Navy Captain Owen P. Honors has lost his command of the USS Enterprise over raunchy comedy videos he made, which were shown on the ship’s closed circuit TV two years ago when he was serving as the Enterprise’s executive officer (XO). The media is making much of the gay content in the videos and charges that they were homophobic, sexist and profanity laden. But is Capt. Owen getting a raw deal?
Here’s one series of video excerpts posted by the Virginian-Pilot newspaper. One example of the “gay” content: XO Owen, wearing a funny shower cap, opens the shower to find two women (from shoulders up). The rule is three minutes max to shower. They say, “there are two of us; don’t we get six minutes.” It’s repeated by request later, but then toward the end of the excerpts Owen again opens the shower and finds two hunky men. They repeat the line.
But Owen has his defenders, including some openly gay former sailors who served on the Enterprise. From the Washington Times:
Interviews with sailors on the Enterprise at the time, including several who have since left the Navy and say they were openly gay when they served, suggest that the videos, far from offending, did, as intended, raise morale through their crude humor. Many of Capt. Honors’ former shipmates think the Navy has already gone too far in stripping him of his command. . . .
Capt. Honors “absolutely did not” create a hostile or homophobic atmosphere on board, added Eric M. Prenger, a gay sailor who also served on the Enterprise at the time. Mr. Prenger, an electronics technician, third class, said the crew looked forward to the videos, which were broadcast on the ship’s closed circuit TV system every Saturday night, preceding the showing of a movie.
“They were definitely a tension reliever,” said Mr. Prenger, who has also since left the service. “I remember laughing at them.”
Still, in a video not in this series (and not posted online), the word “faggot” was used. In this Washington Post op-ed, Bruce Fleming, a civilian English instructor at the United States Naval Academy, writes:
The worst offense to many viewers of the videos seems to be Honors’ use of a word usually meant as a gay slur. He’s not referring to someone believed to be gay, but to one of his “alter egos” [which he plays in the videos] and to the video’s audience, Surface Warfare Officers, who (the self-deprecating inside joke has it) are not as cool as pilots. …
Yes, the captain uses a slur, but not to make fun of gay people. Everything depends on context—in this case, the insular confines of a ship at sea.
Fleming stresses Owen’s non-hateful intention, in his view, although he makes clear that a line was crossed that made his firing inevitable.
That’s probably right. But most gay people quite rightly have a lower tolerance of the word gay (or the f-slur) being used as any kind of deprecation.
Still, judging from the posted video excerpts, those charging that the videos promoted “sexual harassment and sexual assault” or that Capt. Owners “should be prosecuted” seem way over the top. Personally, I’ve been more offended—much more offended—by some of the homophobic “humor” on Saturday Night Live.
More. Christopher Preble of the Cato Institute blogs:
there was a morale problem on the ship for a while, in part due to the fresh water restrictions that the shower scenes in the videos tried to make light of. By many accounts, XO Honors was instrumental in turning this state of affairs around. The Enterprise, a bear of a ship to operate, the oldest nuclear-powered vessel in the fleet, with eight (8!) reactors, earned unit citations under Honors’s leadership.
All that said, I stand by my original assessment. In striving to improve the crew’s morale, Captain Honors crossed the fine line between clever and stupid. He demonstrated poor judgment in producing videos in an official capacity that could easily be taken out of context, as they have been.
10 Comments for “Those USS Enterprise Videos”
posted by John on
Eh, I stand by my original assessment.
With rank comes privileges, along with expectations of behavior. Without watching the videos I can’t be sure, but it sounds like he did cross the line of what was proper for a man of his station to do.
However, that his “punishment” comes years later, after many complaints have already been ignored, and only after it’s been made painfully public? Whether the punishment is just or not (I have no idea if his punishment is comparable to similar breeches of conduct would entail) it doesn’t seem… timely.
That is to say, it’s been too long to believe this is justice (whatever justice would be in this case), it feels more like the Navy is just trying to save face. So while the videos were very probably highly inappropriate for the man to make and air, I’m lacking in confidence that the punishment is a “fair” one.
posted by BobN on
I sure wish someone would do some digging into the source of this story and what drove the author to publish it now.
As for the Captain, he was railroaded.
posted by Throbert McGee on
Regarding the timing: I’ve heard speculation — and it’s PURELY speculation — that internal controversy over the sacking of USN Capt. Holly Graf may have put pressure on the Navy to make an example of a male at the same rank, in order to show that they’re not prejudiced against females in command positions.
Capt. Graf was relieved of command over the destroyer USS Cowpens in January 2010, and was recommended for a “general discharge” from the Navy just a month ago — note that a “general” discharge is certainly much less desirable for a person of her rank than an “honorable” discharge would have been, but is NOT dishonorable, nor a punishment (except insofar as she’s “punished” by not getting an honorable discharge).
posted by BobN on
Hmmmm…. that sure would help explain the rapidity of the dismissal and the lack of at least public support from the upper ranks. (Can’t say if there was private support for him.)
posted by Throbert McGee on
“You have clearance — over!”
“That’s Clarence Oveur!”
“Roger!”
“Huh?”
😀
posted by Throbert McGee on
“Owen Honors” does come perilously close to sounding like a made-up joke name, so it’s no wonder that anyone would get confused!
Mona offered her honor;
Owen honored her offer.
So all through the night
It was honor and offer —
And loud were the moanin’, the aaah-in’, and Owen!
posted by Jorge on
…Still, judging from the posted video excerpts, those charging that the videos promoted “sexual harassment and sexual assault” or that Capt. Owners “should be prosecuted” seem way over the top.
Looks like the repeal is proceeding right on schedule.
posted by Tom on
From what I’ve seen of the videos, they seem to be self-embarrassing in the way that a 50-year-old “youth” minister who starts talking teenage slang to sound “with it” is self-embarrassing. Captain Honors should have known better than to star in something this puerile, but it seems to me that this is hardly an hanging offense.
posted by another steve on
An ongoing theme in the posted video clips is XO Honor expressing his awareness of, and sympathy for, his men being so horny. You could either view this as juvenile, or as a more healthy recognition of male sexual frustration than our society “allows.”
Given this meme, his joking with the sailors about finding a space to spend some private time with themselves doesn’t seem so offensive. And what strikes me about the references to gay relations is how nonchalent he is about it — not hostile, not condemning, just sort of recognizing that some of the sailors are having gay sex.
And for this, the professional left is up in arms with their “hostile environment” and “encouraging sexual assault” libels. They make me sick.
posted by BobN on
professional left is up in arms
The professional left seemed quite divided on the issue, if you ask me. Actually, most didn’t really seem to care much, one way or the other. The fact that this was over and done in, what, a week, means whatever “the left” thought mattered quite little.