Allegations of abuse across the unit escalated to a point that Navy officials enlisted Marine Corps Captain Brooks Braden to carry out an independent investigation. When Youth Radio reached Braden by phone, he said he didn’t have authorization to discuss “any investigations that may or may not have occurred.” There are a variety of opinions as to what specifically triggered the investigation of the Working Dogs Division. What’s not in question are the Findings of Fact highlighted in the Navy’s report.
Youth Radio has obtained a copy of both Braden’s investigation and the Navy’s Findings of Fact, which detail what happened to Rocha, in addition to incidents involving other service members. The FOIA documents have been redacted, so names are blocked out, but the actions listed include: throwing hard balls at the groin, spraying down uniformed personnel with multiple hoses, and a dog attacking a sex worker on base to the point of hospitalization.
(See the redacted investigation report.)
Youth Radio’s investigation includes interviewing four members of the Bahrain Working Dogs Division who served between 2004 and 2006. All say the tone was set by Chief Toussaint. Some sailors participated in the culture of hazing as victims, others as perpetrators, or in some cases both. They say the hazing continued because of a series of threats that were also integral to the culture of the unit, which not only tolerated abuse, but also invited it. To prevent them from speaking out, sailors Youth Radio interviewed say Toussaint would threaten to revoke their handlers’ licenses--taking away their dogs and their specialty in the Navy.
Another incident cited in the investigation found that two female service members were ordered to simulate sex with each other on video. According to the Findings of Fact, the women were handcuffed to a bed and appeared to be naked under a sheet.
(See the redacted Findings of Fact.)
For response from the Navy, investigator Brooks Braden and Naval officials in Bahrain pointed Youth Radio to Regional Public Affairs Officer Wendy Snyder. Though stationed in Naples, Italy, Lieutenant Commander Snyder confirmed that she is the official spokesperson for the base. She said in a phone call that she did not possess records for the investigation of the Military Working Dogs unit.
"Because it's been more than two years, they are no longer available,” Snyder said. “Whether they're shredded or destroyed, I don't know."
In response to the fact that Youth Radio has obtained a copy of the official findings of the investigation, Snyder said, "I know an investigation was held in 2007 regarding several instances that took place within the Military Working Dog Division of the Naval Security Force in Bahrain. I believe there were at least 16 individuals involved in allegations."
Youth Radio asked what disciplinary actions Navy officials have taken against those responsible for the abuses against sailors at the Bahrain Working Dogs Division. "As far as I know,” Snyder said, “the investigation was completed, and the outcomes I don't know of those individuals involved." In a subsequent email, Snyder wrote that “personnel were held accountable” on the basis of the investigation, but she could not report specific disciplinary actions for the chief or his superiors.
Seeking a more specific answer, Youth Radio contacted the Navy’s Judge Advocate General, its Commander of Naval Installations and public affairs offices in Bahrain and state-side. All either weren’t available or refused to identify repercussions for those in the chain of command responsible for the Working Dogs Division abuse.
Youth Radio has obtained a copy of an email addressed to commanders distributed by Vice Admiral Bob Conway, who at the time of the investigation oversaw the management of Navy bases around the world, including Bahrain. In it, Conway states that hazing activities cited in the investigation “were encouraged, and in some cases instigated, by the senior enlisted leadership of the M.W.D. Division.” The email goes on to say the Navy “must hold those who engage in or enable hazing accountable.” While Conway continues that he might be “beating a dead horse,” he says “incidents” continue to occur, and that the Navy needs to identify those responsible “before something bad happens.” Service members who “don’t get it,” he says, “have no place in a leadership position.”
And yet, the Navy’s actions in the case of the Bahrain Working Dogs unit don’t line up with that directive. Since the investigation, Michael Toussaint, Chief over the unit during the abuse, was promoted to Senior Chief with the elite Naval Special Warfare Development Group in Dam Neck, Virginia.
Youth Radio made several attempts to contact Toussaint directly and was told by Special Warfare Command spokesman Major Sonny Leggett that Toussaint is in “austere locations” and unable to be reached.
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