Sailors discharged after accused of creating sexually explicit list

KINGS BAY, Ga. — Two local sailors have been discharged from the military after being accused of creating a sexually explicit list of women with whom they serve.

According to the U.S. Navy, sailors on board a Navy submarine ranked female crew members by their attractiveness and shared lewd and inappropriate comments about the women. The Navy said the sailors had a list of 32 women onboard. The submarine was only the second to include women.

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The Navy said it has completed audits and assessments, held seminars and updated its policy. It said, “The crew and leadership have performed well and corrective actions have been effective.”

The discovery of the sexually explicit list follows a 2014 scandal involving female officers on another Kings Bay submarine who were secretly recorded while they undressed.

The Navy said additional administrative actions were taken against other members of the command for their mishandling of the report. The commanding officer was discharged.

Here is the full statement from the Navy: 

"CAPT Chris Nash, Commander, Submarine Squadron 16- (The next in CAPT Kercher's chain of command)

"As a result of the investigation, the ship created a detailed Plan of Actions and Milestones (POAM) which was briefed to their chain of command, Commander, Submarine Squadron 16 (CSS-16) and approved by Rear Adm. Jeff Jablon, the previous Commander, Submarine Group 10. This POAM included a complete audit of the command's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) and Command Managed Equal Opportunity (CMEO) programs. Additional actions included cultural seminars at all levels of leadership, all hands calls, updated liberty policy, divisional level discussions, increased morale activities, comprehensive reviews of personnel programs and the command recognition system, increased interaction with Sailors' families, and improvements to the mentorship programs.

"A command climate assessment was completed by Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic in September 2018, and a follow-on command climate assessment was completed by Submarine Squadron 16 in February 2019 with the oversight of Commander, Submarine Group 10's leadership. The most recent command climate assessment was done during Florida Gold's deployment and included interviews with the crew and one-on-one interactions. The assessment found the climate onboard Florida Gold has improved and no follow actions were recommended.  A follow-on Submarine Culture Workshop will be held in June 2019, and the command will continue to monitor and reevaluate the command climate. -  Commodore Chris Nash, Submarine Squadron 16

"The crew and leadership have performed well and corrective actions have been effective. The Florida Gold crew recently returned from an overseas deployment having successfully supported two Combatant Commands over the last four months.  I am proud of this crew and the progress that they made in the months following this event.

"All Sailors understand their obligation to serve with fidelity and integrity worthy of the nation's confidence.  We are expected to uphold high standards of character and conduct and treat fellow shipmates with the utmost dignity and respect regardless of gender.  Those that fall short of this standard, and that violate the trust of a Shipmate, will be held accountable.

"We take allegations of derogatory activity extremely seriously, especially when those allegations involve a breach of trust and confidence among our Sailors.  Once notified, our Force leadership responded quickly, investigated, and held those responsible fully accountable for their actions. - Vice Adm. Chas Richard, Commander, Submarine Forces

"After a thorough review of the Force, I am confident that this was an isolated event, and not at all reflective of the overall outstanding performance and behavior of our Submariners force-wide or of the culture onboard other submarines.  While I cannot guarantee that an incident such as this will never happen again, I can guarantee that we will continue to enforce our high standards of conduct and character in the Force.  I expect every Submariner to treat one another with dignity and respect, and will hold our personnel accountable if they fall short of our standard. – Vice Adm. Chas Richard, Commander, Submarine Forces."

Cox Media Group