No Proof of Tailhook Misconduct Found

Investigators have found no evidence to substantiate a charge of sexual harassment at the August convention of the Tailhook Assn., Navy Secretary Richard Danzig said Monday.

“I don’t see any likelihood of having to take any negative action toward the Tailhook Assn.,” Danzig said after his speech to an information technology convention.

The harassment charge, made by a married couple attending a motorcycle enthusiasts convention in the same hotel, could have forced the Navy to permanently sever newly restored ties to the San Diego-based group.

After the group’s now-infamous 1991 convention in Las Vegas, where dozens of women were allegedly mauled by drunk aviators, the Navy withdrew support and recognition from Tailhook.

This year’s convention, held at John Ascuaga’s Nugget hotel and casino in Sparks, Nev., signaled the first time that active-duty personnel had been allowed to attend a Tailhook gathering.

Danzig said the couple that said they had been subjected to lewd comments by Tailhook conventioneers refused to be interviewed by the Naval Investigative Service, while Tailhook officials cooperated fully.

J.R. Davis, executive director of the Tailhook Assn., a support group for naval aviation, said he is gratified by Danzig’s decision and hopes the group can continue to attract more active-duty aviators to its ranks.

“We hope this is past us so we can continue turning this organization over to the people who need it: the active-duty aviators,” said Davis, a retired Navy captain.

The political uproar after the 1991 convention led to the resignation of Navy Secretary H. Lawrence Garrett and the early retirement of Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Frank B. Kelso. The scandal led the Navy to strengthen its anti-harassment policies and to review the role of women in the sea service.

After eight years of estrangement, Danzig had renewed the service’s links to Tailhook after receiving assurances that the group had taken steps to include women in its leadership ranks and to prevent the kind of harassment and sexual shenanigans seen at the 1991 convention.

An estimated 40% of the 2,200 conventioneers at this year’s convention were active-duty personnel, and the convention’s keynote speaker was Adm. Jim Ellis, one of the Navy’s senior aviators. Dozens of aerospace contractors, which had abandoned the group amid the scandal, sent representatives.

A spokesman for the Police Department in Sparks said the couple declined to sign a formal complaint or be interviewed after being told that the alleged incident was captured on a hotel security camera. Davis said the film does not corroborate the harassment charge.

Tailhook conventions are meant as a forum where aviators of all ranks can discuss the complexities of flying supersonic aircraft and landing on carriers. The name comes from the steel hook at the aft of a plane that catches an arresting wire on the flight deck, bringing a plane to a sudden halt.