Pentagon’s Tailhook Report May Be Released Next Week

Pentagon officials said Friday that the Defense Department’s investigative report on alleged assaults at the 1991 Tailhook Assn. convention of naval aviators probably will be released next week, after months of delay.

The decision to release the long-awaited document, which is expected to lead to criminal charges against more than a dozen officers, reverses an earlier determination to withhold it until a new Navy secretary is appointed and confirmed.

The Clinton Administration said in February that it was crucial for a Navy secretary to be in place to provide civilian oversight of the legal process that would follow release of the report. But the delay in naming that official has left the scandal hanging over the Navy, prompting complaints from many Navy officials.

As a result, many in the service, including Chief of Naval Operations Frank B. Kelso, who currently is acting Navy secretary, have urged Defense Secretary Les Aspin to release the findings so the Navy could deal with them and move beyond the scandal.

The report is expected to detail sexual acts by Navy and Marine Corps officers as well as sexual assaults.