By David H. Brown
Fleet Services Command chief Admiral John Harvey, who fired Captain Owen Honors for those raunchy “morale building” videos aboard the aircraft carrier USS. Enterprise, should get a PR award.
Usually in the military, PR is relocated to the back of the press release bus. Their standard response to inquiries either is "no comment" or "it's classified."
No, not Admiral Harvey. He blasted Captain Honors in plain English, as he should have. Captain Honors showed a “profound lack of good judgment” for creating the coarse and sexually explicit videos that was supposed to entertain the crew. The videos included scenes of simulated masturbation, antigay slurs and a same sex couples showering together.
There were no fancy euphemisms from Admiral Harvey. Honors’s behavior “calls into question his character and completely undermines his credibility to continue to serve effectively in command,” according to the Admiral.
You would think aggressive reporters would have asked Admiral Harvey whether the entire crew of the Enterprise should be put through intensive sensitivity training because thousands of them supported Captain Honors. Yes, this occurred more than three years ago, but any other Navy officers who knew of the caper also should be reprimanded.
Military PR officers go out of their way to protect the various services. During the Vietnam War, Barry Zorthian (who died this past December 30th) was famous (or infamous) for conducting the raucous "Five O’Clock Follies" news conferences in which he had to defend the military to skeptical news people. Even the Department of Defense sometimes has been overly cautious in dealing with reporters.
But, here comes Admiral Harvey. The Public Relations Society of America has its Hall of Fame (which I recommended decades ago). Instead of just honoring fellow PR people, how about an award for a "chief executive" who has fostered the highest ideals of public relations?
It might be possible to uncover this, but one cannot help but wonder whether the Navy PR brass had any input, or whether the Admiral spoke up on his own.
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David H. Brown is a retired Army Reserve lieutenant colonel who did annual service in the Pentagon’s Office of the Chief of Information and Defense Information Office. He also was D.C. correspondent for O’Dwyer’s Newsletter.
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