Friday it had found hundreds of examples of pornography and tens of thousands of other inappropriate items in a recent sweep of bases and facilities worldwide.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh III in late November ordered wing commanders to scour work areas for pornographic or offensive materials that sexually objectify men or women, and for other "unprofessional" items.

Welsh's order came on the heels of media reports of sexual harassment and hostile working conditions for female airmen, and in the midst of a growing scandal centered on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, over sexual misconduct by Air Force instructors toward trainees.

The most wide-ranging category covered 27,598 "inappropriate/offensive" items. It included sexually suggestive posters in public areas, obscene cartoons and more than 200 images of aircraft nose art, some dating to World War II. Air Force Special Operations command removed several examples found in the interior of its aircraft.

"We don't want to paint over the Memphis Belle," said Air Force spokesman Maj. Joel Harper. But, he added, commanders had broad discretion to decide what crosses the line.  A complete article on the report from military.com can be found here.

Apparently, the following aircraft would have been seized if this raid were conducted in 1945 to today's standards: