Navy: Women Secretly Filmed in Shower Aboard Sub
Photo Credit: MC1 Rex Nelson / Navy
The women were recorded aboard the ballistic missile submarine Wyoming, Gold crew, which is home ported in Kings Bay, Georgia. Navy officials are investigating an unidentified 24-year-old male who is accused of making and distributing the videos, according to a Nov. 14 incident report circulated among the service’s most senior leaders. The sailor was identified only by his rank: second class petty officer.
The videos are believed to show at least three female officers while showering or undressed that were recorded over more than a year, according to a source who has spoken to one of the alleged victims.
It amounts to a huge scandal for a community that has prided itself on an otherwise smooth integration effort, begun four years ago when women first entered submarine training. And it comes as the Navy moves towards its next milestones, integrating Virginia-class attack subs and then the enlisted submarine ranks.
A ballistic missile sub typically has 15 officers and 140 enlisted on board, with unisex heads in “officer country.” When a woman is using the shower, for example, she puts up a sign to indicate the head is in use by a female officer and men must wait to enter until it’s unoccupied.
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Reports of sexual assaults in the military up by 8 percent
By Charles Hoskinson.
The number of reported sexual assaults in the military rose 8 percent in the past year, which the Pentagon said is a sign of significant progress but is likely to increase pressure for changes in how the cases are handled.
There were 5,983 cases reported in fiscal 2014, up from 5,518 in the previous year, according to a study released Thursday.
Pentagon officials attributed the increase to greater efforts to encourage victims to come forward, prevent retaliation and make prosecutions more victim-friendly.
“In this particular crime, an increase in reporting is a good thing,” said Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Snow, head of the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault and Prevention Response Office.
“The Department of Defense has been taking aggressive action over the past year and a half to stop sexual assault,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said. “We believe that our efforts to prevent sexual assault are beginning to have an impact.”
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