Navy to Oust Chief Petty Officer Involved in Bahrain Hazing Scandal

While there seriously needs to be an investigation into why Senior Chief Michael Toussaint was ever promoted as opposed to being discharged long before now, at least the media and blog coverage of this outrageous case has forced the Navy's hand to take this initial step. Not that it will bring back Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer Valdivia or undo the anti-gay hazing endured by Joseph Rocha (pictured at left) who was forced from the military. Meanwhile, somebody needs to explain (1) why more senior officers allowed this disaster to go on for an extended period and (2) why more senior officers are not being held accountable. I would also note that it is outrageous is that gays discharged from the military lose their retirement, yet it sounds like Toussaint will not receive equally harsh treatment. Also, did he receive a re-enlistment bonus? If so, that should be returned. Here are highlights from the preliminary story in today's Virginian Pilot (more details may be available tomorrow):

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The senior chief petty officer at the center of a scandal over sexually provocative hazing and abuse of junior sailors in Bahrain will be forced to retire in January, a Navy official said today. Senior Chief Michael Toussaint, a dog handler assigned to Naval Special Warfare Group 2 in Virginia Beach, has also received a letter of censure from the Secretary of the Navy.

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Smith said Adm. Gary Roughead, the chief of naval operations, canceled Toussaint’s enlistment extension, which will force him to leave active duty and retire in January. He won’t necessarily be able to retire as a senior chief: Navy officials ordered that he be subject to “retirement pay grade determination,” in which the secretary of the Navy will decide at what pay grade he may retire.

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A command investigation completed in January 2007 substantiated more than 90 instances of abuse, including sailors being forcing to simulate homosexual oral sex in training videos, being force-fed dog treats and being locked in a kennel. Toussaint, who sailors said ordered many of the actions, had already transferred to another job and subsequently was promoted. The woman who took his place, Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer Valdivia, took her own life in Bahrain after she was notified that she had been implicated in the investigation.

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Petty Officer 3rd Class Joseph Rocha, one of the sailors subjected to the abuse, later left the Navy after suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder related to the hazing. Rocha said he was often singled out for being gay after refusing to hire prostitutes. He eventually acknowledged being gay and left the Navy. He is now using his story to advocate for the repeal of the so-called Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy that prohibits openly gay men and women from serving in the military.