Tailhook Association

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The Tailhook Association is a U.S. based, fraternal, non-profit organization, supporting the interests of sea-based aviation, with emphasis on aircraft carriers. The word tailhook refers to the hook underneath the tail of the aircraft that catches the arresting wire suspended across the flight deck in order to stop the landing plane quickly.

The association was formed by active-duty naval aviators in 1956, eventually growing into a national organization headquartered in San Diego, California. During the Vietnam War the annual Tailhook reunion and symposium also served to provide opportunities for aircrews from the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets to exchange information about events in Southeast Asia.

Among the Tailhook programs are publication of the quarterly journal "The Hook", addressing historical and current events coverage; college scholarships via the Tailhook Educational Foundation; and local/regional "ready rooms" for those active and retired members who support fleet activities.

The Tailhook scandal

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An unofficial Tailhook patch from 1992.

In September 1991, the 35th annual symposium in Las Vegas featured a two-day debrief on Navy and Marine Corps aviation in Operation Desert Storm. It was the largest such meeting yet held, with some 4,000 attendees: active, reserve, and retired personnel.

According to a Department of Defense (DoD) report, 83 women and 7 men stated that they had been victims of sexual assault and harassment during the meeting. Several participants later stated that a number of flag officers attending the meetings were aware of the sexual assaults, but did nothing to stop them.^[1]

On October 29, 1991, possibly responding to political pressure, and well before completion of any investigations, the Department of the Navy terminated all ties to the association.^{[citation needed]} Although the association cooperated fully in the ensuing investigations and had never held authority over military personnel, ties were not restored with the Navy until January 19, 1999.^{[citation needed]}

A series of official investigations was conducted, but all were widely criticized, involving official cover-ups by senior Navy and civilian officials, and denial of due process to hundreds of individuals, most of whom were not accused of any wrongdoing.^{[citation needed]} Aviators spoke of a "witch-hunt" mentality in the George H. W. Bush Administration, even though President George H.W. Bush had been a Navy pilot.^{[citation needed]}

Indeed, most of the 4,000 male military attendees were interviewed several times, many as much as five times or more.^{[citation needed]} Initial investigations by the former NIS (Naval Investigative Service) were often botched applications of techniques such as the use of a single bright lamp in a dark room and asking the pilots questions such as "When was the last time you masturbated?" in an effort to apply psychological pressure.^{[citation needed]} The tactic backfired: the pilots were not intimidated and threatened legal action in return for the "guilty until proven innocent" atmosphere they were forced to endure.^{[citation needed]} The investigation evolved into such a disaster the NIS was dissolved and eventually replaced by the NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service). DoD investigators officially declared the Tailhook 1991 investigation closed.

The issues were never quite settled, and as late as 2002, the Tailhook chairman spoke of "the alleged misconduct that occurred in 1991".^[2]

Frontline on PBS reported:

Ultimately the careers of fourteen admirals and almost 300 naval aviators were scuttled or damaged by Tailhook. For example Secretary of the Navy H. Lawrence Garrett III and CNO Admiral Frank Kelso were both at Tailhook '91. Garrett ultimately resigned and Kelso retired early two years after the convention.^[3]

Author Jean Zimmerman developed the thesis that the scandal underscored the shifting status of women in the military and particularly the role of women in combat.^[4] As such, Tailhook can be seen as part of the evolution of the armed forces that continued through the losses of female soldiers in Iraq.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tailhook Association

Additional reading

• "TAILHOOK (BOTHSIDES) The Dream and the Reality". compilation by Dee Finney. 2001-07-18. http://www.greatdreams.com/tailhook.htm. Retrieved on 2007-08-13. 
• "the navy blues: Tailhook '91". Frontline, PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/navy/tailhook/. Retrieved on 2007-08-13. 

External links

• www.tailhook.org -- official web site