For those of you who aren’t familiar with this story, let me recount the details from the Navy Times editorial Hold E-8 Accountable regarding the reported actions of Chief Master-at-Arms Michael Toussaint:

The original investigation into the matter, which occurred in 2005 and 2006 and only recently surfaced publicly, cited 93 instances of hazing, abuse and other improper conduct. Much of it was shocking. The report said members of the dog–handling unit routinely held “hooker parties,” gambled, fraternized and hazed men and women. In one incident, a naked female sailor was handcuffed to a bed and forced to pretend to be a lesbian fighting with another woman. And a female sailor’s report of sexual abuse was not forwarded up the chain of command.

Despite the damning findings of the command investigation, the man in charge of the unit — Chief Master-at-Arms Michael Toussaint — not only avoided accountability for any of his actions or those of unit members, he was advanced to senior chief in 2006. The story made national headlines in September, when the documents became public.

(By the way, E-8 is the paygrade for Senior Chief Petty Officers.)

The Navy Times‘ related article to this editorial added this to the description of events lead to this discussion of punishment:

The investigation found one sailor was ordered to simulate homosexual sex acts, tied up and locked in a dog cage, and forced to eat dog biscuits. Gambling, fraternization and socializing with prostitutes were also commonplace among some of the unit’s sailors, investigators found.

The Navy Times has a summary of the report’s contents here. Be prepared to be disgusted should you decide to read it.

The bizarre thing is that after an initial investigation found “93 incidents involving hazing and other improper behavior in the Military Working Dog Division at Naval Support Activity Bahrain in 2005 and 2006,” not only was no one held accountable for these incidents, Chief Master-at-Arms Michael Toussaint (paygrade E-7) was advanced to Senior Chief Master-at-Arms (paygrade E-8).

[Below the fold: How the Navy is going to hold Senior Chief Toussaint accountable.]This all came to light last September, and the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), Admiral Gary Roughead, ordered a second investigation.

As a result of the CNO investigation, the Senior Chief is going to be held accountable by being forced to retire. Again, from the Navy Times‘ Senior chief to retire in hazing investigation:

The senior chief who ran a military working dog kennel in Bahrain and permitted hazing, hookers and other misconduct will be forced into retirement in January, Navy officials said Wednesday.

Senior Chief Master-at-Arms Michael Toussaint, 38, will be removed from his current post as a dog handler with a SEAL unit and placed on desk duty with Naval Special Warfare Group 2 until he leaves the service, said Cmdr. Elissa Smith, a Navy spokeswoman at the Pentagon.

This forced retirement is going to likely going to cost him a lot. This is because he likely won’t be retired as a Senior Chief Petty Officer (E-8), but as the last highest paygrade in which he’s considered to have served honorably. The Navy Times, in their editorial, is suggesting that the Senior Chief should be retired at the rating of First Class Petty Officer (E-6):

[I]t cannot be argued that Toussaint served honorably while a chief. Toussaint should be retired at no higher than E-6.

He could be retired at a rate as low as Seaman Recruit (E-1).

Under the 2009 retirement pay schedule, Toussaint will be eligible for about $2,032 in monthly retirement pay as a senior chief. If [Secretary of the Navy Ray] Mabus opted to reduce him one rank, to E-7, he would receive about $1,850 each month under the 2009 figures; if reduced to E-1, a retired sailor can receive $664 monthly.

There is little doubt he won’t be retired as an E-8, so the reality is that any retirement demotion will have the potential of costing civilian Michael Toussaint tens of thousands of dollars over the rest of his life.  

Joseph Rocha, the gay sailor who bore the brunt of Chief Michael Toussaint’s hazing, has applauded the outcome.:

“This is a proud day for the entire Navy, in re-establishing its core values and in protecting the dignity of its service members.

“To see the CNO and the secretary of the Navy, the most powerful gentlemen in the United States Navy, to speak nationally on behalf of an openly gay veteran, it’s definitely groundbreaking. I think it sets the tone for our future military.”

Joseph Rocha is now a civilian activist, working to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT). If DADT is repealed relatively soon, Mr. Rocha plans on rejoining the military as a commissioned officer.

What do I think about all of this?

Well, when I was in the Navy, I was sexually harassed based on my gender expression: I was presumed to be gay. There was an Executive Officer (XO) and a junior Petty Officer involved in my sexual harassment. The punishement for sexually harassing me: the XO received a written reprimand, and the junior Petty Officer received a verbal reprimand at a non-judicial proceding (an Article 15 hearing). (You can read about it here.)

The U.S. Navy has a long history of dealing with issues of hazing and harassment very poorly — going back to way before the Tailhook scandal. Leaders — like Senior Chief Toussaint — rarely are held to account for what most of us would consider hazing or harassment, and the chains-of-command above hazers and harassers are rarely held accountable for failing to hold leaders like Senior Chief Toussaint to account. Unless, of course, the media, the public, and congress get involved.

At this point, I’ll be satisfied if this ends up costing Senior Chief Toussaint tens of thousands of dollars over his retirement.

Frankly though, it would have been a lot better if the Navy would have held then Chief Toussaint to account for his behavior instead of promoting him. The Navy needs to address their systematic problems related tacidly condoning hazing and harassment.

Forcing the leaders in the chain-of-command out of the Navy — those chain-of-command officers who failed to hold Cheif Toussaint accountable for 93 incidents of hazing and harassment — seems a good place to begin dealing with those systematic problems.

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