Forget PC, an aircraft carrier CO should exercise good judgment

It is a whole different Navy today. That is about all I can say about the “comic” videos produced and shown four or five years ago to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. Those videos are just now being uncovered and made known to the public.

The videos were made  for the ship’s “movie time” in 2006 and 2007 by the Enterprise executive officer (XO), or second in command, Capt. Owen Honors. He is now commanding officer of the Enterprise, the Navy’s first nuclear powered carrier. During the period of time the videos, which contain some lewd topics and language as well as simulated sexual acts, were shown the then-ship’s captain  was on board the Enterprise as well as an admiral commanding the carrier group. The videos showed Honors insisting the shows were being made and aired without knowledge of the then commanding officer and the admiral on board.

I decided to wait and do a little ‘splaining before linking this article from aol.com’s “Politics Daily” which includes an edited video produced by the Enterprise XO. The video is from the Web site of Norfolk, VA., TV station, WAVY.com. The video contains some material which may be offensive although it’s hardly porn or even soft porn.

Some sailors, including female ones, have defended Honors. They say the videos are just something to liven up the routine of deployment. It is obvious Honors has some kind of acting bug and if the F-word wasn’t edited out so often the bits might even be somewhat funny although it seems some of the skits tread toward what might be gay bashing.

If this had taken place on my ship 30 years ago, I might have found the videos funny. That is provided Honors or someone as theatric as him produced the skits. My ship’s XO didn’t have much of a humorous streak. I say I might have found them funny because the humor is something that might appeal to a sailor on deployment  in his early or mid 20s. The humor is not very sophisticated and rather bathroom in nature.

One aspect of the video leaves me somewhat bothered although it might just be a concern from this visual era in which we live. A good many sailors and even commissioned officers are seen on the film using the F-word even though it is beeped out. I know this sounds prudish and perhaps even unusual coming from me but I can’t help but wonder if these sailors ever gave any thought to the fact their mothers might some day see these videos.

It is sad but true that shipboard life, at least when I served on a Navy ship and apparently still, provides an atmosphere in which sailors have the propensity to use the word “f**k” as every part of speech. I picked up the habit of that language usage to the point I just found it naturally flowing out of my mouth once I had again become a civilian. And imagine standing in my mother’s kitchen telling her some tale from my Navy days and out comes the F-word just as free and easy as it pleases.

I didn’t stop or hesitate after realizing the big faux pais of using “that word” in talking to Momma. I just went along like it never happened. She never mentioned the incident to me. And as far as I know I began moderating my F-bomb usage ever since.

Thus the moral of the story if you decide to commit something to video which might end up being widely watched some day, perhaps you should give the contents a test to see if what you are saying or doing was something that would pass in polite company.

Whether politically incorrect or not, one would think one of the Navy’s officers just below the rank of admiral would give such actions a test. If a naval officer has such faulty thought processes, perhaps that officer should not command one of  less than  a dozen of the nation’s largest warships.