Vice Admiral Takes the Blame in Tailhook Scandal

The Navy’s aviation commander said Tuesday that he “should be fired” for misconduct at the 1991 Tailhook Assn. convention in Las Vegas where, according to an internal investigation, at least 26 women were sexually molested by Navy and Marine Corps pilots.

Vice Adm. Richard M. Dunleavy said he assumes full responsibility for the incident because he was the senior naval aviator at the event.

“We in naval aviation leadership . . .failed. . . . We weren’t there to step in and stop it,” the admiral said.

“I should be fired,” Dunleavy said at another point. “It could happen.”

Dunleavy’s remarks, part of an interview with defense writers, were mostly in response to questions about events at the Tailhook convention, held Sept. 5-7 at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Last week, the Navy’s inspector general issued a highly critical report that described the alleged sexual molestations in graphic detail.

The inspector general, Rear Adm. George W. Davis, also complained strongly about efforts by the officers involved to stonewall the investigation. And Davis accused the service’s “aviation leadership” of turning a blind eye to such activities for years.

“As the direct representative to the Chief of Naval Operations on naval aviation, Adm. Dunleavy wanted to make it clear that the incidents happened on his watch and that he was taking responsibility,” said Navy spokesman Cmdr. Mark Van Dyke, who also attended the session.

Van Dyke would not comment on possible disciplinary action being taken against the admiral.

Dunleavy, who is scheduled to retire in June after 37 years in the service, said he has no direct knowledge of the sex-abuse incident at the convention, because he was elsewhere attending a banquet the same evening.

“He wants to stay on and help come up with solutions to these problems,” Van Dyke said. “He wants to pass on a clean command.”

The inspector general’s report focused on the treatment of women who were pushed through a “gantlet” of up to 200 men in a hotel hallway. The men allegedly fondled the women as they were passed up the line, and in some cases removed their clothing. About half of the women who complained of abuse were naval officers.

Dunleavy, assistant chief of naval operations for naval air warfare, called the incident “despicable” and said it has prompted much “soul-searching” among the Navy’s top officials.

Dunleavy said he couldn’t comment on any possible prosecution or disciplinary action against any pilots or their commanding officers, saying his comments could taint the military’s investigative and legal process.

Dunleavy said the reports on the incident from the Naval Investigative Service and the inspector general have been passed on to local commanders, who will decide whether disciplinary actions are warranted after holding hearings similar to civilian grand jury proceedings.

After reports of the abuse surfaced, the Navy severed its relations with the Tailhook Assn., which is a booster club for both active and retired aviators.

The group’s president is usually an active-duty Navy aviator stationed at Miramar Naval Air Station. The Tailhook office at Miramar moved off base last year after news accounts about the convention.

Adm. Dunleavy said the events at the convention have prompted the Navy to begin to train its fliers in “core values” that would instruct them about such things as “integrity, honor . . . mutual respect” for fellow human beings.

The convention also caused $23,000 in damage to the hotel.