(We know these aren't sourced from Wikileaks because Wikileaks doesn't leak this sort of information, and always gives a preview to partners such as the New York Times, Der Spiegel, and El Pais).
The videos come from a set of short movies produced aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Enterprise in 2006 and 2007 and broadcast via closed-circuit TV to its nearly 6,000 sailors and Marines. The "producer" of these films is now-Capt. Owen Honors, who at the time was executive officer (XO) of the carrier.
Despite its age, the U.S.S. Enterprise is perhaps the most famous of the the United States' nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Some of that fame comes from the fact that the Enterprise (CVN-65) is the eighth U.S. naval vessel to carry that name; it is also famous due to the references made in "Star Trek."
The "Big E" was commissioned on November 25, 1961, and certainly didn't need this publicity. She is mere weeks away from its next deployment, said to be her last before decommissioning.
The videos were not just raunchy, although one scene included two female sailors standing in a shower stall, pretending to wash each other, and joking about how they should get six minutes under the water instead of the mandated three. In many instances, the videos were homophobic as well. In some skits, sailors parade in drag and use anti-gay slurs. In other scenes, masturbation and a rectal exam are simulated, and yet another scene implies that an officer is having sex with a donkey in his stateroom.
The Navy is investigating the matter. Statements made to NBC News indicate that Honors is unlikely to command the ship when it leaves port.
In a written statement, the Navy said:
"The videos created onboard USS Enterprise in 2006-2007 and written about in The Virginian-Pilot article on Saturday, January 1, 2011, are clearly inappropriate. "Production of videos, like the ones produced four to five years ago on USS Enterprise and now being written about in The Virginian-Pilot, were not acceptable then and are not acceptable in today's Navy. The Navy does not endorse or condone these kinds of actions."Some of Honors' commentary in the video (embedded) include the following:
"This evening, all of you bleeding hearts ... why don't just go ahead and hug yourself for the next 20 minutes or so, because there's a really good chance you're gonna be offended. [...]The videos were part of what Honors, 49, called "XO Movie Night" and, as one former Enterprise sailor told the Virginian-Pilot,
We noticed, when the professional. comedians were on-board, they always got laughs when a certain thing was said. That would be, the F-bomb (shows a string of f-bomb clips and flip-offs). [...]
[...] "the next questionable topic (masturbation, with sailors, including honors, simulating it in a variety of "poses." [...]
"Finally, let's get to my favorite topic - something foreign to the gay kid over there: chicks in the shower.
"They were the XO's project. He was the one coming up with scripts and the jokes. He was the one planning it."Another officer, still stationed aboard the Enterprise, who was also there when the videos were being produced and shown, said:
"When the ship pulls away from that pier, he's it. To me, that's scary."
