Navy admirals, others censured over lewd videos

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Several past top officers of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, including two rear admirals, have been recommended for censure following an investigation into lewd videos shown on the ship, the Navy announced on Thursday.

The videos made and shown on the vessel emerged in January and drew criticism for simulated masturbation, toilet humor, and slurs against homosexuals.

Four more rear admirals were counseled or received non-punitive letters of caution and more than 30 officers and enlisted sailors got such letters in relation to the incident, the Navy said.

The actions followed an investigation and a review of its findings by Commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Admiral John C. Harvey, who announced the outcome at a news conference in Norfolk, Virginia.

"The Navy's officers and sailors are truly remarkable individuals, the finest young men and women our country has to offer, and they deserve principled leadership," Harvey said in a statement. "These events on Enterprise were unfortunate and an aberration."

A Navy statement said a recommendation has been sent to the Secretary of the Navy that Rear Admiral Lawrence Rice, Rear Admiral Ron Horton, Captain Owen Honors and Captain John Dixon be censured.

The two captains were executive officers on the Enterprise and Honors was briefly its commander. The two rear admirals held command of the ship at different times during the period when Honors was executive officer.

Honors was removed from command of the Enterprise, one of the Navy's largest ships, after the videos surfaced. Honors had made the videos when he served as second in command in 2006 and 2007.

After news of the videos emerged, the Navy also deferred the planned February 1 retirement of Rear Admiral Rice.

The investigation found that at least 25 videos containing "inappropriate scenes" were produced and shown to the crew of Enterprise from October 2005 to December 2007.

"Enterprise's executive officers, as well as other officers and senior enlisted sailors, were prominently depicted in these videos, acting crudely or in sexually suggestive ways," the Navy statement said.

The investigation found Honors showed a "profound lack of judgment" and the behavior exhibited during the videos "violates long-standing norms of exemplary conduct" required by law and regulations.

"The decision to punish the leaders on the Enterprise, including six senior-level Admirals, is the right thing to do," Anu Bhagwati, former Marine Corps Captain and executive director of the Service Women's Action Network, said in a statement.

"This scandal was a clear failure of that leadership at all levels."

(Writing by Jerry Norton; Editing by Greg McCune)