Navy SEALs

Disney Withdraws 'SEAL Team 6' Trademark Application

Eric Lach | May 26, 2011, 10:04AM

Out of "deference" to the Navy, Walt Disney Co. has withdrawn an application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for use of the term "SEAL Team 6," a company spokesman told The Wall Street Journal.

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Pentagon

Military Personnel Say Pentagon Ignores Sexual Assaults, Harassment (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | February 16, 2011, 11:57AM

Sec. of Defense Robert Gates

Veterans and active-duty service members filed a federal lawsuit this week alleging that the Pentagon has turned a blind eye to a hostile military culture that has resulted in sexual harassment and rapes.

The lawsuit, filed by civil litigator Susan Burke in Virginia, notes that there's been an increase in reports of sexual abuse in the military and that Pentagon leadership hasn't done enough about it.

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Owen Honors

Navy Blocks Retirement Of Admiral Over Video Flap

Rachel Slajda | January 13, 2011, 1:22PM

A still from one of Capt. Owen Honors' videos.

As the Navy continues its investigation into who knew what (and when) about the crude videos made by a ship captain, it has delayed the pending retirement of one of the captain's superiors.

The Navy earlier this month fired Capt. Owen Honors from his position as commander of the U.S.S. Enterprise, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, after videos he had made in 2006 and 2007 surfaced. The videos, which he made when he was the executive officer, or second in command, of the Enterprise, include gay slurs, mock masturbation and other crude subject matter.

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Owen Honors

Navy Captain Officially Fired From Command Over Videos

Rachel Slajda | January 4, 2011, 4:38PM

A still from one of Capt. Owen Honors' videos.

The Navy announced this afternoon that it has fired Capt. Owen Honors from his post as commander of the USS Enterprise over crude videos he made in 2006 and 2007.

Honors has been re-assigned to administrative duties.

"The responsibility of the commanding officer for his or her command is absolute," Adm. John Harvey, commander of the Navy's Fleet Forces Command, said in a statement released this afternoon. "While Captain Honors' performance as commanding officer of U.S.S. Enterprise has been without incident, his profound lack of good judgment and professionalism while previously serving as executive officer on Enterprise calls into question his character and completely undermines his credibility to continue to serve effectively in command."

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Owen Honors

Navy Captain Who Made Crude Videos Temporarily Relieved Of Command

Rachel Slajda | January 4, 2011, 9:34AM

A still from one of Capt. Owen Honors' videos.

Capt. Owen Honors, the Navy commander who made a series of videos rife with anti-gay slurs and mock masturbation, will be temporarily relieved of his command of the USS Enterprise, NBC News reports.

Honors made the videos a few years ago, when he was second in command of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. They were publicized this weekend by the Virginian-Pilot newspaper, prompting an investigation by the Navy.

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Navy

Nuke-Powered Ship Commander Under Navy Investigation For Raunchy Vids

Rachel Slajda | January 3, 2011, 10:12AM

A still from one of Capt. Owen Honors' videos.

In 2006 and 2007, Navy Capt. Owen Honors, now the commander of the USS Enterprise, made a series of videos using Navy equipment and showed them to the 6,000 sailors on his ship. In the videos, the then-executive officer of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier calls his "alternate personality" a "fag," shows two women showering and drops the F-bomb many, many times.

After a series of complaints from those who found the "XO Movie Nights" offensive, his higher-ups told him to cut it out. But he was apparently never officially disciplined.

Now, with selections from the weekly videos published by the Virginian-Pilot newspaper over the weekend, the Navy says it is investigating the videos.

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Defense Department

In The Navy Of The 1970s, Syphilis Was A Cartoon Vampire (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | December 14, 2010, 12:06PM

Sometimes a cartoon vampire named Count Spirochete* is the only way to get sailors to use protection.

In 1973, the Navy made a 20-minute animated movie warning sailors -- in graphic detail -- about the dangers of venereal disease. The plot: The annual Communicable Disease of the Year Awards sees a huge upset when Venereal Disease, represented by the syphilis-carrying Count Spirochete, wins the coveted Fourth Horseman award over diphtheria and smallpox.

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Nicholas Bickle

Feds Say 'Rogue Navy SEAL' Smuggled Iraqi Machine Guns

Eric Lach | November 5, 2010, 3:49PM

U.S. Navy Seals

Federal agents arrested a Navy SEAL on Wednesday in San Diego, CA, on charges that he and two other men smuggled firearms from Iraq and possibly Afghanistan to sell them on the black market.

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Eric Massa

'Massa Massage': Ex-Shipmates Details Alleged Sexual Misconduct By Massa

Justin Elliott | March 10, 2010, 3:45PM

Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)

Former Navy shipmates of ex-Rep. Eric Massa tell the Atlantic that he several times made aggressive, unwanted advances on subordinates.

A sample allegation from the story:

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Eric Massa

WaPo: Massa Allegedly Groped Multiple Staffers

Justin Elliott | March 9, 2010, 3:07PM

Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)

The Washington Post cites three anonymous sources who say that former Rep. Eric Massa has been under investigation for allegedly groping multiple male staffers over a period of "at least a year."

And Politico is reporting that Massa also allegedly "conducted himself improperly with interns."

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Navy

Massa Recalls Sexual Misconduct Allegation From Navy Days (AUDIO)

Justin Elliott | March 8, 2010, 12:50PM

Sailors participate in a "crossing the line" ceremony. Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) inset.

In the same radio monologue in which he admitted telling a male staffer, "what I really ought to be doing is fracking you," Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) defiantly recounted a misconduct allegation from his past that arose after he walked in on a Navy roommate masturbating.

The incident occurred during Desert Storm when Massa, who served for 24 years in the Navy, was based on a ship in the Persian Gulf. He was assigned to watch duty, Massa said on the radio show Sunday. One day, Massa came back early to the small room he shared with another crew member.

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John Murtha

Murtha-Tied Military Contractor Barred From Federal Contracts -- Again

Justin Elliott | January 6, 2010, 10:56AM

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA)

Kuchera Defense Systems, a Pennsylvania contractor closely tied to Rep. John Murtha and his military earmark machine, has again been barred from getting government contracts, Politico reports.

The Navy put Kuchera on a banned list in December in response to allegations that the company paid kickbacks to win part of an earmark awarded by Murtha to another company. Those allegations arose in a fraud trial for two ex Air Force officers that resulted in convictions last year.

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