THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 13, 1995 TAG: 9511130044
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Long : 114 lines
Navy people will get a day of lectures and presentations on sexual harassment and other discipline problems, led by everyone from senior admirals to chief petty officers, when their commands conduct a service-wide ``stand down'' ordered last week by the nation's top admiral.
In a message sent over the weekend to flag officers, unit commanders and other commanding officers, Adm. Mike Boorda, the chief of naval operations, stressed that the ``day of reflection'' should focus on preventing problems.
``If we do this stand down in a way that does not acknowledge the great performance of the majority, we will be making a great mistake,'' Boorda said. ``Instead, I want you to acknowledge from the start that most are doing all they can in this regard.''
Boorda's 10-page missive orders commanders to conduct the stand down by Dec. 8.
``I would have liked to specify a particular date for the entire Navy, but that isn't possible given the varying schedules and responsibilities you have,'' he wrote.
The admiral said each commanding officer should make a presentation to his or her entire chain of command, with ``follow-on presentations by each level of the chain . . . ending with a presentation by the appropriate chief petty officer and/or leading petty officer.''
Boorda said the discussions should include a review of each command's or each ship's disciplinary record, including numbers and types of cases and how they've impacted the command's work. Each leader also should give his or her subordinates ``a clear statement of standards for your command,'' discuss the responsibility of each person to take care of others, and focus on the impact of alcohol and drug abuse on discipline problems, Boorda said.
``Outside speakers are not desired,'' Boorda stressed. ``The chain of command is responsible for good order and discipline in the command and those in the chain of command are best qualified to talk about it in a positive and mission-oriented way.''
The stand down will be the first such Navy-wide pause in activity since 1992. Then, as now, the Navy was reacting to allegations of sexual misconduct.
Boorda ordered the stand down after The Washington Post reported allegations that a drunken chief petty officer sexually groped a female sailor during a flight last month from Norfolk to the West Coast. Up to 20 other Navy people on the plane allegedly failed to intercede to stop the incident.
The 1992 stand down was ordered in the wake of similar but far more widespread and aggressive assaults on women attending a 1991 convention of naval aviators in Las Vegas. At that gathering of the Tailhook Association, women in one hotel corridor were forced to fight their way through a gantlet of drunken aviators who grabbed at their breasts and buttocks.
The 1992 stand down signaled the beginning of a tougher Navy response to harassment and was followed by efforts to open additional jobs in the service to women.
But many Navy people, Boorda acknowledged last week, resented being forced to sit through lectures and attend seminars because of problems in other commands. A positive approach by commanding officers this time should prevent such attitudes from cropping up again, he said. MEMO: EXCERPTS FROM BOORDA'S MESSAGE
``Talking about equipment, a commanding officer will always try to do
preventive maintenance whenever possible and avoid the need for
corrective maintenance because something has failed. People are a lot
more important than equipment. Don't they deserve the same preventive,
vice corrective, approach? The answer is clearly: Yes, they do.
``I am seeing some signs that as good as we are, and we are very
good, it is time for all of us to do a little preventive work.''
"We have tens of thousands of young men and women, and some not so
young, who serve in our Navy with every expectation on our part, and on
theirs, of great service and success who experience just the opposite -
disciplinary infractions and punishments, quite often records of
punishment that will stay with them the rest of their lives. We can, we
will, do better.''
"I want you to be very careful to let your people know that this
emphasis is not meant as a punishment or statement that all are somehow
deficient and that those who are doing well (again, the vast majority)
are in a position to help others. We want our Navy to be as good as it
can be and that means all of us must be involved in the solutions to the
problems that face us all as leaders and as members of the Navy
family.''
"The stand down will consist of a presentation by the
commander/commanding officer/officer-in-charge and follow-on
presentations by each level of the chain of command, ending with a
presentation by the appropriate chief petty officer and/or leading petty
officer . . .
``During the good order and discipline stand down, the command will
cease, to the greatest extent possible, all other activities. Focus on
this issue.
``This is to be a chain of command event, conducted by the chain of
command in a straightforward manner. Outside speakers are not
desired.''
"What I want stressed here is responsibility, responsibility of the
leader to set standards and assist others in achieving them,
responsibilities of leaders to help subordinates succeed,
responsibilities of individuals to adhere to standards of good order and
discipline, responsibilities of shipmates for each other to avoid and
stop problems before they get out of hand . . .
``This chain of command approach is intended to take the subject from
a command level right down to an individual responsibility level in a
way that includes every officer and enlisted person, from the CO to the
newest seaman.''
ILLUSTRATION: Adm. Mike Boorda wants discussions to stress prevention.
KEYWORDS: SEXUAL HARASSMENT STAND DOWN NAVY by CNB