5 Navy Officers in Scandal Stripped of Duties

Five Navy officers were permanently relieved of command and 16 others counseled for their roles in a bawdy show at Miramar Naval Air Station last month that featured a banner with an offensive sexual remark about a congresswoman, officials said Friday.

The disciplinary action and reprimands stemmed from the “Tomcat Follies,” described by the Navy “as an annual F-14 fighter community social event.” The party is arranged by various Miramar-based F-14 squadrons. The F-14 jet is nicknamed the Tomcat.

On June 18, a retired female Navy captain attended the festivities at the Miramar officers club and was offended by a banner with a sexual message about Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.). The Navy declined to identify the officer, who wrote a letter of complaint to Adm. Frank B. Kelso, chief of Navy operations in Washington.

Schroeder was a critic of the Navy’s investigation of the 1991 Tailhook sex scandal.

Kelso ordered Adm. R.J. Kelly, the Pacific Fleet commander based in Honolulu, to investigate the retired officer’s complaint.

A statement released by the Navy said the officers relieved of command, all aviators, had lost the confidence of their superiors. Vice Adm. Edwin R. Kohn, who oversaw the investigation, had ordered the officers temporarily relieved of command when the investigation began on June 30. They were ordered permanently stripped of command on Friday.

The Navy statement Friday said that Kohn also counseled 16 other officers individually for their involvement in the follies. Neal said the officers were given “warnings and cautionary instructions” but he declined to identify them.