The Navy just announced that the highest-ranking enlisted sailor aboard the Norfolk-based dock landing ship Ashland has been relieved of duty for inappropriately touching another sailor. The release says the ship’s skipper made his decision based a preliminary review of evidence from an ongoing inquiry by Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The command master chief had been aboard the Ashland since November 2009. The Ashland is currently undergoing maintenance at a shipyard in Norfolk.
I think that this double-talk says that the Chief touched a female sailor sexually, but he may have slapped an insubordinate male. The sexual touching is most likely—and it’s going to get worse. The navy is leading the charge to mix men and women in at-sea jobs where people are away and with each other 24-7; the army is now under pressure to put women in the combat arms. The problem is sexual—desire and tension. But the government is driven by Political Correctness and efficiency and military readiness simply don’t count.