An incident on board the guided missile cruiser Hue City has come to the fore. The Navy perforce had to take strict action, when reports of the adulterous behavior of Chief Petty Officers with a petty officer came to the knowledge of the captain of the ship.
It appears that 2 CPO's were in a sexual relationship with the young petty officer. This report came to the knowledge of captain when an anonymous complaint reached him. Someone put a letter in his box alleging that two CPU were in a sexual relationship with a young girl Petty Officer, who was an enlisted Navy women.
The Navy cracked the whip. An investigation was ordered, and it came to light that 2 CPO's were into an adulterous relationship.The two culprits were identified, and four more were also hauled up for not reporting the incident to their superiors, though they had knowledge about it. In a separate incident, a 7th CPO was disciplined for being drunk and showing this respect to an officer.
Women in Navy
The Navy has a problem on its hands. Ever since women have been inducted into it, incidents of a sexual nature have grown out of proportion. Women have always been central to military force. Their active participation as soldiers and sailors has started only a few decades back.
This has created its problems, mainly because of the strong attraction between men for women
Chief Petty Officers disciplined
The USS Hue City is a guided missile cruiser that was operating sometime back in the Mediterranean Sea. It is now operating in the Middle East. The chief petty officers were disciplined by the captain of the ship under the Unified Military Code as an act prejudicial to good order and discipline.
The other chief petty officers who had direct knowledge of the relationship and failed to report it were punished under article 92 of the code. Article 92 mentions that failure to report fraternization is an offense. The Navy does not allow fraternization between women and men on a warship.
The punishment was awarded over a period of 3 days from April 21 to 23.
The enlisted young petty officer who was involved in the affair is awaiting non-judicial punishment as well.
Navy's view
Captain Daniel Gillen, the captain of the Hue City, awarded non-judicial punishments to all the seven accused. Lieutenant Commander Myers Vasquez, the naval surface force spokesperson, said in a press release that the actions were taken to restore trust in the leadership. The US Navy has a global responsibility, and apparently, such acts and relationships can distract from the primary duty. The Navy is already plagued by a nude photo scandal of women colleagues. It can ill afford to allow such incidents to go unpunished, but they cannot, of course, be stopped.
