Inside The Tailhook Scandal: A Naval Aviator's Story


Book Description

When thousands of naval aviators and flight officers gathered in Las Vegas in September 1991 to celebrate their victory in the First Gulf War, none could have imagined that their behavior during Tailhook ’91 would have such devastating consequences for the Navy. Just weeks after the annual reunion’s conclusion, rumors of a raucous late night gauntlet made up of junior officer jet jockeys began to surface. It wasn’t until a female Navy lieutenant complained in writing to her




Air Warriors


Book Description

Veteran journalist and author of The Commandos Douglas Waller chronicles his rare and intimate experience with the training program for Navy pilots in this “engrossing saga that will likely become an unofficial recruiting tool for naval aviation” (Publishers Weekly). Waller, who was granted permission to participate in the pilots’ grueling training regime, has written an absorbing behind-the-scenes account of the physical and psychological trials endured by the most specialized group of pilots in military history. From his bird’s-eye view in the passenger’s seat, Waller follows pilot trainees through two years of intense preparation. He offers vivid illustrations from the fray: hair-raising aerial dogfights; stomach-swallowing dive-bombing runs; high-speed tactical maneuvers grazing the desert floor; and numerous nerve-twisting aircraft carrier takeoffs and landings. In addition to his own experiences and those of the group of trainees he joins, his research is based on interviews with hundreds of other students and their instructors. Hurtling through the air at death-defying speeds, these pilots-in-training struggle to maintain their composure while withstanding conditions that are designed to challenge them to the very limits of human endurance. Waller’s deftly drawn portraits of the men and women he encounters in this singular culture of elite pilots are as satisfying as his adventure narrative. The pilots, whose grit, determination, and mental agility operate on an elevated threshold, come into sharp focus behind Waller’s keen lens: their aspirations, awe inspiring. Air Warriors combines an examination of the modern Navy, recovering from past sex scandals, with a portrayal of a privileged cadre of men and women whose ambition and commitment coexist within a tightly knit group. Waller is able to capture images of these pilots training, living, and fighting with an acuity and intelligence that are often absent from Hollywood and television treatments of this diverse and fascinating subculture. Air Warriors takes us inside the cockpit and behind closed doors for the real story of the making of a Navy pilot.




The Mother of All Hooks


Book Description

The Mother of All Hooks is a richly detailed description of the United States government's attempts to punish naval officers for sexual misconduct committed at the 1991 Tailhook Association convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. Journalist William H. McMichael describes the institutionalized mind-set that led to that misconduct and, in the face of an oppressive, politically charged investigation, to a large-scale failure to cooperate with government agents. This failure led to further investigative and prosecutorial excesses that ultimately doomed the effort to bring the guilty to justice; many of the guiltiest, hi fact, were given immunity to testify, and escaped severe punishment. At the same time, McMichael makes clear that Tailhook misconduct had been largely condoned for decades, but that senior officials failed to take responsibility for allowing such an atmosphere to flourish. This powerful expose is a shocking, eye-opening read for psychologists, criminologists, criminal justice professionals, and members of the U.S. military. The Tailhook Association convention had become infamous in naval circles for heavy drinking, hard partying, and sexual promiscuity. The most notable such ac-tivity was the "gauntlet"—a hallway lined by men through which selected women were forced to pass, only to be fondled. McMichael provides a rich narrative ac-count of how the United States Navy and the Pentagon mishandled investigation of events at the 1991 convention and subsequent hearings. In addition to exposing that approach's dramatic shortcomings, McMichael also provides insight into the Navy's history of open sexuality by its members while overseas, the fighter pilot psyche, and the larger issue of whether the Navy should be permitted to investigate its own transgressions. While more than thirty admirals eventually received what amounted to a hand slap, more than twenty junior officers received career-killing punitive letters of reprimand in closed-door administrative hearings. The Mother of All Hooks provides absorbing new details for all who think they "know" what hap-pened because of Tailhook—and why.




Tailspin


Book Description

A definitive work of feminist scholarship and military history, this sweeping narrative about women with the "right stuff" chronicles the scandal that rocked the Navy and changed the fate of women in combat as it tells the bigger, untold story of women at war. 8 pages of photos.




The Tailhook Report


Book Description

In September 1991, over 4,000 U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviation officers met in Las Vegas for the 35th Annual Tailhook Symposium, a long-standing professional convention of naval aviators. Over the weekend, the parties and drunken behavior raged out of control and resulted in widespread damage to the hotel, 90 identified victims of indecent assault, 140 officers referred for possible court-martial or disciplinary action, and the demotion, transfer, or resignation of several top Navy officials. For the first time, this, the official report of the wildest ranging scandal in the history of the U.S. Navy, details in-depth the abuses that occurred. This report finally reveals the truth behind the rumors, the headlines, and the scandal.




Release a Man for Combat


Book Description

Die etwa 150.000 Frauen, die im Zweiten Weltkrieg im Women's Army Corps Dienst taten, waren die ersten regularen Soldatinnen der US-Armee. Um mannliche Soldaten fur den Kampf freizusetzen, arbeiteten sie auch in traditionellen Mannerbereichen, etwa als Mechanikerinnen oder Pilotinnen in den USA, Afrika, Europa und Sudostasien. Die Autorin geht den Erfahrungen dieser Frauen nach, den militarischen und zivilen Diskursen uber Soldatinnen im Militar und dem Umgang der Armee mit soldatischer Weiblichkeit und weiblicher Sexualitat. Anhand von Regierungsdokumenten, Kriegsgerichtsprozessen, aber auch Selbstzeugnissen, Gedichten und Songs zeigt M. Michaela Hampf, wie umkampft die Konstruktion der Soldatin im Amerika der vierziger Jahre war und bis heute ist.




Encyclopedia of White-Collar and Corporate Crime


Book Description

Since the first edition of the Encyclopedia of White Collar and Corporate Crime was produced in 2004, the number and severity of these crimes have risen to the level of calamity, so much so that many experts attribute the near-Depression of 2008 to white-collar malfeasance, namely crimes of greed and excess by bankers and financial institutions. Whether the perpetrators were prosecuted or not, white-collar and corporate crime came near to collapsing the U.S. economy. In the 7 years since the first edition was produced we have also seen the largest Ponzi scheme in history (Maddoff), an ecological disaster caused by British Petroleum and its subcontractors (Gulf Oil Spill), and U.S. Defense Department contractors operating like vigilantes in Iraq (Blackwater). White-collar criminals have been busy, and the Second Edition of this encyclopedia captures what has been going on in the news and behind the scenes with new articles and updates to past articles.




Watchdogs


Book Description

The last line of defense for our institutions, and our democracy Inspectors general may be the most important public servants you’ve never heard of. In Watchdogs, Glenn Fine—who served as the inspector general of the Department of Justice from 2000 to 2011 and the acting inspector general of the Department of Defense from 2016 to 2020—explains why all Americans should be familiar with this critical pillar of our democracy. Drawing on his own experiences in numerous high-profile investigations over two decades, from 9/11 to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Fine provides a fascinating insider’s view of government at the highest levels, illuminating how federal officials spend our tax dollars and how inspector general oversight seeks to make government more honest and accountable. Full of revealing stories—from the FBI’s handling of evidence in the Timothy McVeigh trial to the treatment of post-9/11 detainees to investigating the US Navy’s most infamous corruption scandal—Watchdogs illustrates the mission of inspectors general in improving government operations, deterring wasteful spending, and curtailing corruption, and the ways they work every day in America’s unique system of oversight.




Voyages, the Age of Engines


Book Description

Intended as a text for college and advanced high school students, Voyages covers the entirety of the American maritime experience, from the discovery of the continent to the present. Published in cooperation with the National Maritime Historical Society, the selections chosen for this anthology of primary texts and images place equal emphasis on the ages of sail and steam, on the Atlantic and Pacific, on the Gulf Coasts and the Great Lakes, and on the high seas and inland rivers. The texts have been chosen to provide students with interesting, usable, and historically significant documents that will prompt class discussion and critical thinking. In each case, the material is linked to the larger context of American history, including issues of gender, race, power, labor, and the environment.




Women in the United States Military


Book Description

Women's participation in the U.S. Armed Forces has grown over time in response to the national need for their services. Throughout each era of American history, patriotic women volunteered to serve their country in a wide variety of official and unofficially sanctioned capacities. When there was a call to duty, the United States Armed Forces always relied upon women to be a part of the effort. This book provides information to enable students and scholars to understand the effect women have had on wars that have shaped the United States.