The former commander of a local fighter squadron has been censured by the secretary of the Navy for permitting a hostile work environment, allowing subordinates to haze and sexually harass a junior officer, and giving a bad performance review to the officer after he filed a formal complaint, The Virginian Pilot reporting that Commander Liam Bruen was commanding officer of Strike Fighter Squadron 136 at Oceana Naval Air Station until last summer, when he was promoted to one of the top jobs on the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis, however his actions - or more accurately inactions - in August 2009 as skipper of the Knighthawks came back to haunt him this week. After almost 18 months and multiple investigations, Ray Mabus, the Navy's top civilian, found Bruen "failed to exercise appropriate leadership and demonstrated a profound lack of judgment" during an informal meeting to choose call signs for new officers. That day, Ensign Steve Crowston - the squadron's administrative officer and an ardent Dallas Cowboys fan - was given the call sign "Romo's Bitch," a reference to Cowboy's quarterback Tony Romo. Also under consideration for Crowston were the monikers "Fagmeister" and "Gay boy." According to 190 pages of documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, Crowston, a former chief petty officer, quickly notified his chain of command that he found the names offensive and humiliating. And shortly afterward, the squadron's second-in-command, Cmdr. Damien Christopher, told Bruen he thought the names were problematic. A few days later, Bruen called an all-officers meeting. According to his notes from the meeting, he told the group "derogatory references of a homosexual nature" would not be tolerated. Crowston was not satisfied, and six months later, he filed a complaint with the inspector general for Naval Air Force Atlantic. An initial investigation dismissed most of Crowston's complaints. The Naval Inspector General then conducted its own inquiry and found what happened at the call sign meeting constituted hazing, sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. In February, Bruen was removed from his position as operations officer on the Stennis. In late May, Bruen's chain of command took the additional step of recommending that he be "detached for cause" for a number of violations, including failing to act on reports that squadron members had emailed offensive material on government computers and approving improper use of rental cars by command members. A detachment for cause often marks the end of an officer's advancement. Days later, Bruen retired. According to Commander Danny Hernandez, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon, the circumstances of Bruen's retirement are under investigation. Letters of censure from the secretary of the Navy are extremely rare and are often kill the careers for anyone on active duty. In an e-mail, Bruen dismissed Mabus' action. "Since I am not in the Navy and was not when the letter was written, I fail to see the appropriateness or validity of (Mabus') actions," Bruen wrote. In a 17-page response to the inspector general's findings, Bruen called the investigations "troubling and one-sided." He noted that three of the other five officers had been given "homosexually oriented" proposed call signs that day, and he said he held an officers' meeting to "address the inappropriate behaviour" without identifying Crowston as the one who'd complained. Bruen also noted that Crowston was inclined to take complaints he had with the command to other channels and had an established pattern of making threats "when he believed he might be facing some adverse consequence for poor performance." Other personnel also were punished for what transpired in the squadron's ready room that day. Christopher, who took over command of VFA-136 last summer, was formally counselled by two superiors for his role in the meeting.
Admiral John C. Harvey Jr., head of the Navy's Fleet Forces Command, criticized Christopher for not immediately advising Bruen to end the meeting and address the offensive language. But Harvey noted that Christopher has turned around the command climate in the squadron, performed superbly leading it in combat operations and deserved to remain in command. In an e-mail, Christopher called the inspector general's legal analysis flawed and said investigators noted in their own report there are no cases on record of others being held to the hazing standard. Bruen and Christopher both said the Department of Defense inspector general has opened an investigation into irregularities in the Navy's inquiry, and Christopher said he's hopeful that the findings against him will be overturned. Both say they are proud of their service. Crowston said Friday that he believes "justice is served" with Bruen, though he questioned the decision to allow Christopher to continue leading the squadron. The unfavourable fitness report Bruen gave Crowston last year has been removed from his file. He has since been promoted to lieutenant junior grade and works for a different command at the Dam Neck annex of Oceana. He noted that the results of his case were announced on the same day the military certified it is ready to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy prohibiting gays and lesbians from serving openly. "It's a big victory today for me, for gays, lesbians and bisexual members," he said, declining to specify his own sexual orientation. He hopes the long-awaited conclusion to his complaint serves as inspiration for other service members subject to offensive comments, stating "Fight the homophobic bigotry anywhere and anytime."
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