NORFOLK, VA. — The former commander of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier who produced raunchy videos aboard the USS Enterprise can remain in the Navy despite a finding that he committed misconduct, a Navy panel ruled last Wednesday.
Capt. Owen P. Honors let out a sigh of relief after the board of inquiry read its decision, then embraced his wife after months of uncertainty about his career largely came to a close. The board was deciding whether to recommend to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus that Honors should be kicked out of the Navy after nearly three decades of service because of the videos. Among other things, the videos included simulated same-sex shower scenes, antigay slurs and references to prostitution in foreign ports.
Honors also faced the possibility of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement benefits if he had been forced out under a different pay grade.
“O.P. is pleased. Retention is a big deal. He has the advantage now of leaving on his terms,” Honors’ attorney, Charles Gittins told reporters following the hearing.
Honors was removed as the carrier’s top officer in January days before a scheduled deployment after several of the videos were leaked to media outlets. He was reassigned to administrative duties because of the videos, and Honors believes an officer he had recently disciplined was responsible for the leak, which he considers an act of revenge.
It was not immediately clear what jobs Honors may hold in the future, but it is unlikely he would return to the Enterprise. A new commanding officer took control of the ship last week, replacing the commanding officer who was called in for a six-month deployment following Honors’ dismissal.
Honors said the videos were made to improve morale while teaching important shipboard lessons, such as water conservation. He helped produce and appeared in the videos that aired on the ship’s closed-circuit television network between October 2005 and December 2007, when he was the ship’s executive officer.
Maintaining morale is part of the executive officer’s job, and by all accounts the videos were wildly popular with the crew. They were shown to thousands of sailors each Saturday night before a feature-length film Honors had chosen, and many sailors proudly agreed to appear in them. One of the women in a same-sex shower scene — who at the end of the video was shown to be clothed — said she had even shown the video to her parents.
Honors is one of a number of commanding officers fired from the job by the Navy this year, but his case has drawn the most attention. Clips have appeared on national television, providing a significant source of embarrassment for Navy leaders.
Gittins said convening the board hearing was politically motivated.
“The only reason we are sitting in this room is because the press made a big deal about it,” Gittins told the board of three rear admirals during closing arguments.
In its decision, the panel said Honors committed conduct unbecoming an officer, failure to demonstrate acceptable qualities of leadership and substandard performance.
The board did not elaborate on why it found Honors had committed those offenses but should remain in the Navy. The government had been asking that Honors be honorably discharged.
Although Honors’ career won’t come to an abrupt halt for disciplinary reasons, it is still possible he won’t remain in the service much longer as he is among those the Navy is considering for early retirement as it thins its ranks.