THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 9, 1995 TAG: 9512090301
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
The Navy has dismissed a two-star admiral after finding him guilty of sexual harassment and other charges growing out of his relationship with an enlisted woman in his command.
Rear Adm. Ralph L. Tindal, stationed in Lisbon, Portugal, as deputy commander for NATO forces on the Iberian Peninsula, was fired from that post Tuesday after being found guilty in an admiral's mast, an administrative hearing. He also was ordered confined to quarters for 30 days and was fined half a month's pay for two months - about $8,000.
The punishments, which also include a reduction in Tindal's retirement benefits, are believed to be among the most severe ever imposed on a flag officer.
In addition to sexual harassment, Tindal, 55, was found guilty of adultery, fraternization and conduct unbecoming an officer, the Navy said.
For the Navy, the case is the latest in a string of embarrassments involving sexual harassment. It came as naval personnel around the world were completing a one-day ``stand down'' ordered by Adm. Mike Boorda, the chief of naval operations, for a review of ``good order and discipline.''
A service spokesman said that immediately following his hearing, Tindal submitted a request for retirement. Navy Secretary John H. Dalton recommended that Tindal lose one of his admiral's stars, a penalty that will lower his pension check by about $600 per month for the rest of his life.
Rear Adm. Kendell L. Pease, the Navy's chief of information, said that ``because of the gravity of the misconduct,'' Dalton also placed a formal letter of censure in Tindal's permanent record.
Pease said Tindal's punishment - ordered by Adm. Joseph W. Prueher, the vice chief of naval operations - demonstrates that ``no matter who you are . .
The Navy declined to disclose the name of the woman involved, citing privacy considerations. Those concerns apparently also were prominent in the decision to handle the case at mast rather than in a court-martial, which would have required a public trial.
A source acquainted with the charges said Tindal was accused of having a longstanding and ``largely consensual'' romantic relationship with the enlisted woman, who apparently tried recently to break off the affair. Though both parties in such service romances can be charged with fraternization, the Navy took no action against the woman, referring her for administrative counseling.
Tindal is a native of Columbus, Ohio, who spent most of his naval career on submarines. He commanded the Dace, an attack sub, from 1978-82 and the Henry M. Jackson, a ballistic missile sub, from 1984-86. He was promoted to rear admiral in 1989 and got his second star in 1992.
Tindal is the second flag officer to be forced into retirement in less than a month. Adm. Richard C. Macke, commander of all U.S. forces in the Pacific, quit in mid-November, just hours after making insensitive comments to reporters about the alleged rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by a sailor and two Marines.
Earlier this year, two other prospective flag officers were bumped from a promotion list because of sexual misconduct. A third, Capt. Everett L. Greene, was acquitted of sexual harassment and fraternization charges in a court-martial and is petitioning Dalton to let his nomination go forward.
Just this week, the Navy announced formal charges against a chief petty officer who allegedly groped an enlisted woman during a September flight from Norfolk to the west coast. That case, in which other officers are said to have failed to intercede to stop the assault, prompted Boorda to order the stand down.
The other services have not been immune from such cases. In August, the Air Force fired Lt. Gen. Thomas R. Griffith and took one of his three stars after finding him guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer. Sources said the charges grew out of an adulterous affair with a civilian woman. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Rear Adm. Ralph L. Tindal, a deputy commander for NATO forces on the
Iberian Peninsula, was stationed in Portugal.
KEYWORDS: U.S. NAVY SEXUAL HARASSMENT by CNB