Navy Renews Relations With Tailhook Assn.

The Navy on Wednesday announced it is finally restoring ties with the Tailhook Assn. after being assured that the group will not permit another of its conventions to degenerate into debauchery and abusive treatment of women.

To regain official recognition, the San Diego-based group pledged to support “in word and deed” the Navy’s drive to recruit and promote women in carrier aviation.

Amid a political firestorm in Congress, the Navy in October 1991 severed ties with Tailhook after dozens of women, including some active duty officers, reported being mauled by drunk aviators at a convention a month earlier in Las Vegas.

Navy Secretary Richard Danzig decided last year that it was time to see if the association had reformed sufficiently to merit a review of its “pariah” status. Danzig sent three top-level officials to the group’s annual convention in August and met Tuesday at the Pentagon with Tailhook leaders.

“It is important for us to renew ties to an organization that can foster professional growth, camaraderie and pride,” Danzig said in announcing his decision.

The change means that Navy and Marine Corps aviators can attend the group’s annual convention in uniform and on duty and possibly use official vehicles. Tailhook officials will also be able to get military briefings--like those given to a variety of groups that support the military.

Without official recognition, Tailhook was forced to move off-base, corporate support plummeted and membership dropped from more than 16,000 to less than 10,000. In an attempt to repair its image, the group moved its convention to Sparks, Nev., rather than the more risque Las Vegas.

Tailhook officials were exultant Wednesday with Danzig’s decision but still somewhat miffed at how long the group was kept at bay.

“I feel very good, it’s been a long time coming,” said Tailhook President Lonny “Eagle” McClung, a retired Navy captain. “We were treated worse than any enemy the U.S. ever defeated. We defeated Germany and Japan and within a year we were on good relations with them. For Tailhook, it was eight years before the Navy forgave us.”

Nevertheless, Karen Johnson, a vice president for the National Organization for Women and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, said she doubted that sexism has been eradicated either in the Navy or Tailhook.

“There is still plenty of evidence that sexual harassment continues in the military,” Johnson said. “The military is an organization built on a tradition that considers women as objects and Tailhook is part of that tradition. I think the public should watch very carefully to see if it has truly changed.”

At their best, Tailhook conventions allow junior and senior aviators to discuss the risks and challenges of carrier aviation and to talk to representatives of aerospace firms about the latest in planes, weaponry and tactics.

At their worst, the conventions became “lost weekends” for aviators to party while on duty. While the 1991 convention was the most flagrant, other conventions had also witnessed a good deal of drinking and horseplay.

The 1991 scandal led to the resignation of Navy Secretary H. Lawrence Garrett, the early retirement of Adm. Frank B. Kelso, then-chief of naval operations, and multiple lawsuits, disciplinary actions and reforms, including increased training for Navy personnel on diversity and avoidance of sexual harassment.

An investigation concluded that harassment at the convention was the fault of Navy leadership for not setting higher standards. Since 1991, the Navy has opened most job assignments to women, although some elite units, such as the SEALs and submarine duty, remain male-only.

Despite Danzig’s decision, Tailhook officials said there are no plans to return the convention to Las Vegas.