Ensign Claims Aviator Call Signs Get Too Personal

[craigepo]

Originally Posted by Dozer523

This is not an "oh, man up" issue. It's bullying.

Bullying, v. "A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself."

This definition includes three important components:

1. Bullying is aggressive behavior that involves unwanted, negative actions.
2. Bullying involves a pattern of behavior repeated over time.
3. Bullying involves an imbalance of power or strength.

When does teasing become taunting? When the victim can do nothing about it, the on-lookers join in or don't do anything about it. The bully has no reason to stop and every reason to continue or increase the meanness.

It's wrong.

Crap. I thought we used to just have fun at other people's expense in the team room.

I wonder how this guy would do at 2/75, when we used to do "caterpillar drills", bouncing up and down stairs in sleeping bags. Really wouldn't have like "space invaders", when the privates had to put on k-pots and flak vests and walk back and forth in the hall, getting closer to the Spec-4 mafia, who were busy drinking bottles of beer, then using the empties as ammo to throw at the invaders.

Ahhh, those were the good old days. Or not.

[LarryW]

He's a Navy guy. How much more extreme can it get?

Let me see...he could wannabe a Cardinal fan. No, that'd be too much.

[alright4u]

Originally Posted by Richard

Talk about a 'distractor' for a command and a disunifying force within a unit - and the reassignment for Ensign Crowston to...

And so it goes...

Richard

Navy Man Claims Aviator Call Signs Get Too Personal
Time, 17 Aug 2010

In the testosterone-laden world of military aviation, call signs for pilots and other squadron personnel can be really sticky — the more an aviator complains about the moniker his colleagues bestow upon him, the tighter its grip will be.

Over the years, that has led to lots of embarrassing call signs beyond the famous one brandished by Tom Cruise — Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell — in the movie Top Gun. A rookie Navy aviator can end up being called "Torch" if he sports red hair — or if he's too quick to turn on his afterburner. A pilot who struggles to fit into his flight suit can be dubbed "Shamu." But as barriers to the once insular, made-up-of-white-men world have fallen — first to minorities, then women and, maybe soon, openly gay personnel — what's an edgy call sign to one person could be seen as an offensive epithet by another.

That's what led Ensign Steve Crowston to complain, he says, after Navy aviators in Strike Fighter Squadron 136 in Oceana, Va., considered many humiliating call signs for him before settling on "Romo's Bitch," a reference to their suspicion that the fan of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was gay. Crowston says the various options had been written on a whiteboard for an Aug. 17, 2009, "call-sign review" in the unit's ready room, where more than a dozen officers would decide which one would be most appropriate for several new squadron members. "I saw my name at the top of the board, and I saw 'Gay Boy,' 'Fagmeister,' 'Romo's Bitch,' 'Redskins,' 'Cowgirl' written underneath. I was stunned and shocked that I was sitting in the ready room with those kinds of words up on the board," Crowston says. "The commanding officer and executive officer" — the unit's top two officers — "were voting members, and they allowed the whole room to vote on my call sign. They went line by line, word by word, and they voted, and the one that got the most votes was 'Romo's Bitch.' "

Crowston, an administrative officer in the squadron and not an aviator, calls his sexual orientation "irrelevant" and wouldn't say whether he is gay. But he did complain, first within his unit and then to the office of the local Navy inspector general (IG), about workplace harassment. While the independent Navy Times newspaper reported last week that the IG found his complaint to be "unsubstantiated," Navy officers at the Pentagon later said the investigation has been reopened and that an additional inquiry into the squadron's command climate — and how the first investigation was handled — has been launched by Navy IG headquarters.

Navy officers at Oceana, citing the continuing investigation, won't detail what transpired in the ready room that day. They maintain that Crowston's overall performance at the unit was mediocre at best. They suggest that he complained to the IG six months after the ready-room session, and then only because he feared for his 16-year career. They and other officers say such informal call-sign reviews were simply a way to share some laughs with new members of the squadron. "Steve never had any call sign and was never addressed as anything but Steve, Mr. Crowston or Ensign Crowston," says Commander Liam "Bruno" Bruen, an F-18 pilot who was the unit's commanding officer until last month.

Still, the episode has raised the issue of questionable call signs, and Crowston has turned his allegations into a much broader campaign for change. In letters to some lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Crowston said he saw a pilot's name with the call sign "Dicks.com" flashed on a screen as part of an official PowerPoint briefing. "I discovered 'Dicks.com' had been engraved on a coffee mug and beer stein in [his unit's] ready room and was hung next to the Admiral's and the Carrier Air Wing Commander's coffee cups," Crowston said in a letter sent last month. "The chain of command is not willing to identify a systemic problem in the aviation community regarding inappropriate call signs."

But former Navy Secretary and aviator John "Toad" Lehman disagrees. "I've been in and around naval aviation for like 40 years, and I've never heard of a call sign that had a nasty turn to it," says Lehman, who ran the Navy in the Reagan Administration and flew A-6 jets as a Navy Reserve aviator. The notion that call-sign guidelines need updating "is a crock," he says. "It's the first time I've ever heard of someone making an issue of a call sign," Lehman adds. "Certainly they would never pick on a gay guy like that."

You too funny Peter-san!

Call signs — one- or two-word nicknames assigned by fellow pilots to facilitate radio communications in the sky — date to the dawn of aviation. There are no written rules governing their creation, and traditions surrounding them vary from unit to unit. Navy officers say calls signs can poke fun at aviators and their foibles but shouldn't be anything you couldn't explain to Mom.

"They can be a little bit ribald, but not too much," a Navy officer says. "And we count on our squadron leaders to keep it that way." One sign, "Groper," was frowned upon following the 1991 Tailhook scandal, when naval aviators sexually harassed and abused women during their annual convention in Las Vegas — even though the handle was a reference to the pilot's inability to feel for the cockpit controls while hooded during training. Lieutenant Kara Hultgreen, killed in 1994 while trying to land her F-14 aboard a carrier, was dubbed "Hulk" for her ability to bench-press 200 lb., until her fame as a female top gun (and the makeup her TV appearances required) led colleagues to change it to "Revlon."

The key players in the ready-room incident are moving on, and up. Crowston has been assigned to a SEAL team support unit in Little Creek, Va., and could soon head off to Afghanistan or Iraq. Bruen, his former commander, will soon become the No. 3 officer aboard the carrier U.S.S. John C. Stennis. And Commander Damien "Satan" Christopher, who was the No. 2 officer in the Oceana unit, is now its commander and is training for combat with the squadron aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise at sea.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/arti...011189,00.html

This gay military being pushed hard now will create many command problems.

[NoRoadtrippin]

Originally Posted by Dozer523

This is not an "oh, man up" issue. It's bullying.

Bullying, v. "A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself."

This definition includes three important components:

1. Bullying is aggressive behavior that involves unwanted, negative actions.
2. Bullying involves a pattern of behavior repeated over time.
3. Bullying involves an imbalance of power or strength.

When does teasing become taunting? When the victim can do nothing about it, the on-lookers join in or don't do anything about it. The bully has no reason to stop and every reason to continue or increase the meanness.

It's wrong.

I agree with Dozer on this one. This is a bit over the top. And beyond the issue of whether or not gays should openly serve, I think it says a lot about the shortsightedness of the other officers involved. Could one of these bright, high speed pilots not see the writing on the wall with this one?

I'm no naval aviator, but I carry a nickname with me from a certain running club I belong to. From that, I can say that the key is definitely to poke fun at something less than intelligent that a person has done. Not to outright shame them for a part of they (potentially) are. My take on these call signs is that it ought to be the same way. This just wasn't a smart idea on the part of the other unit members. It was asking for undue attention.

And for those knocking his 16 years as an Ensign...what about prior service? I went to IBOLC and such with plenty of LTs that had 12 or 14 years in service as enlisted men. Just a thought.

[alright4u]

Originally Posted by NoRoadtrippin

I agree with Dozer on this one. This is a bit over the top. And beyond the issue of whether or not gays should openly serve, I think it says a lot about the shortsightedness of the other officers involved. Could one of these bright, high speed pilots not see the writing on the wall with this one?

I'm no naval aviator, but I carry a nickname with me from a certain running club I belong to. From that, I can say that the key is definitely to poke fun at something less than intelligent that a person has done. Not to outright shame them for a part of they (potentially) are. My take on these call signs is that it ought to be the same way. This just wasn't a smart idea on the part of the other unit members. It was asking for undue attention.

And for those knocking his 16 years as an Ensign...what about prior service? I went to IBOLC and such with plenty of LTs that had 12 or 14 years in service as enlisted men. Just a thought.

You ever try real BCT, real AIT, real OCS,? Was all this ARNG training?

[alright4u]

No E-7 or above is going to take a direct commission to 2LT.

[1stindoor]

Originally Posted by alright4u

No E-7 or above is going to take a direct commission to 2LT.

I think there may be some PA's that'll argue that point.

[NoRoadtrippin]

Originally Posted by alright4u

You ever try real BCT, real AIT, real OCS,? Was all this ARNG training?

"Real" BCT, AIT, or OCS? I'm not sure why you chose to take a stab at me... My post had nothing to do with any training I may or may not have been to, and had nothing to do with the differences between the active and Guard components. But yeah, I've been to some "real" training. And QP or not, I strongly resent the implication that somehow serving as a Guard officer precludes me from understanding "real" training, or the "real" military. I will be the first to agree that we see a limited side of the day to day life of a Soldier by only serving one weekend a month during most of our time. However, last time I checked there was only one school that builds Infantry officers, and only one version of a number of other schools I have attended.

My post made the argument--which I stick by--that these naval officers might have done well to consider the current climate, consider the possible ramifications, and the purpose behind the call signs before choosing something quite like "Romo's Bitch." Especially if they already suspected this particular Ensign might actually be gay. I mean come on, that's just asking for a problem. It was shortsighted.

My service in the National Guard has zero to do with that opinion.

[NoRoadtrippin]

Originally Posted by 1stindoor

I think there may be some PA's that'll argue that point.

I would agree with this as well. There are myriad reasons that someone might switch from enlisted to officer. There might be plenty of good cause to switch from an E7 or E8 retirement to that of an O3 if it also meant the Army was paying for your newly acquired bachelor's, master's, etc. Plus it of course opens different doors in retirement job searching.

Of course, I have no idea whether or not this Ensign did such. I just thought it might be a potential explanation. I doubt he sat on Ensign for 16 years.

[Dozer523]

huh? Hang on I'll be back.

[Saoirse]

After reading that article, first thing that came to mind was R. Lee Ermey...."why dont we skip on over to mamby pamby land and get you some self confidence!!!"
Give me a break. This kind of razzing has been a time long tradition. Why and when has my beloved MILITARY turned into a bunch of liberal, headpatting, asskissing, cowtowing, whining, lil girlie girls!!!?? OMG!!
Are there any REAL MEN left in the military or have they all retired or left planet earth??!!!

[alright4u]

Originally Posted by 1stindoor

I think there may be some PA's that'll argue that point.

PA's came about in 75. I understand a PA.

[alright4u]

Originally Posted by NoRoadtrippin

"Real" BCT, AIT, or OCS? I'm not sure why you chose to take a stab at me... My post had nothing to do with any training I may or may not have been to, and had nothing to do with the differences between the active and Guard components. But yeah, I've been to some "real" training. And QP or not, I strongly resent the implication that somehow serving as a Guard officer precludes me from understanding "real" training, or the "real" military. I will be the first to agree that we see a limited side of the day to day life of a Soldier by only serving one weekend a month during most of our time. However, last time I checked there was only one school that builds Infantry officers, and only one version of a number of other schools I have attended.

My post made the argument--which I stick by--that these naval officers might have done well to consider the current climate, consider the possible ramifications, and the purpose behind the call signs before choosing something quite like "Romo's Bitch." Especially if they already suspected this particular Ensign might actually be gay. I mean come on, that's just asking for a problem. It was shortsighted.

My service in the National Guard has zero to do with that opinion.

I do not have time for gays in the military. One is all over wikileaks. How many more we need?

[Dozer523]

Originally Posted by NoRoadtrippin

I agree with Dozer on this one. This is a bit over the top. And beyond the issue of whether or not gays should openly serve, I think it says a lot about the shortsightedness of the other officers involved. Could one of these bright, high speed pilots not see the writing on the wall with this one?

Originally Posted by alright4u

You ever try real BCT, real AIT, real OCS,? Was all this ARNG training?

Originally Posted by NoRoadtrippin

"Real" BCT, AIT, or OCS? I'm not sure why you chose to take a stab at me... My post had nothing to do with any training I may or may not have been to, and had nothing to do with the differences between the active and Guard components. But yeah, I've been to some "real" training.

Wow. did anyone else miss the traffic sign that mentioned this thread was about to go over the cliff? WTF does this have to do with RA vs Reserve/NG? I've served in both, overseas, and the training and operations were pretty real in both.

Originally Posted by Saoirse

"why dont we skip on over to mamby pamby land and get you some self confidence!!!" Give me a break. This kind of razzing has been a time long tradition. Why and when has my beloved MILITARY turned into a bunch of liberal, headpatting, asskissing, cowtowing, whining, lil girlie girls!!!?? OMG!!
Are there any REAL MEN left in the military or have they all retired or left planet earth??!!!

My point is . . . Bullying is wrong and detrimental to good order and combat effectiveness. Tough, hard training and bullying have nothing in common except that bullies tell you its the same thing.
Physical, emotional, verbal stress in training is useful because it challenges, it is directed at all, in equal proportion, it builds comradere among the students. You can overcome to succeed in stressful training. It's goal is a skillset.
Bullying degrades. Bullying is directed at an individual and seperates them from the group usually because of some feature -- color, size, national origin; bullying fosters a "glad its you not me" dynamic. Bullies don't want the bullied to succeed, they thrive on the others failure. The Bully's goal is misery.
The case in point is not a training situation.

One of the reasons I joined Special Forces was that I hate bullies.
SF has confronted and destroyed a lot of bullies. There is little difference among the Soviet Unions, Sandinistas. Saddams, Noregas and Milosevecs and the "I-got-mine-now-you-get-yours types we're discussing here.

As for where have all the REAL men gone,(cue band: I Need A Hero), I don't know. I think I'll just drink my warm cocoa, put on my 'jamies, climb into my nice warm bed and try to dream about when I was a REAL man -- doing macho manly man things with my macho manly men - - a few days ago.

As for the "headpatting, asskissing, cowtowing, whining, lil girlie girls" those guys are called bullies.

Originally Posted by alright4u

No E-7 or above is going to take a direct commission to 2LT.

With the exception of one I know.

SFC/E7 SF Engineer type goes OCS, just one year after finishing his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering, he's 32 at the time. After IOBC, he works in the Bn S3 shop until he makes 02, (age 34), then to a Dive Team ODA as the interim XO. He then returns to Ft. Bragg to attend 18A Phase II & III, (age 35), followed by orders to attend SWCD course, Key West. In addition to receiving orders for promtion, 03, he has a birthday and turns 36 the same week while in dive training.

He returns and assumes command of ODA, truth be said, he was one of the finest Tm Leaders I ever served under, I, being a very young E5 at the time. Given also his age, his graduation from Key West was a real inspiration to us younger troopers. In the mid to late 80's, there was not a lot of money for training. The S3 shop had to consider the challenge of balancing monies for soldiers they thought who could graduate from those who needed courses for advancement. I attended Pre-scuba at Ft. Carson, and accompanying course POI and PT at 6,000 ft., while giving up on Op funds so another soldier could attend ANCOC/O&I.

I never attended dive school at Key West, served only 18 months on that team, but it was a great team, good memories, excellent training.

Years later, I ran into my old Tm Leader, he an 05, Bn Commander pins my E8 stripes.

It was kinda cool.