The former CO of USS Momsen pled guilty to sexual assaults on two of his subordinates yesterday:
A Navy ship commander pleaded guilty Friday to sexual assault and rape of two female sailors, and a military judge ordered his dismissal and sentenced him to more than three years in prison.
(The commander) was given a 10-year term but will serve 42 months as part of a plea agreement, said Sheila Murray, Navy spokeswoman.
During the San Diego court martial, the judge also ordered that… the former skipper of the Everett, Wash.-based destroyer USS Momsen forfeit future benefits.
The 19-year Navy veteran was immediately sent to the brig at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.
According to the Navy, (the CO) got drunk on two occasions and sexually assaulted women who were under his command on the Navy destroyer.
Nineteen years of service and nothing to show for it but personal disgrace and a Big Chicken Dinner.
Better put this guy on a suicide watch.
“Navy Stuff,” but sad, sad, sad..
I have experience working in military “corrections”. They will put him in segregation for probably at least the first 48 hours of his stay. Stripped to his underwear, there will be nothing in the cell that he could use to hurt himself.
I just wonder, given the length of his sentence, if he will stay in Miramar or make his way to Leavenworth.
Back in the day, when I served as chaplain for the brig in Norfolk, prisoners stayed in the local brig until all appeals were exhausted, then, if sentenced to discharge or dismissal, went to the Federal system to serve the rest of the sentence. Don’t know how guilty plea affects this as probably no appeals will be made.
No sympathy at all for this one.
His wife and kids, if any, yes. Him, none.
Suicide is too good for him. He betrayed the trust and confidence of his crew and worse, caused harm to them. I hope this SOB has payback in prison for what he did to them.
Byron, kind of out of my ken, but don’t you guys build “yardarms” on ships these days? The naval equivalent of Danny Deaver should be sufficient. Better yet on the Momsen with the ships company at orders.
Works for me…
At $100/day to keep him in prison? DON’T put him on suicide watch.
He deserves every bit of his punishment.
Big salute to the military justice system for getting this done right, and done before everyone involved died of old age.
Shame that one of the ladies didn’t use her unarmed combat skills to send him to sickbay.
Or the morgue.
I just don’t get why a promising officer would throw his career and life away like that? I just don’t get it.
No ‘normal’ male would or ever will Coastie.
Sim, grizzled is a Pilot, so he isn’t normal
I think “The Nelson Touch” is called for.
A dark blemish on a great military.
3 years for two rapes of people entrusted to his authority? There had better have been a lot of extenuating circumstances for a sentence that light.
I agree, I think something draconian is in order for a crime of betrayal of his crew, his ship, and his Navy.
Keel hauling would work. Just make sure the lines don’t foul the screws.
Keelhaul him at Leavenworth. Stop halfway.
Keel Rake him. Keel Hauling is port to starboard, Keel Raking is bow to stern. Keel Rake him the length of a CVN that has just spent 6 months in the Persian Gulf, growing a nice crop of barnacles.
It is no longer much in fashion, but if ever there was someone deserving of being drummed out of the service Wylie surely qualifies.
One of the qualities of punishment in earlier times was the deterrent effect it had to have all hands witness what the wages of sin might be if they were to be so inclined.
But that was in the days when the sentence of a court martial was intended to punish the individual for his offence. Now we get all wrapped around the crank worried about rehabilitation.
One might read the case of Admiral John Byng, who was not rehabilitated, but rather given ECS orders (Eternal Change of Station) as Voltaire put it “pour encourager les autres.”
Byng was rehabilitated. It was long after he was shot, however.
True. Even if you behave correctly in the Service, you can expect to get killed from time to time. Only in combat, one hopes.
Nineteen good years, and then this? WTF,O?
He could have controlled himself for one more year, but threw it all away for one night of drunken debauchery?
Now, to lose it all, for a few seconds of pleasure, at anothers expense.
Real problem with the values-system of this ‘gentleman’.
So it goes…
I’m sorry. I’m not seeing it through the same glass alas. These “victims” were warriors of the State? They were lured were they? Pawed even.
I knew some peers who worked aboard other ships for what were called reamers and screamers (long before there were girls onboard). I never got the point as I watched some of them descend into shambling wrecks or outright madness. I wondered to myself what would I do if confronted with such a monstrous CO. I had a good 4 years to figure it out before I met my first and last reamer/screamer.
The training regime put in place to curb the sex behavior has been utterly derelict in my opinion. I should probably charge the Navy $10 million for my ‘training advice’ but here it is gratis.
Girl about to be pawed/mauled/assaulted/raped whatever to the assaulting officer/CO.
“Pervert you keep going on just one more inch and I’m calling Barbara Boxer’s, Diane Feinstein’s and the Navy and DOD IG hotlines.”
Admittedly this is not the perfect solution but man is not perfect and there are absolutely no perfect solutions for social relations.
It’s a pity this sort of thing does not just provide more work the JAGs. JAGs don’t actually do the JAGMANs. That falls to lesser mortals. On second ship I learned that we would go to any length to avoid any contact whatsoever with the JAGCORPS. We just ADSEPPED the people that the XO didn’t approve of. No Courts whatsoever. 65 gone.
I apologize. This is not meant to be at all trollish and it is an observation on life.
I note he plead guilty rather than go through the whole rigamarole of making them prove guilt. To give the man the benefit of the doubt, it seems he owned up to what he had done and took the consequences like a man should have. They could have given him a lot more and if he had tried to fight it, they probably would have.
In the end, no one can know another man’s heart.