THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 9, 1995 TAG: 9511090376
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DANA PRIEST, THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
A drunken Navy chief petty officer aboard a commercial airline flight out of Norfolk allegedly groped a female sailor seated next to him while other sailors who heard the woman scream and curse did not act to stop the abuse, according to military sources.
The 20 or so other sailors on the Oct. 27 flight, from Norfolk to Alameda, Calif., included a chaplain, who is a lieutenant commander, and one other officer, the sources said. Navy officials are trying to determine why the group allegedly did nothing to intercede other than look over their shoulders and ask the woman, a 3rd class petty officer, if she was all right.
The reported incident has infuriated some Navy officials in Washington, who did not receive word of the matter through regular reporting channels but through inquiries by The Washington Post. They said they fear that, with the Tailhook sexual-assault scandal only four years behind them and after a much-touted campaign against sexual harassment, naval personnel still do not recognize or react properly to grossly offensive acts.
``You've got to exercise leadership,'' said one Navy official with knowledge of the case. ``I'm concerned that (the sailors) didn't recognize (the problem) and take effective action.''
The alleged sexual assault took place on the first leg of an American Airlines flight from Norfolk to Dallas to Alameda. It is under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, said Lt. Cmdr. Bruce Cole, spokesman for the Navy Surface Forces Command Pacific in San Diego, where the investigation is taking place.
``The Navy has a policy of zero tolerance (of sexual harassment) and we're investigating it,'' Cole said.
The alleged offender was identified by sources as Chief Petty Officer George Powell, 49, a cook. Chief petty officers in the Navy are senior enlisted people, roughly equivalent to sergeants first class in the Army.
The 23-year-old woman screamed, used harsh language and at one point tried to push Powell out of his seat, according to military sources who were not aboard the flight but are familiar with the incident. When colleagues asked if the woman was all right, she answered that she was trying to handle the matter herself. Some civilians on the flight also offered to change seats.
At no time, apparently, did either of the two naval officers directly confront Powell.
At another point, an Air Force colonel on board stood in the aisle and demanded that the senior Navy officer present take charge. The alleged harassment stopped when Powell left his seat and the Navy chaplain, who was aware of what had happened, sat in it.
Sources said the chaplain told the woman he would report the incident as a ``misunderstanding,'' an interpretation that the woman contested.
Cole declined comment on the details of the case, except to say that ``if substantiated statements are made'' that other sailors failed to take appropriate action ``that could become part of the investigation.''
In Washington, Navy spokesman Cmdr. Stephen Pietropaoli said, ``We take these matters very seriously. . . . In this case, the allegation goes beyond sexual harassment to assault.'' He said the Navy had offered counseling and other support services to the alleged victim.
Since the 1991 Tailhook scandal, in which naval aviators at the annual Tailhook convention groped female colleagues, the Navy has had an aggressive campaign to purge harassing behavior from its ranks. It sends all personnel to workshops, distributes handbooks and is proud of its ``green light-red light'' program that encourages people to use the stoplight metaphor in situations that make them uncomfortable.
An American Airlines spokesman in Washington said he was unable to find a record of the incident. Military sources said the crew was aware of the problem.
Most or all of the sailors were part of the crew of the Samuel Gompers, a destroyer tender that was being decommissioned. Most of the sailors were en route to new assignments.
Charges have not been filed against Powell, a senior cook aboard the ship. He could not be reached for comment, as Navy public-affairs officers who tried to locate him said he was on routine leave.
The woman also could not be reached for comment.
KEYWORDS: NAVY SEXUAL HARASSMENT INVESTIGATION by CNB