Retirement on hold while Navy probes lewd videos

[Tx4obama]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Navy is preventing a former commander of the USS Enterprise from retiring from the service until officials can finish an investigation into the showing of lewd videos on the ship.

It is the second known personnel action taken in the case in which videos with anti-gay slurs, profanity and suggestive shower scenes were shown to the crew in 2006 and 2007.

Officials indefinitely deferred the planned Feb. 1 retirement of Rear Adm. Lawrence Rice, top officer on the ship during part of that time, and assigned him to Fleet Forces Command, which is handling the probe, Rear Adm. Dennis Moynihan, a Navy spokesman, said Thursday. Rice had been working at Joint Forces Command and had been scheduled to transition to retirement.

The move follows last week's decision to relieve Capt. Owen Honors of his command of the Enterprise and transfer him to an administrative job. Honors produced, starred in and showed the video on ship "movie nights" as a morale booster while he was second-in-command on the carrier. He later returned to the ship as commander.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_LEWD_NAVY_VIDEO?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-01-13-13-25-03

[bluescribbler]

1. Conduct unbecoming an officer

The XOs on the ships on which I served would never have thought that behavior acceptable. They knew better than to try to be a "friend" to the crew. Popularity is not part of the job description.

:kick: & R

[WestSeattle2]

3. Poor leadership. The XO probably has many redeeming

qualities, but boy did he exhibit poor judgement. The fact that Navy brass knew about this for years and did nothing, does not speak well of any of them.

[Downwinder]

2. In the tradition of "Mr. Roberts."