Capt. Owen Honors

As usual, the press gets it wrong and the extremists scream.

However, before I start I want to say that I do know that Captain Honors was a Commander and the XO of the the ship at the time of the incidents.  However, many of the crew were on the Enterprise when these events occurred and obviously would remember them.

Imagine that you live in a small town of about 6000 people.  The population of the town is approximately 1/3 ranchers and 2/3 farmers. The mayor of the town is appointed, not elected, and must be a rancher. The mayor is also the chief of police, the town magistrate, the town sheriff, and the town judge. The Mayor has the power have people arrested, put in jail, have their salaries reduced, have their job position reduced, and he holds the keys to rewards also.  The only complaints against him can be made to those who appointed him.

Now imagine that instead of the town this is a US naval vessel. There's the Air Combat Navy, of which the captain is a member, and the surface warfare navy, which is the majority of the population. The captain is that mayor.  He has absolute power over that vessel and all who are on. And don't forget that he holds the power over life and death. Remember, you are on an aircraft carrier. Think what the purpose of it is.  In an all out war its mission would to would be to get all of its aircraft in flight before it was sunk, most likely by an enemy submarine. So yes, it is life-and-death.

That is what the press does not say about this affair. It is not a case of keeping up the troops morale, or free speech, or left wing political correctness. Under the UCMJ, Uniform Code of Military Justice, a Captain has the following  Judicial powers:

Field Grade (O-4 to O-6) may impose:

• Restriction for not more than 60 days
• Extra duties for not more than 45 days
• Restriction with extra duties for not more than 45 days
• Correctional Custody for not more than 30 days (only if accused is in the grades E-3 and below)
• Forfeiture of ½ of base pay for two months
• Reduction by one grade if (USA/USAF E-6 or E-5; USMC E-5 or below; USN E-6 or below); or reduction to E-1 (USA/USAF E-4 to E-2)
• Confinement on diminished rations or bread and water for not more than 3 days (USN/USMC E-3 and below only, and only when embarked on a vessel)
• Admonition or reprimand, either written or verbal

There is also an article of the   UCMJ that talks about all conduct unbecoming an officer. Common saying in the military is that RHIP, that is, rank has its privileges. What is more important, just as common is RHIR, or rank has its responsibilities.

(from Wikipaedia)

Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman (or conduct unbecoming for short) is an offense subject to court martial defined in the punitive code, Article 133, of the United States Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), enacted at 10 U.S.C. § 933.
The elements are:

1. That the accused did or omitted to do certain acts; and
2. That, in the circumstances, these acts or omissions constituted conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman.

Here "officer" is understood to include commissioned officers, cadets, and midshipmen of both sexes, hence the more common term conduct unbecoming. A gentleman is understood to have a duty to avoid dishonest acts, displays of indecency, lawlessness, dealing unfairly, indecorum, injustice, or acts of cruelty.


Now imagine life on-board that ship as a surface warfare type when the captain said:

"This evening, all of you bleeding hearts - and you, fag SWO boy - why don't you just go ahead and hug yourselves for the next 20 minutes or so, because there is a really good chance you're going to be offended tonight."

Imagine what it was like for the more religious who were offended by watching simulated masturbation by the captain  or simulated sex acts in the shower by two men or by two women. Imagine what it was like for the gays, for gays could serve under don't ask don't tell as long as nobody asked nobody told. So imagine what it was like when he made fun of fags.

So, no this is not a subject of free speech or of good morale. It was gross, gross misuse of his position. For someone like a 2nd Lieutenant or Ensign to fool around with his troops to boost morale is one thing. However, even then there are limits as to what should be said or done. The limits for  a CO are astronomically higher. He has to be the epitome of fairness, justice, good judgment, and bring not even a modicum of disgrace to the position.  He is that mayor I mentioned previously.



Now, in my opinion,  Capt. Honors is not the subject of the witch hunt. He demonstrated such poor judgment that was “detrimental to good order and discipline” that it reach the degree of “conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman."


One of the first things I learned at the Naval Academy was “if the Navy wants you to have an opinion, it will give you one”.  One of the reasons I left..... just so I could give you my opinion.