Navy Secretary Assails Sex Abuse, Military Policy

WASHINGTON — Navy Secretary John H. Dalton said Thursday that he is embarrassed by allegations of unpunished sexual harassment in the military and dissatisfied with Pentagon policies against abuse.

Dalton’s comments before the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee came a day after four women, representing the four military services, told a House committee that they were sexually harassed and then punished or put in dead-end jobs for complaining.

They said the harassers went unpunished or received mild reprimands.

“Reading those statements made my blood boil,” Dalton told Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.).

“Mr. Secretary, those allegations were not exactly news,” Specter replied. “The essence of the complaint is that their grievances were not taken seriously.”

Dalton described a “traffic light” strategy in which Navy personnel are educated on the kinds of comments and behavior that cross the line of propriety. But he said more must be done to ensure that allegations are treated seriously.

“I’m not pleased with the level of progress,” Dalton said. “If those statements we heard yesterday are any indication, I’m embarrassed by it.”

The most extensive and emotional testimony Wednesday came from a Navy lieutenant and a Marine sergeant.

The Marines are part of the Navy Department.

The testimony was particularly embarrassing to the Navy after the much-criticized investigation into the 1991 Tailhook Assn. convention. Scores of women have said they were abused and harassed during the convention by drunken Navy fliers at a Las Vegas hotel.

Adm. Frank B. Kelso II, chief of naval operations, who moved up his retirement date after the Tailhook scandal, accompanied Dalton at the hearing Thursday but said nothing about the latest allegations.

Assistant Defense Secretary Edwin Dorn acknowledged Wednesday that “some egregious cases of sexual harassment have been handled incompetently and insensitively.”