Deployment video causing heat for Enterprise Skipper

[CAMike]

Unfortunately the same "forces" that spread the XO Movie Night videos around like cocaine at a Hollywood party are the same folks that will ensure his letter won't see the light of day in mainstream media. Liberals have one agenda and that is their own. Open discussions regarding social and political issues with Socratic Seminar type processes simply aren't tolerated in the liberal world. It's very disheartening to see Navy leaders targeted by others with socially progressive agendas.

 

[HooverPilot]

http://www.militarytimes.com/static/projects/pages/honors-declaration.pdf

Original thread was closed, but it's nice to hear a firsthand response. Hard not to respect him after reading this.

Well that can be fixed...

 

[SkywardET]

His rebuttal is interesting. That is not what I have come to expect from Commanding Officers--in fact it seems as if CAPT Honors is an actual person. Presuming everything he has stated is true and correct, then this is just a bad situation to be in if you're in the Navy. On the one hand, you have an ignorant public that knows both Jack and S*** about the Navy raising a minor ruckus, and on the other hand you have the Navy's response to this.

If this situation had been handled differently, it could have been turned into a legitimate recruiting commercial.

Ever wonder what it's like to work in an environment where the boss "gets it?" <Show snippets of XO Movie Night skit.>
Ever wonder what it's like to have senior management support you when it counts? <Show snippet of a flag officer patting Capt Honors on the back or shaking his hand.>
Join the Navy and find out.

Instead, well you know the story.

Lessons learned:

• Morale is not a priority.

• GMT is best served dry.

• No good deed goes unpunished.

• Best way to preserve your career? Do nothing noticeable.

 

[BACONATOR]

Just for the sake of curiosity I'm going to throw out a wildly apples-oranges comparison out there and see what flaming I get in response. At what level is it no longer "ok" to disseminate a video of you spouting inappropriate jokes to the lowest level? What if a 4-star Admiral spouted a bunch of pejoratives/racial slurs/homophobic comments? What about the president (I know, I know... a civilian. Different)? Where does it stop?

I feel like people fear that the Military is going downhill because O-5+ aren't allowed to engage in what amounts to JOPA shenanigans... well.... they AREN'T JOPA anymore. At that level, they need to be seen in a professional light at all times. It's unfortunate, but HEY! That's the process that starts with the lobotomy pre-oak leaf.... that's why they call them hinges. They are no longer allowed to get away with that kind of shit.

 

[Pugs]

. They are no longer allowed to get away with that kind of shit.

Good call - Don't let senior leaders continue to innovate and adapt on how to communicate, motivate and connect with crew 30+ years their junior and make sure you apply a random standard of "acceptable" that can come back and ruin a successful leaders career half a decade later.

Oh wait. That's not a good call at all.

 

[exhelodrvr]

Just for the sake of curiosity I'm going to throw out a wildly apples-oranges comparison out there and see what flaming I get in response. At what level is it no longer "ok" to disseminate a video of you spouting inappropriate jokes to the lowest level? What if a 4-star Admiral spouted a bunch of pejoratives/racial slurs/homophobic comments? What about the president (I know, I know... a civilian. Different)? Where does it stop?

I feel like people fear that the Military is going downhill because O-5+ aren't allowed to engage in what amounts to JOPA shenanigans... well.... they AREN'T JOPA anymore. At that level, they need to be seen in a professional light at all times. It's unfortunate, but HEY! That's the process that starts with the lobotomy pre-oak leaf.... that's why they call them hinges. They are no longer allowed to get away with that kind of shit.

The real issue is not whether, in retrospect, making the videos was the wisest thing to do. The real issue is how the Navy should have handled this particular incident; the videos were clearly NOT disapproved by higher-ups when they were made.

 

[SkywardET]

Just for the sake of curiosity I'm going to throw out a wildly apples-oranges comparison out there and see what flaming I get in response. At what level is it no longer "ok" to disseminate a video of you spouting inappropriate jokes to the lowest level? What if a 4-star Admiral spouted a bunch of pejoratives/racial slurs/homophobic comments? What about the president (I know, I know... a civilian. Different)? Where does it stop?

I feel like people fear that the Military is going downhill because O-5+ aren't allowed to engage in what amounts to JOPA shenanigans... well.... they AREN'T JOPA anymore. At that level, they need to be seen in a professional light at all times. It's unfortunate, but HEY! That's the process that starts with the lobotomy pre-oak leaf.... that's why they call them hinges. They are no longer allowed to get away with that kind of shit.

Context is relevant. According to the Navy (until the videos were publicly released), it was "ok" for an O-6 to create these videos. Why? They were widely-received and popular videos that had multiple legitimate purposes even though they used crude humor as the vehicle to convey the message. These videos were made by warfighters for warfighters, and then someone leaked them to the media to disseminate into public. If an Admiral had made something similar for similar purposes and for a targeted audience, then I doubt the Navy would have any problems with it whatsoever just like they had evidently no problems with the videos that CAPT Honors made--unless and until the media got their hands on it.

As for the content of the videos, well I believe there is more creative value in maintaining a professional demeanor with a just a bit of colorful punctuation.

 

[scoolbubba]

I don't understand why Big Navy could not have put out something along the lines of "These videos were not intended for public consumption. The intended audience is 6000 18-22 year old men and women, locked on a boat for no less than 6 months at a time. All parties involved have agreed to not release any further videos."

Nobody gets their tits hammered any more than necessary, and the Navy doesn't have to send one of the nations most potent weapons on deployment without a skipper.

We're so worried about a black eye in the media that we'll sacrifice a combat effective leader on the alter of PC.

 

[exhelodrvr]

I don't understand why Big Navy could not have put out something along the lines of "These videos were not intended for public consumption. The intended audience is 6000 18-22 year old men and women, locked on a boat for no less than 6 months at a time. All parties involved have agreed to not release any further videos."

Nobody gets their tits hammered any more than necessary, and the Navy doesn't have to send one of the nations most potent weapons on deployment without a skipper.

We're so worried about a black eye in the media that we'll sacrifice a combat effective leader on the alter of PC.

Higher-ups didn't want to jeopardize their own careers.

 

[pilot_man]

Just for the sake of curiosity I'm going to throw out a wildly apples-oranges comparison out there and see what flaming I get in response. At what level is it no longer "ok" to disseminate a video of you spouting inappropriate jokes to the lowest level? What if a 4-star Admiral spouted a bunch of pejoratives/racial slurs/homophobic comments? What about the president (I know, I know... a civilian. Different)? Where does it stop?

I feel like people fear that the Military is going downhill because O-5+ aren't allowed to engage in what amounts to JOPA shenanigans... well.... they AREN'T JOPA anymore. At that level, they need to be seen in a professional light at all times. It's unfortunate, but HEY! That's the process that starts with the lobotomy pre-oak leaf.... that's why they call them hinges. They are no longer allowed to get away with that kind of shit.

Just like Capt Honors said, there wasn't one complaint. Not one. So, apparently his skits were not inappropriate for the 5000 or so folks on his ship at the time. If someone had an issue, they should have brought it up. He is the first XO that I've heard of who was able to "reach" the crew, instead of just being a giant douche in their eyes. See what that got him. I have a strange feeling that you would make a good XO in today's Navy.

 

[BACONATOR]

Just like Capt Honors said, there wasn't one complaint. Not one. So, apparently his skits were not inappropriate for the 5000 or so folks on his ship at the time. If someone had an issue, they should have brought it up. He is the first XO that I've heard of who was able to "reach" the crew, instead of just being a giant douche in their eyes. See what that got him. I have a strange feeling that you would make a good XO in today's Navy.

Yeah... well let's wait for my FITREP debrief before we predict my future...