Tailhook Report Held Up Until Navy Secretary Is Appointed

The Pentagon report on the Tailhook sex abuse scandal will not be released until a Navy secretary is appointed by President Clinton and “is available to deal with it,” a Pentagon official said Tuesday.

That means it could be weeks before the results of the study, conducted by the Pentagon’s deputy inspector general, Derek J. Vander Schaaf, are made public.

The report deals with the misconduct of Navy and Marine Corps officers at a 1991 Tailhook Assn. convention in Las Vegas. Many women, including some Navy officers, say they were groped and fondled by dozens of drunken pilots. The Tailhook Assn. is based in San Diego.

Vander Schaaf’s inquiry is expected to be so detailed in nature that it will lead to scores of officers being referred to courts-martial or recommended for a series of lesser disciplinary proceedings.

Clinton has yet to fill several key jobs at the Pentagon, including the civilian heads of each branch of the armed services.

Pentagon spokesman Bob Hall said Defense Secretary Les Aspin prefers to wait until a Navy secretary is nominated and confirmed by the Senate before the report is released. It had been expected to be released by the end of this month.

Aspin and Vander Schaaf “have decided not to release the report until a civilian secretary of the Navy is available to deal with it,” Hall said. “It’s appropriate to have a civilian with the appropriate authorization to deal with it when it is released.”

It has fallen to the Navy’s top admiral, Adm. Frank B. Kelso, to step in as the acting Navy secretary.