Destroyer captain stripped of command and removed from ship for failing to stop male and female crew members from having sex

Karl D. writes:

A U.S. Navy destroyer steaming towards Libya faces a fresh sex scandal. It seems male and female sailors were getting drunk on shore leave and sleeping with each other. Gee, what a shock. Commanding officer Nathan Borchers and female Master Chief Susan Bruce-Ross have been relieved of their duties and removed from the ship for not properly overseeing their sailors. So it is not the sexual integration of the armed forces that comes into question, but the officers themselves for not dousing their subordinates with ice water at every given chance. Why would any man in his right mind want to make a career in the Navy? He could study for years, climb through the ranks and be the future Nimitz, only to have it snapped away in an instant because some young sailor he has never even seen decided to steal a moment away with his female counterpart. Sheer madness.

Here’s the article, from the Mail, which covers so many stories on the insanities of American liberalism which the U.S. media ignore (my response to Karl follows the article):

Sex scandal rocks U.S. Libya mission as Navy officers in charge of destroyer are removed from ship

Two U.S. Navy officers in charge of a warship bound for Libya have been removed over a sex and alcohol scandal among their sailors.

The commanding officer, Nathan Borchers, and the command master chief, Susan Bruce-Ross, have been relieved of their duties on board the USS Stout over what the Navy described as a ‘loss of confidence in their ability to lead’.

They were kicked off after a group of sailors on their ship were caught having inappropriate relationships with other crew members and behaving badly while drunk in ports.

Borchers and Bruce-Ross were not directly involved in any of the incidents, the Navy said.

Removed: Cmdr Nathan Borchers has been relieved of his duties on board the USS Stout over crew misconduct

The guided-missile destroyer is currently stationed in the Mediterranean and poised to respond to the crisis in Libya if needed.

The Navy said Borchers and Bruce-Ross had failed to properly oversee members of their ship who were involved in misconduct while in ports at various locations in Europe.

A Navy spokesman told MailOnline that a group of sailors had been found guilty of fraternisation and drunk and disorderly.

‘Fraternisation is the inappropriate relationship between two service members, generally between higher and lower-ranking sailors,’ the spokesman said. ‘The Navy has a very strict policy on this.

‘Some of the sailors had also been involved in conduct out in town that was inappropriate and involved the consumption of alcohol.’

The issues had affected morale on board, he added.

Since leaving its home port in Virginia on December 15, the Stout has docked in Haifa in Israel, Souda Bay in Crete, Augusta Bay in Sicily and Palermo in Sicily.

‘The relief of Borchers occurred due to a loss of confidence in his ability to address a pervasive pattern of unprofessional behaviour in overseas ports and a substandard command climate on board following an investigation into multiple allegations of crew misconduct,’ the Navy said in a statement.

‘We hold our leaders to a high standard,’ they added. ‘Our nation expects no less and our sailors deserve no less.’

An officer, five chiefs and a petty officer were also removed from the ship ‘following non-judicial punishment proceedings for misconduct during incidents that occurred while on liberty ashore’.

‘Offences included fraternisation, orders violations and disregard for naval standards of conduct and behaviour which contributed to poor crew morale and a hostile command climate,’ the Navy said.

Orders violations includes such offences as not returning to ship on time or leaving behind a ‘liberty buddy’—a colleague who accompanies a soldier in port, the spokesman said.

Another chief has been removed from the ship for further legal proceedings.

Today, biographical information and photos of Borchers and Bruce-Ross were removed from the ship’s website and replaced with an ‘under construction’ notice.

Borchers has been replaced by Captain Dan Shaffer, who will serve until the next commanding officer reports to the ship.

Bruce-Ross’s duties will be carried out by Master Chief Jay Wood until a relief arrives on board.

- end of initial entry -

LA to Karl:

Just remarkable. And the way you have analyzed it gets to the heart of the problem. Liberal society refuses as a matter of principle to acknowledge obvious and important differences, such as the differences between the sexes, then it punishes the innocent for the existence of those differences.

LA writes:

From the article:

“We hold our leaders to a high standard,” the Navy added. “Our nation expects no less and our sailors deserve no less.”

Translation:

“We hold our leaders to a high standard,” the Navy added. “We put them in charge of floating singles bars which are at sea for months at a time, and then we expect them to prevent any sexual interactions between male and female crew members. Our nation expects no less and our male and female floating singles bar patrons deserve no less.”

Sophia A. writes:

Karl D. wrote:

“A U.S. Navy destroyer steaming towards Libya faces a fresh sex scandal.”

Steaming? You betcha!

I think Karl should have thought of a better verb, although I admit that finding the right one is a challenge. “Heading”? … Hmm.

But seriously folks, do you think it is possible that, in addition to the natural hormonal cues sloshing around in an isolated, mixed-sex environment, the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” might not turn out to be an even further encouragement to sexual activity? As in, “Me, gay? Let me prove to you what a lie that is!!”

Just wondering.

Laura Wood writes:

Many of the people at those singles bars are married. Imagine how their spouses back home feel when they go on shore leave.

James P. writes:

The article says,

“The Navy said Borchers and Bruce-Ross had failed to properly oversee members of their ship who were involved in misconduct while in ports at various locations in Europe.”

The sailors weren’t on the ship when they “misbehaved”—they were off the ship in port! I grant you that the commander is, in principle, responsible for what the sailors do at all times, but exactly what was he supposed to do to prevent this? Was he supposed to maintain total surveillance over his crew while they were in bars and hotels? Are his sailors adults, or children?

No captain should ever allow his sailors liberty if their having sex while on liberty results in the captain being punished. This is something sailors notoriously do while in port! He can’t possibly stop them, and it’s not even clear why he should want to stop them.

Doug H. writes:

This is nothing new for anyone who has spent time in the military. There was a saying in all units I was in that stated, what happens on TDY (temporary duty, usually away from home), stays on TDY. I was in one unit where we deployed in tents in field conditions. It was an Air Force unit. We wouldn’t be gone more than a couple of nights before the cloths were flying off. We had a female major who tried to have sex with just about every enlisted person she could. She was married to a LTC. She got fired from our unit (moved off to another unit and promoted because daddy was a general). She eventually let all this catch up with her and she was prosecuted. I won’t go into detail about all the gay activity. I will say the military is eroding quickly. I feel for my son-in-law who is currently serving in the Army.

LA replies:

When did this happen? And was this female major having sex with male or female enlisted persons?

Larry T. writes:

Regarding your post on the USS Stout, drunkenness and debauchery have characterized shore leave for sea-goers since time immemorial. While a ship’s captain may be responsible for the conduct of his crew, I don’t see how he can control what they do on shore leave. Karl D.’s observation is correct. Regarding “liberty buddies,” I have a good friend who served aboard a nuclear submarine. When the sub stopped at Hong Kong, the sailors were given shore leave. A sailor with a highly classified job? I don’t recall exactly what he did, but it may have had something to do with top-secret codes or weapon targeting systems, was accompanied on liberty by an armed guard. The guard’s job was to shoot and kill the sailor with the special knowledge if it appeared he was being kidnapped by the Chicoms.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 02, 2011 05:54 PM | Send