Navy Investigation Finds Hazing and Harassment - Gay Victim Expelled Under DADT While Abuser Promoted.

A number of LGBT blogs and web sites had picked up this story about yet another case of psychologically sick and twisted heterosexual members of the military engaging in sexually charged hazing and harassment. Worse yet, Michael Toussaint, the Chief over the unit during the period that the abuse occurred, has been promoted to Senior Chief and is now stationed with the elite Naval Special Warfare Development Group at the Dam Neck Naval Base in nearby Virginia Beach, Virginia. Meanwhile, one of the victims, Joseph Christopher Rocha, had his career ended under DADT. Among some of the perverse conduct overseen by Toussaint included the following:

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All say the tone was set by Chief Toussaint. Some sailors participated in the culture of hazing as victims, others as perpetrators, or in some cases both. They say the hazing continued because of a series of threats that were also integral to the culture of the unit, which not only tolerated abuse, but also invited it. To prevent them from speaking out, sailors Youth Radio interviewed say Toussaint would threaten to revoke their handlers’ licenses--taking away their dogs and their specialty in the Navy.

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Another incident cited in the investigation found that two female service members were ordered to simulate sex with each other on video. According to the Findings of Fact, the women were handcuffed to a bed and appeared to be naked under a sheet.

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Again, that this type of nastiness and abuse of power is allowed to go on makes a mockery out of the feeble excuse for DADT being needed to protect unit moral and cohesiveness. Its supporters can dress up DADT however they want, but in the final analysis its only justification is the legalization of religious based anti-gay discrimination and homophobia. Instead of receiving a promotion, Toussaint should have been expelled from the Navy. Some of the Navy investigation report that confirmed the abuse can be found here. Even the Virginian Pilot is now reporting on the abuse and misconduct that occurred. Here are some highlights:

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An internal Navy investigation of a dog-handling unit in Bahrain found repeated episodes of hazing and sexual harassment in 2005, as well as allegations that prostitutes were routinely brought into government quarters for parties. The non commissioned officer who allegedly allowed and encouraged the abuse to flourish was promoted and is now assigned to an elite special warfare unit at Dam Neck Annex to Oceana Naval Air Station.

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"These actions don't reflect who we are as a Navy," said Cmdr. Cappy Surette, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon.

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Most of the documents' pages have some information redacted, and entire sections - including the investigator's opinion and recommendations - were removed before the document was released. It is unclear whether anyone was punished for the alleged abuses.
But three things are clear:
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- Senior Chief Petty Officer Michael Toussaint remains in the Navy and has been promoted since serving as head of the military working-dog division in Bahrain.
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- Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer Valdivia, a dog handler, was found dead in her living quarters on the Bahrain base. Her death was reportedly a suicide.

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- Petty Officer 3rd Class Joseph Rocha - called "an exceptionally outstanding young sailor" in a performance evaluation and recommended by the secretary of the Navy for an appointment to the Naval Academy - is out of the military [under DADT] and in treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder that resulted from two years of alleged abuse.

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Central to the unfolding story is Petty Officer 1st Class Shaun Hogan, a dog handler who was assigned to Bahrain with Toussaint, Valdivia and Rocha. . . . Hogan said in an interview Friday that he witnessed many of the alleged abuses, including a videotaped "training scenario" in which Rocha was directed to simulate homosexual sex.

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Hogan said he participated in that exercise as a dog handler. When he entered the room with his dog, he said, "I was expecting to find someone role-playing an intruder. I didn't expect to see somebody role-playing homosexual sex." Hogan said he saw a videotape of another "training scenario" involving a woman handcuffed to a bed. The woman in the bed, he said, was Valdivia, the unit's second-in-command.

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"There are a lot of people who were victimized," Hogan said. "I think the Navy is trying to cover this up." Particularly galling to him, Hogan said, is that Toussaint, whom he considers the ringleader of the alleged abuses, not only escaped punishment but received a career boost. "To the best of my knowledge, the charges were dropped," he said. "The guy got promoted, and now he's in charge of the most coveted canine position in the entire Navy - the canine special warfare unit. That's the Navy's way of punishing him?"

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Rocha left the Navy after acknowledging he was gay. He said the abuse began after he refused to have sex with a female prostitute in Bahrain - something he claimed was common among other masters-at-arms and dog handlers in the unit. Rocha is now attending classes at the University of San Diego. In an interview Friday, he said he continues to suffer PTSD symptoms, including nightmares, anxiety attacks and extreme depression.

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Rocha said he was assured by his commanding officer in Bahrain that Toussaint would be punished. In late 2007, he said, a Navy lawyer contacted him and asked if he would testify in a court-martial. Even though he was afraid of retribution from Toussaint, he said, he finally agreed. Weeks later, he said, the lawyer called back and said the case was being closed and his testimony would not be needed.

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As I read this case, the moral is that members of the military who are straight sexual perverts and sadists get promoted while exceptional gay service members are forced out. Something is very, very fucked up in this picture. No doubt, the sexually disturbed Elaine Donnelly thinks all of this is fine since the gay guy was thrown out of the military.