Be careful what you say...

[TheBubba]

Why you have to be careful of what you say and where you say it


A wise SWO Capt. once said to me:
"PJ, as an officer, you need to watch your mouth, know when to speak and know when not to."

I've taken this to heart and it's been my saving grace a few times.

Don't know if the Navy's reaction is appropriate or not (due to my not knowing the details of what was said), but given the current emphasis on sexual harassment at the service academies, not suprising.

Opinions from those more enlightened (and experienced) than I?

 

[Fly Navy]

That SWO Captain is wise. With that said...

So now you can charge sexual harassment if you overheard a conversation you shouldn't have been listening to in the first place that offended you?

I want to know exactly what he said. Anyone know?

Anyone know the atmosphere there? Are there a crop of uber-sensitive females? Or is this justified?

I'll admit, without knowing exactly what he said, I'm springloaded to believe that the females are way too sensitive, because we live in a PC society and it has infected our ranks.

 

[TheBubba]

A Little Clarification In An Unclear World

Ok...

1. There are a good number of over-sensitive women at USNA, both mids and officers. Not saying all of them are, but they do exist.

For instance, I have a female classmate who was offended at toga night.. and got it secured. And we were all wearing shorts under the "togas".

A girl in my Co. a few years ago put in a complaint about one of her classmate's jock strap being on the floor. It'd fallen out of a hole in the bottom of his hockey bag and he was picking it up when she saw it.

2. The atmosphere on a YP cruise (where this happened) can vary from pretty lax to strict as all he!!. I happen to know the Midn CO of that particular boat, so my guess is that it was a pretty lax environment where the Mids and the LT routinely shot the sh!t with each other.

3. The sensitivity towards sexual harrassment at the service academies is extremely high, mostly due to what USAFA recently went through. The Supt at USNA is very intolerant of any type of sexual misconduct from anyone at USNA, and has made the point clear God only know how many times. Sexual misconduct is perhaps the worst offense you can commit under the present administration (and rightfully so)

4. I don't know what was said, so I can't speculate on that. (And my buddy can't tell b/c of his proximity to the situation.)

 

[Brett327]

That SWO Captain is wise. With that said...

So now you can charge sexual harassment if you overheard a conversation you shouldn't have been listening to in the first place that offended you?

I want to know exactly what he said. Anyone know?

Anyone know the atmosphere there? Are there a crop of uber-sensitive females? Or is this justified?

I'll admit, without knowing exactly what he said, I'm springloaded to believe that the females are way too sensitive, because we live in a PC society and it has infected our ranks.

Regardless of what he said, he should have known better, especially in the service academy climate. Having said that, taking something like this to a court-martial is also outrageous - sign of the times. Isn't diversity great?

Brett

 

[KBayDog]

Here's my (overly-simplistic, yet time-tested) opinion:

You will never be wrong if you always conduct yourself as a professional.

(Yes, you can let your hair down when in the company of your friends/comrades - the appropriate time/place rules are in effect. Just understand that we are accountable for everything we - and those under us - do/fail to do 24/7.)

 

[Fly Navy]

For instance, I have a female classmate who was offended at toga night.. and got it secured. And we were all wearing shorts under the "togas".

Wow.

A girl in my Co. a few years ago put in a complaint about one of her classmate's jock strap being on the floor. It'd fallen out of a hole in the bottom of his hockey bag and he was picking it up when she saw it.

That right there is absolutely ridiculous. Does she get offended when she sees them in a sporting goods store? It's a piece of equipment, for christ sake. It protects a very vulnerable area. I bet she leaves feminine products in view. That doesn't offend anyone. Fucking over-sensitive sissies.

3. The sensitivity towards sexual harrassment at the service academies is extremely high, mostly due to what USAFA recently went through. The Supt at USNA is very intolerant of any type of sexual misconduct from anyone at USNA, and has made the point clear God only know how many times. Sexual misconduct is perhaps the worst offense you can commit under the present administration (and rightfully so)

Wonder if USNA wants an example to prove they are tough on Sexual Harassment.

@ Brett

Oh yeah, he should have known better, for sure. But at the same time... it pisses me off to no end at what people get "offended" at. I don't just mean this instance, but in general across America.

 

[squeeze]

edit: nevermind... new site format makes it hard as shit to see hyperlinks

 

[rare21]

Regardless of what he said, he should have known better, especially in the service academy climate. Having said that, taking something like this to a court-martial is also outrageous - sign of the times. Isn't diversity great?

Brett

Brett is absolutely correct. What I've heard is that said LT said something inappropriate in regards to his ex wife and a female MIDN brought it to his attention. After saying it would not happen again she overheard him say something derogatory (a quote taken from Top Gun but replaced a jet with a battleship) in her company. A court martial is ridiculous but he should have known better.

 

[Steve Wilkins]

edit: nevermind... new site format makes it hard as shit to see hyperlinks

You don't have to use the new site format. You can still use the old one. Or...just put some glasses on.

 

[JC52083]

Here's my (overly-simplistic, yet time-tested) opinion:

You will never be wrong if you always conduct yourself as a professional.

(Yes, you can let your hair down when in the company of your friends/comrades - the appropriate time/place rules are in effect. Just understand that we are accountable for everything we - and those under us - do/fail to do 24/7.)

Well said...I am not experienced, but I have heard enough horror stories to agreee...

and you really dont wanna end up like the USAFA, do you?

 

[The Chief]

Be careful, it is a minefield out there. Sometimes it is not what you say but what you do not say.

Several years ago a colleague was subject of lawsuit, plaintiff citing "sexually offensive atmosphere in workplace". At issue were two females that made some rather lewd remarks in a public setting, supervisor allegedly did nothing, third female felt offended and filed a EEOC action. Received $32,500 out of court settlement.

 

[Brett327]

Can the senior leadership please ask these "warriors" if they're aware that they're about to dedicate their lives to killing enemy combatants, with their bare hand if necessary, and tell them to please suck up all the ridiculous, petty bullshit? [/Utopian Fantasy]

Brett

 

[Fly Navy]

Can the senior leadership please ask these "warriors" if they're aware that they're about to dedicate their lives to killing enemy combatants, with their bare hand if necessary, and tell them to please suck up all the ridiculous, petty bullshit? [/Utopian Fantasy]

Brett

"But I only joined for the college money, dude"

 

[mkoch]

Ya know, we wouldn't have to worry about sexual harassment OR oversensitive people if they would only re-legalize beatings in school...or dueling, either or....

-end dogbert-esque moment-

 

[JIMC5499]

Sometimes you don't have to say anything and you can still get into trouble for sexual harassment. I was at NAS Jax in 1985 and was written up for sexual harassment. The only thing that I did was to hold open the door at the base exchange for a female LT., who had an armful of packages. She called over a MAA who was nearby and ordered him to write a report chit on me. Thankfully my CO was understanding and having the MAA testify on my behalf didn't hurt. He was going to open the door for her, but I got there first. There are SOME women who actually go around looking for chances to be offended. You can get into hot water for doing nothing.