The Navy said it dismissed Cmdr. Nathan Bourcher and Master Chief Susan Bruce-Ross of the USS Stout, an Arleigh Burke-class vessel, for permitting crewmen, and crewwoman, to violate Navy regulations forbidding fraternization and drunkeness while on leave in ports of call.
"A group of sailors," the Daily Mail reported, "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."
And more than the commander and his chief were forced to walk the gang plank.
According to the Daily Mail, another officer, five chiefs and petty officers were removed from the ship "following non-judicial punishment proceedings for misconduct during incidents that occurred while on liberty ashore." The Navy said,
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 Daily Mail reported that another chief faces "legal proceedings."
Not Surprising
The incident aboard the USS Stout is not unusual for the Navy or other armed forces. Incidents of sexual misconduct have been rising concomitantly with the number of women in the armed forces.
The Washington Times recently published a review of recent sexual monkeyshines in the military.
Kelly Flinn, the ballyhooed first B-52 bomber pilot in the U.S. Air Force, was discharged in 1997 after she conducted an adulterous affair with the husband of a subordinate. During the first Gulf War, 10 percent of the 360 women aboard the USS Acadia came up pregnant during the ship's seven-month deployment. It was dubbed "The Love Boat," though Navy officials said that there was no evidence that sailors on the Acadia had had prohibited sexual relations — they apparently had "flings," as Time magazine out it, while on shore leave.
The Navy has long argued that "leadership" can solve problems of illicit sexual contact between naval personnel.
Sailors from the USS Stout: AP Images
