New Lewd Videos Emerge by Fired Navy Commander
RICHMOND, Virginia - More bawdy shipboard videos made by a Navy officer surfaced Wednesday, a day after he was fired from command of his aircraft carrier.
The Navy Times, which posted the videos on its website, said it received them anonymously in the mail. They appear to come from the same 2006-2007 period as the ones that got Capt. Owen Honors demoted from commander of the USS Enterprise to the desk job he reported to Wednesday.
The earlier videos included anti-gay slurs, sailors of both genders in shower scenes, and salty language. The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk first made those public last weekend.
Honors has not spoken publicly about the videos. The new ones include a scene in which he talks to an officer he identifies as a staffer for the admiral in charge of the USS Enterprise carrier strike group.
That staffer's involvement could contradict Honors' disclaimer in all the videos that senior officers were not aware of them. The Navy is investigating what other officers knew.
Honors also acknowledged that the taped skits meant as entertainment for the carrier crew had drawn some complaints. He was executive officer, or second in command, at the time and advanced to commander of the ship this year.
U.S. Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, homeport of the Enterprise, declined to respond to specific questions about the videos.
Navy Questioned over Timing of Video Punishment
Pictures: Navy Captain Owen Honors' Lewd Videos
Ex-Enterprise Sailor Defends Videos, Captain
Adm. John Harvey, commander of Fleet Forces, on Tuesday relieved Honors from the command of the Enterprise for his "profound lack of good judgment and professionalism" in recording the videos.
Some of the more recently released videos were made during the Enterprise's deployment to the Persian Gulf, where it went twice during the height of the Iraq war.
In one, Honors is shown surveying crew members to get their ideas on how he can spice up his videos after complaints that they've lost their edge. He uses a profane term to express that sentiment.
One crew member suggests he pose in a thong, while another suggests more sexual images.
The next image shows what appears to be Honors' head superimposed atop a picture of Sacha Baron Cohen's thong-wearing "Borat" character flanked by women in bathing suits.
Crew members who served with Honors have rushed to his defense, saying he used the raunchy videos to also deliver serious lessons to crew members on ship's operations.
The military has said it called for a stop to the videos at the time but has not explained why it only reprimanded Honors three years later.
The Enterprise is scheduled to leave this month for a deployment to support U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
© 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Navy Times, which posted the videos on its website, said it received them anonymously in the mail. They appear to come from the same 2006-2007 period as the ones that got Capt. Owen Honors demoted from commander of the USS Enterprise to the desk job he reported to Wednesday.
The earlier videos included anti-gay slurs, sailors of both genders in shower scenes, and salty language. The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk first made those public last weekend.
Honors has not spoken publicly about the videos. The new ones include a scene in which he talks to an officer he identifies as a staffer for the admiral in charge of the USS Enterprise carrier strike group.
That staffer's involvement could contradict Honors' disclaimer in all the videos that senior officers were not aware of them. The Navy is investigating what other officers knew.
Honors also acknowledged that the taped skits meant as entertainment for the carrier crew had drawn some complaints. He was executive officer, or second in command, at the time and advanced to commander of the ship this year.
U.S. Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, homeport of the Enterprise, declined to respond to specific questions about the videos.
Navy Questioned over Timing of Video Punishment
Pictures: Navy Captain Owen Honors' Lewd Videos
Ex-Enterprise Sailor Defends Videos, Captain
Adm. John Harvey, commander of Fleet Forces, on Tuesday relieved Honors from the command of the Enterprise for his "profound lack of good judgment and professionalism" in recording the videos.
Some of the more recently released videos were made during the Enterprise's deployment to the Persian Gulf, where it went twice during the height of the Iraq war.
In one, Honors is shown surveying crew members to get their ideas on how he can spice up his videos after complaints that they've lost their edge. He uses a profane term to express that sentiment.
One crew member suggests he pose in a thong, while another suggests more sexual images.
The next image shows what appears to be Honors' head superimposed atop a picture of Sacha Baron Cohen's thong-wearing "Borat" character flanked by women in bathing suits.
Crew members who served with Honors have rushed to his defense, saying he used the raunchy videos to also deliver serious lessons to crew members on ship's operations.
The military has said it called for a stop to the videos at the time but has not explained why it only reprimanded Honors three years later.
The Enterprise is scheduled to leave this month for a deployment to support U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
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The question is when? Does anyone have the answer to why we have not heard anyone of them say something like the above statement?
I couldn't even finish watching the video, it was so humiliating. It made me ashamed to have been a Naval Officer. CAPT Honors' behavior was completely disgraceful. I figured the video was inappropriate, but it was over the top and he actually knowingly, repeatedly flaunted that aspect on camera. The excuse of needing to entertain people while deployed is lame. You're not out there to have fun, you're out there serving your country. Excuses are weak - grow a backbone and do your job, set an example, have some integrity and intelligence and figure out how to entertain your sailors without degrading yourself, your shipmates, your military, and your country. I saw two cute parts of the video with some sailors dancing; that's the kind of stuff that is entertaining and good for morale. Get a funny crewmember to do actual comedy to raise morale. CAPT Honors comes off as a complete dork and he wasn't even funny. You want funny? Watch Will Ferrell movies, they're funny and in the appropriate context.
Horrible judgement and weakness was displayed by kowtowing to gain approval of his antics/videos by other shipmates. It is not your job as a Naval Officer to be popular. And I don't see this is as a gay rights issue -- he was offensive to every sexual orientation.
Why wasn't this fool disciplined earlier? He didn't convert to idiot overnight. Military Officers are taught and held to a higher standard of integrity and strength, to set an example for others. CAPT Honors is a weak, immoral, disgraceful, embarrassing geek. He should be removed from military service. I'll write to my congressmen and senators to say so. He didn't just fall on his sword, he stabbed himself 312 times and bloodied the uniform. Nobody in the military is irreplaceable, and the military is made stronger by his removal.
I cannot believe people are defending him, calling him a hero - it denigrates upstanding servicemen. Just because you serve in the military doesn't make you a hero. The sum of your actions makes you a hero.