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The effects of the Tailhook scandal on the U.S. Navy and the controversy over the introduction of women into combat roles and positions of greater military authority.

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00:00Last May in Norfolk, Virginia, the U.S. Navy stood at attention.
00:21It was a memorial to a fellow sailor who had risen to the highest rank possible,
00:26chief of naval operations, Admiral Jeremy Mike Borda.
00:31His death seemed unfathomable.
00:34Suicide.
00:36This was the lowest moment in a Navy wracked by scandal and political intrigue.
00:42In a clash between the forces of tradition and the new order,
00:47Admiral Borda was the latest casualty of the culture war.
00:51A war, ultimately, between men and women.
00:56Funding for Frontline is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
01:02and by annual financial support from viewers like you.
01:10This is Frontline.
01:19I'll be home for Christmas.
01:23For all of naval history, it's been the men who left
01:34and the women who stayed behind.
01:39A ritual of leave-taking.
01:41It's very difficult.
01:54It's very hard to leave.
01:57But on the other hand, it's very exciting to think about going.
02:02So it's exciting.
02:04The only rules are I can't whistle while I peck.
02:06I can't look like I'm really, really happy.
02:11This is what Captain Malone gets to command.
02:14The USS Enterprise.
02:16The forward thrust of our naval strategy.
02:2090,000 tons of steel.
02:23Eight nuclear reactors.
02:255,400 sailors.
02:265,400 sailors.
02:27And he gets to drive.
02:30Send 600 to the beach.
02:32It's a determinedly male world that's had to face its oldest taboo
02:36and let women aboard.
02:40It hasn't been easy.
02:44And nowhere more so than on a carrier
02:46where everyone is focused on one purpose.
02:49To support the elite of the elite.
02:52The final all-male preserve.
02:55The naval aviator.
02:58For women, this is the toughest challenge.
03:01To break into the knighthood of Navy flyers.
03:04The best and most gifted pilots.
03:07There's a certain amount of bravada
03:08that goes with being a fighter pilot.
03:10There's a certain kind of personality
03:12that wants to take a 30-ton piece of metal
03:14and slam it on and off an aircraft carrier at sea.
03:19The naval aviator.
03:49I'm going for missile lock.
04:06Let's scare this guy out of here.
04:07The Navy encouraged images like Top Gun,
04:11fighter pilots as the rock and roll stars of the sky.
04:14Unlock up, baby.
04:15Cocky, arrogant, atop of the Navy's food chain.
04:18I got him locked.
04:18The movie even drew its inspiration from an actual incident over Libya
04:22and a Navy pilot.
04:25Top Gun was actually fairly accurate as far as the flying goes.
04:29Matter of fact, the combat stuff was probably based on something
04:32that we were doing off of Libya.
04:33It was a very similar situation.
04:37But I'm not Tom Cruise.
04:40Commander Bob Stumpf is the real thing.
04:46Squadron commander, hero of the Gulf War.
04:48From the first night of Desert Storm,
04:52he led a squadron of attack pilots into the very heart of Baghdad.
04:57It's the ultimate flying job to be a squadron commander.
05:02They're your airplanes.
05:03They're your troopers.
05:04You tell people when they're going to fly, where they're going to fly,
05:06and you lead them.
05:07You're responsible for all those people and all that equipment.
05:13The most challenging, terrifying flight that I had during Desert Storm was at night.
05:19Just the amount of anti-aircraft fire.
05:21It's a pretty unnerving experience.
05:30When I saw those missiles coming up and realized that they were killing people
05:33and could very easily be meant for me,
05:36that's when I felt real fear, real gut fear for the first time in my life.
05:40And I started thinking about dying then.
05:43But from that point on, it became part of the routine.
05:46I mean, I'm going to be scared, and you have to deal with it, put it away,
05:50until you're finished, and then have some water.
05:53Because your mouth is so dry that you can't swallow.
05:55But the hardest thing was getting that thing aboard that night.
05:59Maybe because we were pretty rattled when we got back to the ship.
06:01But at night, you have no visual perspective.
06:04You have a black abyss and a tiny set of lights.
06:06So it's very difficult to keep your inner balance in your ear.
06:10It's just a very, very trying experience.
06:19Commander Stumpf flew right through to the end of the war
06:22and won the Distinguished Flying Cross.
06:24His squadron was named the best attack force in the sky.
06:28To receive the honor, he was sent to the annual aviators convention,
06:33known as Tailhook.
06:38For me, it was just something we had to do.
06:41You know, pick up the award and come back here,
06:43and, you know, it just fit right into the calendar.
06:47For 20 years, naval aviators have gathered to swap sea stories.
06:51Check out the latest in flight technology.
06:54Get up close and personal with the Navy brass.
06:58And act like sailors on shore leave.
07:01After the official functions are over,
07:15there's always been a lot of partying that goes on,
07:17and you can imagine a lot of young, hot blood warriors coming back from the war.
07:21It was a very lively occasion.
07:23It was just a giant fraternity party.
07:28That's what it looked like.
07:29Just a bunch of guys having fun.
07:32They'd just gotten back from the Gulf War.
07:34Some of them actually saw battle time.
07:36Some of them were just happy to be alive.
07:38They were on leave.
07:39They were just there to have a good time.
07:41It was apparently a three-day-long party that never stopped.
07:45It was just lots and lots of people having a good time, lots of drinking.
07:50The most outrageous thing I saw was one guy was drinking rum,
07:56and could take a big swig of it and then blow it out as fire.
08:01Very entertaining, you know, if you've had a couple of drinks.
08:07They staged their own unique amusements,
08:12including female leg shaving as spectator sport.
08:15I can tell you one thing.
08:17If you think that a young kid that's been in battles,
08:22the idea of a great time is to sit in a soft chair and listen to Mozart,
08:27you're mistaken.
08:29That's not what they're going to do.
08:31And you're never going to be able to change human nature.
08:34People who have been in that pressure cooker get together,
08:38a certain amount of partying.
08:40I don't think there's anybody in America who can sit down and say
08:44that these guys should have been sitting around drinking lemonade.
08:47Down the hall, in Suite 308, the Rhino Room,
08:52marine pilots offered a drink made of rum, Kahlua, and cream,
08:57dispensed from an obscene delivery system.
08:59I think there were some working people of the female persuasion.
09:09Quite certain there were.
09:12In one corner of the hotel, the fun degenerated,
09:17becoming aggressively lewd and then inexcusably criminal.
09:21The tailhookers returned to duty.
09:37The U.S. Navy is now investigating charges of sexual assault.
09:40But Tailhook 91 was a convention they would not soon forget.
09:44Aviators molested dozens of women.
09:46They were groped and disrobed by Navy flyers.
09:48Investigation of the rowdy pilots' convention.
09:51Most of us didn't even know about it until afterwards when it came out in the media.
09:54I was amazed that that could have happened.
09:57Hotel hallway gauntlet of drunken officers.
09:59In fact, we thought it was particularly good tailhook
10:02because there was so much coming together.
10:05There was a great sense of camaraderie.
10:07of debauchery with public sex.
10:08We must be assured that sexual abuse will no longer be given lip service.
10:12Men must accept women as human beings and not sex objects.
10:19That is the issue.
10:25Over the last five years, thousands of hours of court testimony,
10:30hundreds of pages of congressional debate,
10:33months of our own research,
10:35measure the ongoing fallout from Tailhook.
10:39Lord knows the worst behavior was unpardonable.
10:43But it all might have blown over,
10:45except for the accident of its historic timing.
10:48That fall, the nation was transfixed
10:51by the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings.
10:55Just as sexual harassment was on all our minds,
10:58a 29-year-old admiral's aide,
11:01Lieutenant Paula Coughlin,
11:02blew the whistle on Tailhook.
11:05I got attacked by a bunch of men
11:06that tried to pull my clothes off
11:08and they wouldn't let me out of the hallway.
11:12I bit somebody.
11:13He had his hands down my blouse,
11:15in my bra.
11:17They were trying to pull my underwear off
11:18from between my legs.
11:20If I didn't make it off the floor,
11:21I was going to be gang-rake.
11:24I can't tell you the distaste that I have
11:27as a former naval aviator.
11:29There is no time in history of this country
11:31that something like this is more inappropriate
11:34and we cannot allow it.
11:36It's unconscionable.
11:37And we in the military,
11:40we in the military who pride ourselves
11:43on the equal opportunity that is extended
11:46to everyone in the military
11:47should be ashamed and embarrassed.
11:51Ashamed and embarrassed.
11:54Tailhook provided the opponents
11:56of the macho navy culture
11:58a perfect opportunity.
12:00This was not just an incident
12:01of boys will be boys.
12:03This was barbarism.
12:04This is the decade of the woman,
12:07not the dark ages.
12:08This Congress will not tolerate harassment
12:11in any form.
12:12It's time to sink the ship
12:14of sexual harassment.
12:15The whole Pentagon
12:16on the other side of the river
12:17is moving and shaking,
12:19saying, oh my goodness,
12:20what happened?
12:21There's been a sea change.
12:22Across the river,
12:25it was a change
12:26they had been resisting.
12:27Who gets to climb into the cockpit
12:29of a combat fighter?
12:35Like Kara Holtgreen,
12:37who was already flying for the Navy.
12:39It might make a better sound bite
12:42to say that Kara was trying to fight
12:44for some cause for all womankind.
12:47That is not the case.
12:48Hi, Mom.
12:49Kara wanted to fly
12:51something pointy
12:53with an afterburner.
12:55And she wasn't going
12:59to be able to do that
13:00unless something changed.
13:03So she was very active
13:05in trying to get the law changed.
13:11I don't think that the Navy
13:13owes women a career path.
13:15I think the point is
13:16that they should want
13:17the best person for the job.
13:19And by taking over 50%
13:20of your population
13:21and not allowing them
13:22to compete,
13:23it's ridiculous.
13:24We're going to certainly
13:25have the desire,
13:26the patriotism,
13:26and the skill.
13:28So why on earth
13:28shouldn't we?
13:30This is so pretty.
13:32They called her
13:33the Incredible Hulk.
13:35Six feet tall
13:36and all pilot,
13:38she wanted a place
13:39in the club.
13:40She'd even taken her fight
13:41to the Navy Brass,
13:42convened a tail hook.
13:44She went to talk
13:46to the admiral's panel
13:47where the naval officers
13:49are allowed to ask
13:49the many questions
13:50that they want to.
13:51And she wanted to ask
13:53what the Navy was going
13:55to do about changing
13:56its policy.
13:58But she knew about tail hook.
13:59She'd heard stories.
14:01But Friday night,
14:02she went up to these
14:03cocktail parties
14:04to try to find her friends.
14:05And she got caught by,
14:07I guess they nicknamed him,
14:08the Australian butt-biter.
14:10She was standing there,
14:12all dressed up.
14:13She looked great.
14:14You know, high heels
14:14and a kind of mini-skirt
14:16and a blazer.
14:17And this man came up
14:19and bit her on her rear end
14:20and she just took her elbow
14:21and just went,
14:22slammed it, you know,
14:23down into him
14:24as hard as she could.
14:25And he just sort of
14:27crumbled on the floor
14:28and crawled out the door
14:29and she resumed
14:30her conversation.
14:32Kara could take care
14:33of herself.
14:34Within that club
14:35that Hulk Green
14:36wanted to join,
14:37Bob Stumpf had been
14:38given a new honor,
14:39command of the Navy's
14:40elite show team.
14:42The Blue Angels.
14:49They are the Navy's
14:50best pilots.
15:02It's very difficult flying.
15:04It takes a lot of practice
15:05and a lot of concentration.
15:07We need to fly
15:08very close to the other
15:09airplanes at high speed.
15:10and we swapped paint
15:12a couple of times
15:12but we never had an accident
15:13and we never hurt anybody
15:15and never really hurt
15:16the machines.
15:16And then one day
15:19something brought Bob Stumpf
15:20back to earth.
15:22Tailhook.
15:23We were on our way
15:25to an air show
15:25when he called and said
15:26you're grounded
15:27and the Blue Angels season
15:28was halted immediately.
15:31It was devastating.
15:33It was devastating for,
15:35I mean,
15:35that's the ultimate
15:37disgrace for naval officers
15:39to be relieved of command
15:40which effectively
15:41is what happened to me.
15:42Navy investigators
15:46looking into Tailhook
15:47discovered that
15:48the evening after
15:49receiving his award
15:50Stumpf attended a party
15:52in a private room
15:53at the Hilton Hotel
15:54organized by his men
15:56to celebrate their
15:57wedding down.
15:59Navy talk for a promotion.
16:01While the truly raucous
16:03behavior at Tailhook
16:04was taking place
16:05elsewhere in the hotel,
16:06for entertainment
16:07Stumpf's men
16:08had hired a pair
16:09of exotic dancers.
16:11Having exotic dancers
16:12at a gathering
16:13of naval officers
16:14was not unusual
16:16prior to 1991.
16:18That had occurred
16:20in officers clubs
16:21throughout the world.
16:22I had seen
16:23in the same room
16:25with exotic dancers
16:26performing
16:26previous secretaries
16:29of the Navy,
16:30previous chiefs
16:31of naval operations,
16:33countless flag officers,
16:34and it just,
16:35it didn't occur to me
16:37that that behavior
16:39was not acceptable.
16:41But Stumpf's men
16:42bought more
16:43than just a strip show
16:44that night.
16:45They paid one of the dancers
16:46to perform a lewd act
16:48with one of them.
16:50Did you see the public sex?
16:52No.
16:54Did you try to stop
16:55the exotic dancers?
16:56No.
16:58No, that would have been
16:59a bad form
17:00and certainly not
17:01in the spirit
17:04of the Tailhook
17:06that had been established
17:07by tradition
17:08over the decades preceding.
17:10That was just not even,
17:12it wasn't even a possibility.
17:14What do you mean?
17:14It would not have,
17:16it just didn't even occur
17:16to me
17:17or any of the other
17:18senior officers
17:18who were there.
17:20In fact,
17:21mingling among those
17:22in attendance
17:22at Tailhook
17:23were the Secretary
17:24of the Navy,
17:25the Chief of Naval Operations,
17:27and dozens of senior officers.
17:30But the Navy's
17:31first investigation
17:32of Tailhook
17:32somehow managed
17:34to ignore
17:34the participation
17:35of the senior brass.
17:37It placed all blame
17:38on a few junior officers.
17:41To Congress,
17:42it had the odor
17:43of cover-up.
17:44The initial investigation
17:45was a manifestation
17:47of the old
17:48circle-of-wagon syndrome.
17:50It was terribly mishandled.
17:52It was bungled
17:54to an alarming degree.
17:56There was,
17:57it just was a disaster.
18:01For the Navy's adversaries,
18:02fresh opportunity.
18:04Mr. Speaker,
18:05the Defense Department
18:06long has had an attitude
18:07of seeing no evil,
18:09hearing no evil,
18:10and speaking no evil
18:11if it's a high enough
18:12ranking off official
18:14of one of the
18:15uniformed services.
18:16I think you can never
18:17hold other people
18:18accountable
18:18until you hold
18:19those at the top
18:20accountable.
18:21And I don't think...
18:22So Congress demanded
18:23a housecleaning
18:24and got it.
18:26The Secretary of the Navy,
18:28Lawrence Garrett III,
18:29denied any wrongdoing,
18:31and then he was gone.
18:33Admiral Frank Kelso,
18:35the CNO.
18:36It won't go away.
18:37The lightning keeps
18:38striking all the time.
18:39So I think it's best
18:40for the Navy
18:40to give it another leader.
18:43The controversy
18:43provided a political
18:45opportunity.
18:46Congresswoman Schroeder
18:47had authored a bill
18:48repealing the ban
18:49on women in combat.
18:51Now,
18:52it easily passed.
18:57Lieutenant Kara Holtgren
18:59could finally fly
19:01combat jets.
19:02She was always fearless.
19:04I think she must have
19:05some sort of a gene
19:06that the rest of us
19:07don't have.
19:08But she loves
19:09the adrenaline rush
19:11of speed.
19:12Physically,
19:20she was very strong.
19:22In fact,
19:22every morning
19:23she would get up
19:23and do 50 push-ups
19:24and she figured
19:25that nobody could say
19:27she were too weak
19:27to fly a jet airplane.
19:29It takes so much muscle
19:30to fly this airplane.
19:32Trim it up
19:32and it flies by itself.
19:35Lieutenant Holtgren
19:36had a reputation
19:37as an able pilot.
19:39Once,
19:40she had to bring
19:41in a crippled A6.
19:43The right wheel
19:44was stuck.
19:45They flew around
19:46trying to unstick it
19:47and it just wasn't
19:48going to come down.
19:49I mean,
19:49it was a very,
19:50very difficult thing
19:51to do
19:52and demanded
19:52a lot of skill
19:53and she was getting
19:55her ECMO.
19:56She said,
19:56you know,
19:56Ron,
19:57as they're coming down,
19:58she said,
19:58I hate to tell you this.
19:59She said,
19:59but I think I'm ovulating.
20:02And she said,
20:04but don't worry
20:04because I'm just days
20:06away from PMS
20:07and so Ron
20:08is kind of laughing
20:10and then she said,
20:11you know,
20:12if I don't make
20:13this landing,
20:14you know,
20:14they'll probably
20:14take away my wings.
20:16And Ron said,
20:16well,
20:17blank your wings,
20:18just get me out
20:18of this alive.
20:19So Kara Hultgreen
20:27made it into the club,
20:29which was as much
20:29a triumph for the Navy
20:31as it was for her.
20:33The Navy sent
20:34its public relations prize
20:35to the air station
20:36at Miramar.
20:38And when she went there,
20:39of course,
20:39the Navy was dying
20:41to showcase
20:42its new female pilot.
20:44You know,
20:44they changed the policy.
20:45They'd now put
20:46this first woman ever
20:47to fly an F-14.
20:49So the Navy wanted
20:51to do some publicity.
20:53You know,
20:53they said,
20:53okay,
20:54we'd like for you
20:54to do some interviews
20:55and Kara was good
20:56at interviews.
20:56Now I'm ready
20:57to don the helmet.
20:59Kara loved the spotlight
21:01and she basked in it.
21:04She glowed.
21:06The Navy aggressively
21:07recruited women,
21:09even taking out
21:10help-wanted ads
21:11looking for female pilots.
21:13I saw an ad
21:14in the newspaper
21:15and that caught my eye.
21:17I was working
21:18for Continental Airlines
21:19as a flight attendant,
21:20but it was just a job.
21:22And after a lot of
21:24thought and prayer,
21:26I really felt
21:27that it was the right thing
21:28to do
21:28to go into the Navy.
21:31Between careers
21:32and intrigued
21:33by the Navy's advertisement,
21:36Rebecca Hansen
21:37answered the call.
21:39Her first taste
21:40of the military,
21:42basic training.
21:43There were people
21:47constantly yelling
21:48at you
21:48and the hazing,
21:49but in some ways
21:50it wasn't as difficult
21:51as I had anticipated.
21:54But there were problems.
21:57She failed
21:57two important classes
21:58and within her training group,
22:01she felt she suffered
22:02because she was a woman.
22:03There was a time
22:05a candidate officer
22:06whispered things
22:08in my ear
22:09that were
22:10so disgusting
22:11and I was
22:13the only one
22:14in my class
22:14not allowed
22:16to wear shorts
22:17because I would be
22:19trying to
22:20turn on
22:21sexually
22:22my classmates.
22:24She saw
22:25harassment
22:25but filed
22:26no complaint.
22:28The Navy
22:29gave her more
22:29study time
22:30and a chance
22:31to retake
22:31the tests
22:32she had failed.
22:33This time
22:34she passed.
22:35And she was sent
22:36off to flight school,
22:37once again
22:38there were problems.
22:40According to her records,
22:42her flying progress
22:43was uneven
22:44and there were
22:45new difficulties
22:46with a male superior,
22:48one of her
22:48flight instructors.
22:50It started out
22:51being friendly,
22:52being flirtatious,
22:53being annoying,
22:55obnoxious,
22:57dirty jokes,
22:58questioning
22:58things about
23:01my body
23:02or my undergarments.
23:04And when we were
23:05up in the plane,
23:07he was very
23:07inappropriate,
23:08very gross
23:09and disgusting,
23:10telling me that
23:11I should dye my hair
23:12and what color
23:13bikinis he would
23:14like to see me in
23:15and jokes
23:16and sexual comments.
23:19Then,
23:20later,
23:20in the hangar,
23:21Hansen says
23:22it got worse.
23:24He came from behind
23:26and grabbed my head
23:30and grabbed my head
23:30and by the hair
23:31and pulled my head
23:32down to his crotch
23:33and addressed
23:35the students
23:37that were
23:38in the hangar
23:39and saying,
23:40this is the way
23:41I like to control
23:42my women,
23:43laughing
23:43and moving my head
23:45around in a way
23:47where I was not able
23:48to stand up
23:49until he let go
23:51of me.
23:52Hansen formally
23:53charged Lieutenant
23:55Larry Meyer
23:55with sexual harassment.
23:58The Navy found him
23:59guilty of inappropriate
24:00remarks.
24:01The matter became
24:02a blot on his record
24:03and he left the Navy
24:04a year later.
24:07She'd had a rocky start
24:09but the Navy
24:10moved her up
24:11to the next plateau,
24:13helicopter training.
24:14It was supposed
24:21to be a new Navy
24:23and it was decided
24:24that it was time
24:25for new leadership.
24:27President Clinton
24:28chose as his
24:29Chief of Naval Operations
24:31Admiral Mike Borda.
24:33He had no precedent.
24:35He was not
24:36a Naval Academy man
24:37as all before him
24:38had been.
24:40He was a seaman
24:41who rose through
24:42the ranks
24:42to the Navy's
24:43top job.
24:45But he was not
24:46part of the
24:47warrior culture.
24:49He was the
24:49essential bureaucrat,
24:51a former chief
24:52of Naval personnel.
24:54He was exactly
24:55the symbol of change
24:57the Navy's critics
24:58had called for.
24:59I came to respect
25:00him very much.
25:01I mean,
25:02he ended up
25:02convincing me
25:03he was really
25:06a person
25:06who cared very much
25:07about his troops
25:08but also
25:09cared very much
25:10that women
25:11remain there
25:12and be treated
25:13with respect.
25:14He was
25:15politically correct
25:17but he said
25:18PC stands
25:19for people care
25:21and he was
25:22determined to make
25:23it the Navy's
25:23slogan for the 90s.
25:25We still have
25:26some unthinking
25:27people who don't
25:28have the word.
25:29Either don't have
25:29the word about
25:30their own behavior
25:31or don't have
25:32the word about
25:32what they're supposed
25:33to do when somebody
25:34is behaving improperly.
25:36The Navy started
25:38sensitivity training
25:39and re-educated
25:40the fleet
25:41with programs
25:42like this.
25:42The Navy
25:43classifies behavior
25:44in three zones.
25:46Red means stop,
25:47don't do it.
25:48Yellow means
25:49use caution,
25:50prepare for red.
25:52Green light means
25:53go, it's all right.
25:54Green light behavior
25:55includes polite
25:56compliments,
25:57friendly conversation
25:58and touching
25:59that can't be
26:00reasonably perceived
26:01as sexual
26:02or threatening.
26:03In Mike Borda's
26:04Navy, the old
26:05order of the
26:06warrior culture
26:07was yielded
26:08no favor,
26:09particularly the
26:10men of Tailhook
26:1191.
26:13Commander Bob Stumpf
26:14had been absolved
26:15of all wrongdoing
26:16by a full court
26:17of inquiry,
26:19but in order to
26:19get back in the air,
26:21he needed a
26:21thumbs up from
26:22the Navy's
26:23number two
26:23admiral,
26:24Stanley Arthur.
26:26I told him,
26:26I said,
26:27you're going to
26:27be in leadership
26:28positions for a
26:29long time to come
26:30and as you walk
26:32into this new
26:33era that we're
26:34dealing with,
26:35you understand
26:37that the rules
26:38have in fact
26:38changed.
26:40Stanley Arthur
26:40was no bureaucrat.
26:42He was an
26:43esteemed warfighter,
26:45the Navy's
26:45most senior
26:46aviator.
26:48Of course,
26:48he was a great
26:49hero to all of us.
26:50500 missions
26:51in Vietnam
26:51and very gregarious
26:53and a wonderful,
26:55great tailhooker
26:56and we all
26:57admired him
26:57very much.
26:58In Vietnam,
27:00he won 11
27:01distinguished flying
27:02crosses.
27:04In the Gulf War,
27:05he commanded
27:05the largest
27:06American armada
27:07since World War II.
27:09He was made
27:10the final arbiter
27:11on the tailhook cases.
27:13Commander Stumpf
27:14is a victim of tailhook,
27:16pure and simple,
27:17certainly.
27:18I mean,
27:18he would not
27:20have been there
27:20if he hadn't
27:22been going
27:23to accept
27:24an award
27:25for having
27:25led the best
27:27squadron
27:27in the Navy.
27:28Arthur lectured
27:31Stumpf
27:31and sent him
27:32back to work.
27:33I have every
27:34confidence
27:34in our naval
27:35leadership
27:35and I'm glad
27:36this tailhook
27:37thing is behind us.
27:38Ready to go
27:38to work.
27:41Stumpf was cleared
27:42to rejoin
27:43the Blue Angels
27:44and climb back
27:45into his F-18.
27:49But Stanley
27:50Arthur's judgment
27:51wasn't enough
27:52for Congress.
27:54Pressed by women
27:55in both houses,
27:56the Senate Armed
27:56Services Committee
27:57took a drastic,
27:58unprecedented step.
28:00It insisted
28:01that any officer
28:02who had been
28:02at tailhook,
28:03even those
28:04whose subordinates
28:06had been at tailhook,
28:07be separated out
28:08for special scrutiny
28:10when put forward
28:11for promotion.
28:12It was called
28:13flagging.
28:15Never before
28:16had Congress
28:16penetrated so deeply
28:18into the military
28:19promotion process.
28:21The leadership
28:22of the Navy
28:22acquiesced
28:24and began
28:24to keep
28:25a secret list
28:26of the officers
28:26bearing the tailhook
28:28taint.
28:29I'll tell you,
28:30if there was ever
28:30a guy that had
28:31a black cloud
28:32hanging over his head
28:33that he didn't know
28:33he had hanging
28:34over his head
28:35was Bob Stumpf.
28:39I was selected
28:40for captain
28:40and the promotion
28:44was forwarded
28:45and was approved
28:46by the Secretary
28:47of Defense
28:47and the President
28:48made the nomination
28:48to the Senate
28:49and it was confirmed
28:50by the Senate.
28:50and it was the
28:52manifestation
28:53of all those
28:5326 years
28:55of getting ready
28:55to do it,
28:56to be an air wing commander.
28:57And that's kind
28:58of the ultimate goal.
29:00But it wouldn't happen.
29:02Because of the flagging process,
29:05the Senate Armed Services Committee
29:06killed his promotion.
29:08Commander Stumpf's Navy career
29:10was cast into limbo.
29:12They brought me
29:14through a whole career
29:15of getting ready
29:15to be an air wing commander,
29:17found me most qualified
29:18to be one
29:19and then
29:20canceled the promotion.
29:23I was at a loss.
29:25It's kind of
29:26a lonely feeling.
29:31Lieutenant Kara Holtgreen
29:32was busy
29:33at her dream job.
29:35Get that.
29:35Flying an F-14
29:37off the decks
29:37of a carrier.
29:39And then one afternoon
29:40off the coast
29:41of Southern California,
29:42something went wrong.
29:45503,
29:45come catch ball,
29:46Holtgreen.
29:47Watch ball.
29:48Wave off.
29:49Wave off.
29:50Wave off.
29:51Wave off.
29:52Power.
29:53Raise your gear.
29:54Raise your gear.
29:55Power.
29:56Eject.
29:56Eject.
29:59There's plane guard.
30:01Inbound.
30:0499 Delta.
30:08The worst part about it,
30:09you know,
30:09if they had ejected
30:12maybe just a fraction
30:13of a second earlier
30:14to give her
30:15to give her
30:15enough time
30:16to separate
30:17from the seed
30:17because she wasn't
30:19killed on impact.
30:21I mean,
30:21they just said
30:21maybe a combination
30:22of blunt force,
30:24injuries,
30:24and drowning.
30:26There was nothing
30:27really wrong
30:28with her.
30:28Internal organs
30:29were all right.
30:30I mean,
30:30her spine
30:31wasn't fractured
30:32and her left leg
30:36was broken
30:36pretty badly,
30:37but I would take that,
30:39you know.
30:40It took all of four seconds.
30:44A puff of smoke
30:45indicates the left engine
30:46has stalled.
30:48It is unlikely
30:48Holtgreen knew this.
30:50The first flash
30:52is her co-pilot ejecting.
30:53He survived.
30:56A fifth of a second later,
30:57Holtgreen ejects.
30:59She is propelled
31:00head first
31:01into the sea.
31:04Word of the Holtgreen crash
31:06echoed through the Navy
31:07and its implications
31:08were plain.
31:10This personal tragedy
31:11could become
31:12a public relations disaster
31:14for the new
31:15Mike Borda Navy.
31:17Already,
31:17there were grumblings
31:18among aviators
31:19that Holtgreen
31:20had been rushed
31:21to the head of the line,
31:23that perhaps
31:23she wasn't ready
31:24to take the stick
31:25of an F-14.
31:27And in fact,
31:27there was some evidence
31:29that pilot error
31:30may have caused the crash.
31:32The Navy chose
31:33a different spin.
31:35It took the unusual step
31:37of dredging up
31:38Holtgreen's aircraft
31:39to determine
31:39if she was at fault.
31:41Its public report
31:42on the accident
31:43emphasized
31:44equipment failure
31:45and its public posture
31:47toward Holtgreen
31:48was firmly exculpatory.
31:51She was given
31:51a hero's farewell.
31:54We just wanted
31:56to have it very simple
31:57and say goodbye
31:58to her in a dignified way.
32:00But then I talked
32:01to this casualty officer
32:02in Washington
32:03and he said,
32:03she's entitled
32:04to the full military service.
32:06He said she could have
32:08a case on
32:10and I went,
32:11a case on?
32:12You mean like
32:12President Kennedy had?
32:14And he said,
32:14yes.
32:15And I said,
32:15you mean with horses?
32:16And he said,
32:17yes.
32:18And I said,
32:18hmm, you care?
32:19I really liked horses.
32:20And she had a horse
32:22and so we decided
32:26that we would do that.
32:27Her funeral
32:48was an event,
32:50attracting network
32:51news cameras
32:52and the presence
32:53of the Secretary
32:53of the Navy
32:54and Admiral Stanley Arthur.
32:56We who wear this uniform
33:03are honored
33:05to serve this great nation.
33:06I like Stan Arthur.
33:08He was very nice.
33:09He said,
33:09to those of us
33:11who fly
33:12on and off carriers
33:14accept the fact
33:15that not everyone
33:17who takes off
33:18from the carrier
33:19will land.
33:20And he said,
33:21we embrace
33:22this risk
33:24with enthusiasm.
33:25And he said,
33:27Kara was one of us.
33:29She embraced
33:30that risk
33:31with enthusiasm.
33:32And then he said,
33:33permission to fly solo.
33:34Recruiting and training women
33:47remained a Navy priority.
33:51Rebecca Hansen
33:52was learning
33:52to fly a helicopter.
33:54Again,
33:55her progress
33:56was uneven.
33:57Her instructors
33:58observed
33:58that she overcame
33:59mistakes
34:00during the course
34:01of a flight
34:01but repeated
34:02the mistakes
34:03the next time up.
34:05They noted
34:05her enthusiasm
34:06but they rated
34:07her only
34:08a marginal student.
34:10Finally,
34:10she flew
34:11with the chief instructor.
34:12It did not go well.
34:14She was attrited,
34:16washed out.
34:17That flight,
34:17it was a bad flight
34:18but I was,
34:20I was set up.
34:22Hansen's scenario
34:23is this.
34:25Her difficulties
34:25in flight training
34:26really reflected
34:27a campaign
34:28of retribution
34:29instigated
34:30by that early
34:31flight instructor
34:32back in Corpus Christi.
34:34He made threats
34:36at the officers' club
34:37saying that
34:40I was going
34:42to get
34:43what I had
34:44coming to me,
34:45that he had
34:46buddies waiting
34:47to fly with me
34:48in Whiting Field
34:49where I was
34:50to go on
34:51for helicopter training
34:52and that what
34:54I failed to realize
34:55is that white men
34:56run the Navy.
34:59Hansen decided
35:00to fight back.
35:01She was supported
35:02by her fiercest ally,
35:04her mother,
35:05Kay Hansen.
35:07I think the Navy
35:08continually
35:09underestimated her.
35:12What you see
35:12is what you get.
35:13If she says
35:14she's going to do something,
35:15she will do it.
35:18Whatever it takes,
35:20however ostracized
35:22she is,
35:24whatever reprisal
35:25she encounters,
35:28she's like a bulldog.
35:29If she gets started,
35:30she will continue.
35:31As the Navy
35:32was about to find out,
35:34Rebecca Hansen
35:35was a fighter,
35:36had been all her life.
35:38I suppose I was
35:40a bit of a problem
35:41in a small town
35:42where I didn't
35:45accept the status quo
35:47and where my parents
35:50didn't either.
35:51Rebecca was
35:52controversial
35:53in her hometown
35:54high school.
35:55Notorious,
35:56is how she put it.
35:58One time at homecoming,
35:59she got into a fight.
36:01There were five girls
36:02that I can distinctly
36:04remember having
36:05their hands on me
36:06and pulling me down
36:07a dark hallway.
36:10And I was suspended
36:11and this was not right.
36:14So we fought it.
36:16Her parents sued
36:17the school district
36:18and the parents
36:19of the other girls.
36:21The tensions
36:22in the small town
36:23got so bad,
36:24Rebecca was escorted
36:25to the homecoming game
36:26by a police officer.
36:28She has always
36:29done what she thought
36:30was right.
36:32Not for any other purpose,
36:34but that it was
36:36the right thing to do.
36:37Through the course
36:38of her young life,
36:39there ran a series
36:40of perceived injustices
36:42at another high school,
36:44in college,
36:45at her first job
36:46as a TV sportscaster.
36:47The sales guys
36:49wanted me to switch
36:50and to do news
36:51and it was purely
36:52a gender thing
36:54and I felt
36:56that I was hired
36:57to do one thing
36:57and I wasn't going
36:58to be shuttled off
36:59into doing something else
37:00when it didn't have
37:01to do with my performance.
37:03And so I left.
37:06Now,
37:06in her battle
37:07with the Navy,
37:08Hanson was
37:09characteristically
37:10resolute.
37:12Her mother got the idea
37:13of contacting
37:14their United States
37:15Senator David Durenberger.
37:18I was dealing
37:18with this as I would
37:19with any
37:20constituent service matter.
37:22The issue was simply
37:23how do you get
37:23the Navy at the top
37:25to be responsive.
37:27Senator Durenberger
37:28and his staff
37:29demanded from the Navy
37:30detailed answers
37:31on the Hanson case.
37:34The inspector general
37:34told me that his report
37:36had found that
37:37the instructor
37:37had acted properly
37:38and I said,
37:39well,
37:39just show me the report.
37:41You know,
37:41I'd like to take
37:42your word for it
37:42but she's going
37:43to have to trust me.
37:44Show me the report.
37:46And he said,
37:47I can't do that.
37:48You can get it
37:49from the Armed Services
37:49Committee
37:50or something like that
37:50but he wouldn't
37:51show me the report.
37:52So the next phase
37:53of it I think
37:53was Stanley Arthur.
37:55I said,
37:55who's that?
37:56What's that?
37:57I didn't know
37:57what vice chief,
37:58he said,
37:58the vice chief
37:59of Naval Operations
38:00and I said,
38:01who's that?
38:02And he said,
38:03Admiral Arthur.
38:05Like, you know,
38:05I should have known this
38:06but I don't think
38:07that the average
38:10ensign knows this.
38:14Admiral Stanley Arthur
38:15volunteered
38:16to resolve the case.
38:18I said,
38:19I will not make
38:19a decision
38:20on this case
38:21until I have
38:22an opportunity
38:23to interview her
38:24in person.
38:26He was likable
38:27in a,
38:28I guess,
38:29a meeting
38:30sort of way.
38:31Was he wanting
38:31to get down
38:32to facts
38:33and business?
38:34No,
38:35he had his mind
38:35made up.
38:37He was
38:38patronizing to me.
38:41Admiral Arthur
38:42looked at these documents,
38:44her failing grades,
38:45her marginal
38:46performance evaluations.
38:48He says
38:49what he saw
38:50frightened him.
38:51No,
38:52she was not
38:53going to be
38:54a Navy pilot
38:55and I knew
38:57this was an accident
38:58waiting to happen,
38:59that at some point
39:00in time
39:00there would be
39:01a failure
39:02and the failure
39:02could well be tragic.
39:04When
39:05you have
39:06someone
39:07of the,
39:10that has the rank
39:11and the respect
39:12of Admiral Stanley Arthur
39:13declare that you're
39:14an unsafe pilot,
39:16it doesn't matter
39:17that he doesn't have
39:18anything to back it up with.
39:20Just the fact
39:21that he has
39:2111 distinct flying crosses,
39:23that's all anybody needs.
39:24He's a war hero
39:25and he's a known quantity
39:27and I'm,
39:29nobody knows,
39:30I'm just some,
39:31some junior officer
39:32and on top of that,
39:33not just some junior officer,
39:35I'm,
39:35I'm a woman.
39:36I'm a woman
39:37who filed sexual harassment charges.
39:39I must be a bad pilot.
39:41Why else would I do
39:42such a thing?
39:43If you had to explain it,
39:45you could take 10 years
39:46to try to explain it
39:47but you get this feel,
39:49you've had the feeling before.
39:54I've watched people die
39:55when I had that feeling
39:56saying,
39:58maybe this individual
40:01shouldn't have been here.
40:02Why were they here?
40:04This is an accident
40:05waiting to happen
40:06and then the next thing
40:06you know it's an accident
40:07that happened
40:08and you say,
40:09should I,
40:14am I responsible
40:16because I didn't say anything?
40:19You know
40:20and I know today
40:22that that was the right call
40:24in my mind.
40:26My reaction was the same
40:27as it had been
40:28all the way through the process.
40:29At some point,
40:30I'm going to have to be
40:31the only person
40:31that Rebecca's going to trust
40:34in this matter.
40:35I can't just take
40:36the word of somebody
40:37who represents
40:38an institution
40:40she already doesn't trust.
40:42So just show me
40:43the evidence
40:44and let me be the judge.
40:46I was going to have
40:47to end up being the one
40:47to make the decision,
40:48not them.
40:50It was a remarkable turn.
40:53A United States senator
40:54and his staff
40:55judging the Navy's
40:57assessment of the flight
40:58worthiness of a pilot trainee.
41:01In the middle of all this,
41:03good news for Admiral Arthur,
41:05a career capping promotion.
41:08Admiral Arthur is nominated
41:09by President Clinton
41:11to Sink Pack,
41:12chief of all American forces
41:14in the Pacific,
41:15the largest operational
41:17military command
41:18in the world.
41:20I certainly felt qualified.
41:22It's an area
41:22that I was comfortable with.
41:24It's where I spent
41:25my whole operational life
41:26was out in the Pacific.
41:27I mean,
41:28it's a place I love.
41:29I love the people.
41:29I love the cultures.
41:33I thought this is...
41:35I got a son and daughter
41:37who live out there,
41:38two grandsons
41:38who live in Hawaii.
41:39I said,
41:40this is really going to be
41:42quite a way
41:43to finish out your tour.
41:45But there was still
41:47the case of Rebecca Hansen.
41:50Admiral Arthur's nomination
41:51presented dramatic opportunity
41:53for her champions
41:55on Senator Durenberger's staff.
41:57Admiral Arthur
41:58was to be nominated
41:59for this position
42:00as the commander
42:02of the Navy
42:02in the Pacific,
42:03Sink Pack,
42:04they call it,
42:05which is a very
42:08prestigious
42:09and important job
42:11and that it required
42:12some kind of
42:13Senate confirmation
42:14and that perhaps
42:15if we were to put
42:16a hold on his nomination,
42:18that that would
42:19convince the Navy
42:20that we were serious
42:20about wanting these answers.
42:22I thought you put a hold on it,
42:24you say,
42:24look,
42:25I'm serious.
42:26I want to put a timeline on it.
42:28OK,
42:28this has gone on
42:29so long already.
42:30The one way
42:31to put a timeline
42:31on something
42:32is to say,
42:33Admiral Arthur
42:34doesn't get to command
42:35the Pacific
42:35until you give me
42:38the answers
42:39to the question.
42:40Well,
42:40I was,
42:40I was,
42:41you know,
42:42I was,
42:42I was,
42:43I was,
42:44I was not,
42:45I was surprised
42:46and yet I wasn't surprised.
42:48I mean,
42:48this,
42:51this thing
42:52between his office
42:53and the Navy
42:55was a continuing,
42:56you haven't answered
42:57my questions
42:58and we'd go back
42:59and we'd find out
43:00all,
43:00we'd get all the papers out
43:01and we,
43:02I'd have individuals go,
43:04you go look at all the letters,
43:06you go look at all the replies
43:08and tell me,
43:08did we answer
43:09all these questions?
43:10Yes,
43:11sir,
43:11you did.
43:11You've answered
43:12all these questions.
43:12So I thought,
43:14well,
43:14this is just a momentary blip,
43:16one last gasp
43:18to make a statement.
43:20In the midst
43:21of the standoff,
43:22Hanson badly hurt her knee
43:23during a skiing vacation.
43:25She emerged
43:26from a military hospital
43:27with a new plan of attack.
43:30At that point,
43:30I thought that
43:31I was going to have to
43:33reach Secretary Dalton
43:34to get somewhere.
43:36I was holding out
43:37a lot of hope for him.
43:38Secretary of the Navy,
43:39John Dalton,
43:40agreed to see her.
43:42The meeting
43:43with Secretary Dalton
43:44was not much
43:46to speak of.
43:47I,
43:47I spoke,
43:49he said that he had
43:49a couple of questions
43:50for me.
43:51I was encouraged
43:52that he was paying attention,
43:54but he didn't even
43:56put on an act
43:56of caring.
43:58So why did he meet
43:59with you?
44:01Political reasons.
44:03What do you mean?
44:06Admiral Arthur
44:06was on hold.
44:09Then one night,
44:10Chief of Naval Operations
44:12Admiral Borda
44:13met with Stan Arthur
44:15at the Pentagon.
44:16I said,
44:17look,
44:17I'm willing to fight it.
44:18I'm willing to stay here
44:19and fight this
44:20because I think
44:21that in the long run
44:22we will be successful.
44:25But fighting
44:25for Stan Arthur
44:26posed the unwelcome prospect
44:28of Hansen's
44:29sexual harassment case
44:31becoming a protracted
44:32confirmation spectacle.
44:34There was a lot
44:35of concern
44:36about the time
44:37that Congress
44:38was saying
44:38it was going to take
44:39to get my nomination
44:40approved.
44:42And I said,
44:43if you're convinced
44:44that it is too excessive
44:46and that you can't wait
44:47for that process
44:50to come to completion,
44:51then I'll retire.
44:55And so I retired.
44:56I had no agenda
45:01to take him down
45:02but if he can't deal
45:04with the facts
45:04then maybe it is time
45:06for him to move on
45:07and maybe we're better off
45:09not having him
45:10in charge of a very
45:11heated area
45:13in North Korea
45:14if he's not able
45:16to deal with things
45:19in a balanced way.
45:20The new Navy
45:22forged in the heat
45:23of the culture wars
45:24had finally
45:25thoroughly humbled
45:26the old Navy.
45:29My feelings
45:30on that
45:32are basically
45:33one,
45:34this is the price
45:36you pay
45:37for the form
45:40of government
45:41we have
45:41and so it's okay.
45:44It's
45:45civilian leadership
45:46of our military
45:47is an absolute
45:50prerequisite
45:52for the way
45:54our life
45:56in America
45:56has to be.
45:58We never want
45:58the military
45:59to have
46:00control of the state
46:02so to speak
46:03and so
46:05there's a price
46:06you pay for that
46:07because
46:07you say
46:09we serve
46:10at the pleasure
46:11of the president
46:13and the congress.
46:16Borda's treatment
46:16of Stan Arthur
46:17outraged
46:18the Navy's
46:19old guard
46:20that group
46:21of politically
46:21powerful
46:22retired officers.
46:23Stan Arthur
46:24that was the biggest
46:25waste of all time.
46:27There's no one
46:27as well qualified
46:28as he was
46:29and yet
46:29a senator jumps up
46:30and wipes the guy out.
46:33I was shocked
46:34to hear
46:34that his name
46:35had been pulled
46:36and the circumstances
46:38under which
46:38it had been pulled
46:39which were
46:39absolutely ridiculous.
46:42It was his judgment
46:43that she should not fly
46:44and yet
46:46his nomination
46:48gets held up
46:49over an issue
46:49like that.
46:51I mean
46:51I think it's a travesty
46:53for both him
46:54and the country.
46:55Among the old guard
46:56the Arthur matter
46:57damaged
46:58Admiral Borda's
46:59reputation.
47:00What he did next
47:01may have put it
47:02beyond repair.
47:04The day Arthur
47:05announced his retirement
47:06Borda
47:06met with
47:07Rebecca Hansen
47:08face to face.
47:10It was a very
47:11truly bizarre meeting.
47:13He got angry
47:14with me at one point
47:15and called me a liar
47:16but then later on
47:18he told me
47:19that he wanted me
47:19to come work for him.
47:20He told me
47:21he needed somebody
47:22to tell him the truth
47:23and tell him
47:24what was really going on
47:25and that he would
47:26want me to report
47:27directly to him.
47:28It would be very important
47:29that I wouldn't report
47:30to somebody else.
47:31In the eyes
47:32of the old guard
47:33Borda
47:34had just sacrificed
47:35the Navy ideal
47:36for the perfect symbol
47:38of the Navy's
47:39post-tailhook torment.
47:42Among the Navy
47:42traditionalists
47:43a seething resentment
47:44gathered force
47:46voiced in April
47:47by former Navy Secretary
47:48James Webb
47:50in a speech
47:50at Annapolis.
47:52Today
47:52I am sadly astounded
47:54to see our Navy
47:56struggling for its soul
47:58many whose very duty
48:00it was to defend
48:02the hallowed traditions
48:04and the unique culture
48:06of their profession
48:08declined to do so
48:10when their voices
48:11were most urgently needed.
48:13Some are guilty
48:14of the ultimate disloyalty
48:15to save or advance
48:17their careers
48:17they abandon
48:19the very ideals
48:20of their profession
48:21in order to curry favor
48:22with politicians.
48:23They should fight back
48:24not with a memo
48:26but by being willing
48:27to bet their careers.
48:28If Borda needed redemption
48:30the old guard
48:31had just the case
48:32for him
48:33Commander Bob Stumpf.
48:35Another Navy promotion board
48:37had decided
48:38Stumpf should be a captain.
48:40It was a chance
48:41for Mike Borda
48:41to make a stand.
48:43Admiral Borda
48:44was a strong supporter
48:45and he was very helpful.
48:47He said I should be promoted
48:48and that he would support it.
48:51Pressed by naval aviators
48:52he pledged his support
48:54for Bob Stumpf.
48:56Admiral Borda
48:56seemed determined
48:57to line up
48:58with the Navy's warriors.
49:00But then a revelation
49:01that promised
49:03new embarrassment
49:03for the Navy.
49:05For years
49:05Borda had worn
49:06these two V's
49:07tiny bronze pins
49:09signifying valor
49:10and combat.
49:12Wearing them
49:12is sacred
49:13to the warrior culture.
49:15But Borda
49:16had not actually
49:16been awarded the medals.
49:18Then on May 16th
49:20Borda's secret
49:21was threatened
49:21with exposure.
49:23Newsweek was planning
49:24a story.
49:25This was not
49:26just another political fight.
49:28Rather it entailed
49:29a breach of honor
49:30of a sort keenly felt
49:32by a CNO
49:32who had never been
49:33fired on in battle.
49:35He cancelled his next meeting
49:37at the Pentagon
49:37and went home.
49:41The President
49:42has just received
49:43the news.
49:47The Chief of Naval Operations
49:49has just taken
49:50his own life.
49:50and the people
49:51who do the work
49:52in just the last
49:53five years.
49:55Ladies and gentlemen
49:56it is my sad duty
49:57to report to you
50:00that Admiral Mike Borda
50:01the Chief of Naval Operations
50:03is dead.
50:05He was pronounced dead
50:06this afternoon
50:07at 2.30 p.m.
50:09from a gunshot wound
50:12to the chest
50:12the Washington D.C. Police
50:16and the Naval Criminal
50:17Investigating Service
50:18are investigating.
50:25As Chief of Naval Operations
50:27Admiral Mike Borda
50:28had urged compromise
50:29upon the Navy
50:30but when confronted
50:32by his own crisis
50:33he saw no compromise
50:34available.
50:36His last gesture
50:37was absolute
50:38and unambiguously clear.
50:41He chose
50:41a warrior's death.
50:42So the men
50:48and women
50:48of the Navy
50:49moved on
50:50to whatever it is
50:51that comes after
50:52Mike Borda.
50:54Rebecca Hansen
50:55never did go to work
50:56at the Pentagon.
50:57Her ski accident
50:58earned her
50:59a disability retirement.
51:01She plans
51:02to attend law school.
51:04Commander Bob Stumpf
51:05never got his promotion
51:07and now
51:07he no longer
51:08flies for the Navy.
51:10He resigned
51:11earlier this month.
51:12In the tailhook aftermath
51:14more than 300
51:15other officers
51:17including 14 admirals
51:18have left the Navy.
51:21The men and women
51:22in the fleet
51:23are doing
51:23what they have
51:24always done
51:25working long shifts
51:27on inhospitable seas.
51:29That's what the USS Enterprise
51:31is doing right now
51:32responding to the new
51:34tensions with Iraq.
51:36The last time
51:38the Navy
51:38confronted Saddam Hussein
51:40Bob Stumpf
51:41was leading
51:42attack squadrons
51:43over Baghdad
51:44and the fleet
51:45was under the command
51:46of Admiral Stanley Arthur.
51:48visit Frontline on the web
52:07at www.pbs.org
52:10for more
52:10on the infamous
52:11Tailhook 91 convention
52:13and get acquainted
52:14with three people
52:15whose stories about it
52:16became bitter controversies.
52:18Examine the high-risk routines
52:20of naval jet pilots.
52:22Read more
52:22of Frontline's interviews,
52:24a chronology of women
52:25in the Navy
52:26and lots more.
52:28Then please give us
52:29your feedback
52:29at www.pbs.org
52:33And next time on Frontline,
52:38issue one.
52:39America hates the press.
52:40Do liberals rule the press?
52:42They're arrogant.
52:43Sick offensive.
52:43Superficial snarling and yapping.
52:46Overpaid.
52:46Millionaire journalist.
52:47A real scandal, I think.
52:48They're apt and out of touch.
52:50We pour garbage on people.
52:51And the press knows it.
52:52I think we are really unpopular.
52:54So out of it.
52:55It seems like a big game.
52:56Next time on Frontline,
52:57the Washington press corps
52:58looks in the mirror.
52:59Oh, I have sinned myself
53:00in the mirror.
53:01Watch why America
53:02hates the press.
53:03Bye-bye.
53:03Bye-bye.
54:03The End
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