Youth Radio - Topic: Joseph Christopher Rocha

Chief Accused of Hazing Forced From Navy, Keeps Rank

cfoster — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:51:48 -0800

An assistant secretary of the Navy upheld the forced retirement of a senior chief accused of hazing junior sailors in a canine unit based in Bahrain.

The decision comes four years after a Navy investigation in which sailors claimed Michael Toussaint, a chief petty officer at the time, had acted as ringleader for a culture of abuse within the kennel between 2005 and 2006. Last February, Toussaint denied much of his alleged misconduct before a retirement review board that was convened months after he was censured by the Secretary of the Navy.

UPDATE: Joseph Rocha, a sailor who testified during the Navy's investigation of hazing in a Bahrain-based canine unit, writes for The Huffington Post about the news that his former chief Michael Toussaint has been forced to retire with full pay.

"Ultimately, MACS Toussaint's conduct as the Leading Chief Petty Officer assigned to the Military Working Dog Division, Naval Security Forces, Bahrain, did not meet the standards expected of senior enlisted leadership in our Navy," said Juan Garcia, assistant secretary of the Navy for manpower and reserve affairs.

Garcia followed the paygrade recommendation of the retirement board, which said Toussaint should receive an honorable discharge and a pension at his current rank. The board members cited insufficient evidence uncovered in the Navy's hazing investigation and a 2009 tour of duty in Afghanistan during which he saved the life of a marine.

"[W]hen looking at his career in its entirety," said Garcia, "I have determined that his conduct did not rise to a level sufficient to warrant retirement in a paygrade less than E-8."

Military law experts had anticipated that Garcia would approve the review board's recommendation since the results of such hearings are rarely overturned. Still, others had hoped for a harsher punishment, as Youth Radio reported in August:

But advocates for the sailors who were abused under Toussaint's leadership said Navy officials had led them to expect a harsher judgement from the board hearing, which according to Navy guidelines determines the highest rank at which a sailor or officer has served honorably.

"I was surprised," said Aaron Tax, legal director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, "because we thought that the Navy believed this was someone who engaged in outrageous behavior." Tax said despite the board's recommendation, the Navy should lower Toussaint's pension to that of a first class petty officer, the rank he held before becoming chief of the Bahrain unit.

More background on the case from Youth Radio's prior reporting:

Last September [2009], Youth Radio uncovered a 2007 Navy investigation into claims of the unit's culture of abuse and connected it to two subsequent investigations into the suicide of a sailor implicated in the hazing scandal. While names in the copies of the Navy report were redacted, Youth Radio interviewed six sailors from the unit, all of whom named Toussaint as the ringleader of the abuse.

During the February hearing, Toussaint denied the most serious accusations against him -- that he ordered sailors to simulate sex acts during training exercises, that he threw parties with hired prostitutes, and that he condoned the humiliation of a gay sailor who was hog-tied to a chair and left in a dog kennel.

Toussant's lawyers claimed that four sailors who testified against him at the hearing were exaggerating the extent of the hazing. They accused one sailor, Joseph Christopher Rocha, of lying about Toussaint in the media to increase his own public profile as an advocate for the repeal of the U.S. Military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Rocha was discharged from the Navy under the policy after returning from Bahrain.

Youth Radio has obtained statements from each of the retirement board members -- an enlisted sailor and two Navy officers -- explaining why they sided with Toussaint.

"Senior Chief Toussaint has served honorably and was made the 'scape goat' in this case, for the benefit of one disgruntled sailor," wrote one of the board members, Lt. Cmdr. Angel Bellido.

Another board member wrote that he took into consideration the testimony of a Navy SEAL who said Toussaint saved his life last summer when he was shot during a combat mission in Afghanistan.

Toussaint included these statements in a March letter to Juan Garcia, the assistant secretary of the Navy who oversees personnel and will make the final decision on the retirement pay. "The board's unanimous decision... is a clear repudiation of the allegations," Toussaint wrote in the letter, which Youth Radio obtained through his lawyer.

Military law experts familiar with Toussaint's case said he may be the first enlisted sailor to go before a retirement grade determination board, a proceeding that exists outside the military justice system.

The Navy's top officials decided in October not to court-martial Toussaint and instead canceled his final years of service and sent him a letter of censure from the Secretary of the Navy, the harshest administrative reprimand that can be taken against a sailor. Navy secretary Ray Mabus said the decision to forgo a court martial was based on several factors, "including the time elapsed since the hazing incidents, the fact that Senior Chief Toussaint's involvement previously was reviewed by an authorized commander, and Senior Chief Toussaint's proximity to retirement eligibility."

Toussaint became eligible for retirement pay in January, when he completed 20 years of serving in the Navy. According to the Office of the Secretary of Defense website, his pension would amount to $2,100 a month if he retired at his current rank. If Garcia reduced Toussaint to a first class petty officer, he would receive $1,667 -- about $5,000 less a year.

Navy officials said that before his final release from the Navy, Toussaint will be transferred to the Fleet Reserve, a standard procedure for retiring personnel that lasts about a month.

Also from Youth Radio-Youth Media International:

Navy Forces Out Chief For Bahrain Hazing

Youth Radio Report Sparks Top Military Review

Navy Finds Commanders Mishandled Hazing

Navy Chief Accused of Hazing Likely to Retire at Full Pay

cfoster — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:16:21 -0700

A senior chief who was censured by the Secretary of the Navy for hazing sailors under his command may retire with a full pension, Navy officials say.

Since it was announced last October, the terms of Michael Toussaint’s retirement have come under scrutiny that is unprecedented for an enlisted sailor. The senior chief petty officer, who from 2005 to 2006 led a Bahrain-based canine unit that was plagued by widespread documented abuse, denied much of his alleged misconduct in February during a retirement board hearing, a proceeding normally reserved for commissioned officers.

The case will soon go to the desk of an assistant secretary of the Navy, who faces a choice: to approve the unanimous recommendation of the three board members who said Toussaint deserves to retire with a senior chief's pension; or to take a harder line and reduce him to a lower pay grade, as government lawyers had sought to do during the hearing.

Deciding against the retirement board's recommendation would be rare.

"I've never yet seen one (a board recommendation) that was overturned by a higher authority," said Eugene Fidell, a professor at Yale University and President of the National Institute of Military Justice.

But advocates for the sailors who were abused under Toussaint’s leadership said Navy officials had led them to expect a harsher judgement from the board hearing, which according to Navy guidelines determines the highest rank at which a sailor or officer has served honorably.

"I was surprised," said Aaron Tax, legal director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, “because we thought that the Navy believed this was someone who engaged in outrageous behavior." Tax said despite the board's recommendation, the Navy should lower Toussaint's pension to that of a first class petty officer, the rank he held before becoming chief of the Bahrain unit.

Last September, Youth Radio uncovered a 2007 Navy investigation into claims of the unit’s culture of abuse and connected it to two subsequent investigations into the suicide of a sailor implicated in the hazing scandal. While names in the copies of the Navy report were redacted, Youth Radio interviewed six sailors from the unit, all of whom named Toussaint as the ringleader of the abuse.

During the February hearing, Toussaint denied the most serious accusations against him -- that he ordered sailors to simulate sex acts during training exercises, that he threw parties with hired prostitutes, and that he condoned the humiliation of a gay soldier who was hog-tied to a chair and left in a dog kennel.

Toussant's lawyers claimed that four sailors who testified against him at the hearing were exaggerating the extent of the hazing. They accused one sailor, Joseph Christopher Rocha, of lying about Toussaint in the media to increase his own public profile as an advocate for the repeal of the U.S. Military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Rocha was discharged from the Navy under the policy after returning from Bahrain.

Youth Radio has obtained statements from each of the retirement board members -- an enlisted sailor and two Navy officers -- explaining why they sided with Toussaint.

"Senior Chief Toussaint has served honorably and was made the 'scape goat' in this case, for the benefit of one disgruntled sailor," wrote one of the board members, Lt. Cmdr. Angel Bellido.

Another board member wrote that he took into consideration the testimony of a Navy SEAL who said Toussaint saved his life last summer when he was shot during a combat mission in Afghanistan.

Toussaint included these statements in a March letter to Juan Garcia, the assistant secretary of the Navy who oversees personnel and will make the final decision on the retirement pay.

"The board's unanimous decision… is a clear repudiation of the allegations," Toussaint wrote in the letter, which Youth Radio obtained through his lawyer.

Military law experts familiar with Toussaint's case said he may be the first enlisted sailor to go before a retirement grade determination board, a proceeding that exists outside the military justice system.

The Navy's top officials decided in October not to court-martial Toussaint and instead canceled his final years of service and sent him a letter of censure from the Secretary of the Navy, the harshest administrative reprimand that can be taken against a sailor. Navy secretary Ray Mabus said the decision to forgo a court martial was based on several factors, "including the time elapsed since the hazing incidents, the fact that Senior Chief Toussaint's involvement previously was reviewed by an authorized commander, and Senior Chief Toussaint's proximity to retirement eligibility."

Toussaint became eligible for retirement pay in January, when he completed 20 years of serving in the Navy. According to the Office of the Secretary of Defense website, his pension would amount to $2,100 a month if he retired at his current rank. If Garcia reduced Toussaint to a first class petty officer, he would receive $1,667 -- about $5,000 less a year.

The board hearing has also in effect delayed Toussaint’s separation from the Navy beyond the time frame the Navy laid out last year. Instead of retiring in January, the original departure date given by naval officials, Toussaint has continued to work a desk job in Dam Neck, Va. and to receive a Navy paycheck.

“We call it a stash job,” his lawyer, Cmdr. Aaron Rugh, said of the current low-priority assignment. “He’s in limbo.”

A Navy spokesman said that the results of the retirement hearing are now under review by the Navy's personnel bureau and that assistant secretary Garcia would make his decision "within the next several months."

Eugene Fidell said that Garcia, a former Congressman, provides civilian oversight to retirement boards, which use military laws and culture to make their determinations.

Without that final evaluation, he said, "it's the military judging itself, it's the military judging its own."

Previously:

Congress Closer to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Repeal

cfoster — Fri, 28 May 2010 13:02:28 -0700

The U.S. Congress took two steps yesterday toward ending the military’s policy of discharging gay and lesbian servicemembers.

The House of Representatives approved an amendment that would repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, as soon as military leaders receive a Pentagon report on how such a repeal would be implemented and the President signs off on the plan. The Senate Armed Services Committee passed a similar amendment, which will be added to the defense authorization bill.

The full repeal likely will not occur before the end of the year, since the Pentagon’s implementation report is due in December. Yet activists who have fought to end “don’t ask, don’t tell” are, in general, celebrating yesterday’s votes as momentous and hard-fought victories. One activist, Navy veteran Joseph Christopher Rocha, wrote to us after the House vote expressing his mixed emotions:

Many of us are still struggling to make sense of the pain and suffering inflected (sic) on us by this policy. It is hard to believe that the policy that ruined so many lives will suddenly be: no more. Indeed there is no way to forgive the abuses facilitated and allowed toward our servicemembers under the amendment passed by Congress in 1993 that will forever be known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Instead, we must take comfort in that it will never happen again legally once implemented by the President and Department of Defense.

Rocha’s firsthand experience with anti-gay abuse while serving in Bahrain was the basis of a Youth Radio investigation into his Navy unit.

The abuse investigation received the 2010 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for international radio reporting, given this week at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell NOW

wilmer — Fri, 14 May 2010 13:11:44 -0700

By: Joseph Christopher Rocha

This week I joined hundreds of gay and lesbians veterans (even one active duty gay vet currently stationed in Iraq), flooded the halls of U.S. Capitol as part of Veterans Lobby Day on Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT). But our stories of valor and patriotism were not all received by willing and interested ears.

Three years ago Don't Ask Don't Tell silenced me from reporting repeated abuse by fellow soldiers and my unit chief, all because they suspected I was gay. But when I told my story to Congressman Dan Lungren's (R-CA) Legislative Director Kevin Holsclaw, he dismissively replied, "The Representative does not support social experiments in our armed services." One floored comrade recounted how the most pressing inquiry on Representative Dana Rohrabacher's (R-CA) mind regarding DADT, was whether or not she had ever "engaged in homosexual acts" during her career.

by the audacity of representatives and their staffers to look veterans in our eyes and tell us they couldn't care less about our mental health, job security and human dignity, I hurried off Capitol Hill, hoping my one o'clock might be more fruitful.

I dialed the 202 number as I exited the cab and hurried into a coffee shop across from the White House. Inside I scanned the crowd. What does a Deputy Director to the President even look like?

"Hi, this is Brian," I heard the gentleman say both through my receiver and about a foot in front of me.

Brian Bond is the White House Deputy Director of Public Engagement. He has become the de facto target for criticism from the LGBT community over the administration's perceived inaction on Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT).

As I sat down, I couldn't help noticing that every other customer in the café was dressed in military uniform. It seemed like a cruel joke as I prepared to argue for the repeal of DADT, a law that was ultimately used to end my military career.

"Before we get started", he said, "I wanted to see if you wouldn't mind signing your letter so I can try my best to get this to the actual President." The initiative and care, from an administration accused of not taking Don't Ask Don't Tell seriously enough, took me by surprise.

Since Bond already knew my story, I explained why it's imperative that a repeal bill passes Congress before the August recess, well ahead of midterm elections when we have no sure way of knowing who will remain in Congress.

I shared with him how, just days earlier, I had built up the courage to finally visit my former peers at the U.S. Naval Academy, an institution I dreamed of graduation from, but because of DADT, now never will.

In Annapolis, gay and straight midshipmen told me how the culture of lies and deceit, forced on our military by DADT, was straining them and their buddies overseas. I told Bond that further delay in repeal efforts will sadly result in continued abuse, suicides, and discharges.

I caught the posture of Deputy Director Bond relax at this point. "I was sort of expecting you to just want to yell at me," he said.

Instead I explained that I understood that without President Obama, Secretary Gates would not have insisted that the Pentagon working group on DADT take a "how, not if" approach. And without White House leadership, it's equally unlikely that Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, would have come out so emphatically against DADT.

During a February 2nd hearing by the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mullen said "No matter how I look at this issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens."

But I was also sure to tell Deputy Director Bond that recent mixed signals have undermined support for the president. He knew exactly what I was getting at.

"Secretary Gate's letter to Chairman Skelton caught us entirely by surprise. I still don't really know what to make of it," he said.

He explained how careful analysis of the text convinces him it was drafted "rather hastily." As the White House's point man on DADT, Bond assured me the president is working aggressively to achieve the most cohesive congressional, executive, and DOD solution to permanent repeal.

"The President is committed to getting this done," he said, "and done right."

"Please do not interpret silence from the White House as inaction on repeal or a reflection of its commitment." According to Bond, any perceived lack of transparency is due to sensitive collaborations between the different bodies of government that have been ongoing from day one, and will result in repeal "this year."

Members of the LGBT community find ourselves wrestling with our hearts, which want repeal yesterday, and our minds, which understand the complexities of passing a bill through Congress - the only permanent solution to the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.

The meeting left me feeling relieved. For the first time I am entirely convinced that this administration is behind us. What is left is for us, together, to take this fight, in earnest, to both houses of Congress.

Over the course of Veterans Lobby Day, it became clear to me that legislators opposed to the repeal of DADT will not be swayed by the mountain of statistics and legal arguments stacked against DADT. At this point they can only truly be influenced by the men and women who have served under this deeply flawed policy.

As the fight to repeal DADT advances towards the House and Senate floors in the coming weeks, there's only one convincing argument left that holds any power to change our legislators' minds. They need to hear brave testimonies from the over a million living gay and lesbian veterans stretching all the way back to WWII.

The time is now, for legislators to choose what side of history they wish to be written into. Undoubtedly some members of Congress will remain in opposition to repeal, but in a country that relentlessly supports its troops, they should expect electoral retribution for anything short of full support of the dignified treatment of each and every service member.

Together with our allies in Congress and the White House, this summer we face the decisive battle that will determine the fate of repeal. I, like many vets at Veterans Lobby Day, hope that by this time next year, I am back in uniform serving my country.

Protecting the Military's Gays From Vindictive Outings

cfoster — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:23:50 -0700

By: Joseph Christopher Rocha

Those, like me, who are following the Pentagon's plans to end the ban on gays in the military, expect big changes soon. Based on a just-completed 45-day review of "don't ask, don't tell," the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has received recommendations to apply the policy in "a manner that is more appropriate and fair." And while a full repeal of the policy likely remains months away, even the simplest change - raising the bar for the kind of evidence required to launch an investigation - could have a profound impact on the lives of gays and lesbians serving in the military. I know, because if that change had been made three years ago when I was enlisted, I would be a sophomore at the United States Naval Academy today.

After a childhood of abuse at the hands of a meth-addicted mother, I had only one dream, and only one ambition: to graduate from the Naval Academy and to dedicate my entire life to serving my country. I enlisted on my 18th birthday and, after serving for nearly four years and receiving three congressional nominations for the Naval Academy, I was accepted to the academy's preparatory school.

But to get to that moment, I had followed the rules of "don't ask, don't tell" to the point of endangering my own life. While I kept my sexuality to myself during my tour in the Persian Gulf as an explosive detection handler, my unit chief targeted me for unusually cruel and extensively documented hazing, in part because of rumors that I might be gay. I never reported the abuse to my commanding officers, since I feared that my chief or his buddies could retaliate by outing me. After all, launching a "don't ask, don't tell" investigation requires merely "credible information" from "reliable sources" - opening is known as a third-party outing.

So there I was at the doorsteps of this prestigious academy, evaluating what an officer career under DADT had to offer me and all I had already lost. I knew I deserved better. From a moral standpoint, I knew "don't ask, don't tell" violated every aspect of the Navy's core values of Honor, Courage and Commitment. And from the standpoint of self-preservation, I knew any snitch with a grudge could end my career.

I decided I'd rather be discharged as a veteran who served honorably in the Middle East, rather than risk a future discharge as an officer embroiled in an outing scandal or shamed by malice. So I made a statement to my commanding officer, telling him I was gay, and I was discharged.

The policy of third-party outings has effectively made thousands of the military's gay personnel into fugitives. While serving, no matter how closely we've follow DADT, we have lived every second with the fear that anyone, for any reason, and with little proof, has the ability to ruin our careers.

It is time now that our country values the sweat and blood of all troops and that we reward each of them with equal job security and human dignity.

Admiral Mike Mullen has the opportunity to reduce what can be considered "credible evidence" and effectively raise the standard of who qualifies as a "reliable source". And while far short of the necessary full repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," this stop-gap rule change will significantly lower the threat the policy poses to National Security by limiting the discharges of otherwise excellent personnel. I know from experience that it will ease the burden on the everyday lives of those serving under it, while the Department of Defense prepares for a full repeal of the military's ban against gays.

Frustrated and understandably angry by the prospect of the repeal taking another year, there are still those who demand an Executive Order, a temporary solution at the mercy of any Presidential Administration. However, we are not likely to see again the political capital invested today in the repeal effort by the White House, Department of Defense and Congress. We must support the only permanent solution: repeal by way of congressional law.

As for me, only in the case of such a repeal will I be allowed to serve once again and earn the commission I still dream of. And yet, knowing what Admiral Mullen's anticipated policy change will mean for the men and women serving today, I will celebrate them as the beginning of the end of institutionalized discrimination in our military.

Joseph Christopher Rocha, 23, is a junior in Political Science at the University of San Diego and was recently awarded the 2010 Harvey Milk Civil Rights Award for his extensive work in contributing to the effort to repeal "don't ask, don't tell."

Previously:

Navy Abuse Scandal on KCBS

noah — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:43:07 -0700

Youth Radio reporter Rachel Krantz speaks to KCBS about yesterday's stunning turn of events in the Bahrain Navy Hazing scandal.

You can find the interview on KCBS' Interviews and Analysis page.

Previously:

Navy Forces Out Chief for Bahrain Hazing

noah — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:13:12 -0700

By Rachel Krantz and the Youth Radio Investigative Unit
This story is part of Youth Radio's investigation: Sailors' Abuse Kept Silent In Navy Canine Unit.

After Youth Radio broke the story last month on widespread hazing in a Bahrain canine unit, the Chief of Naval Operations has completed reviewing how officials handled an investigation into the abuse. He found that the chief petty officer responsible for the abuse had not been adequately punished.

As a result of the top-level Navy review of misconduct in a canine unit in Bahrain, the Secretary of the Navy has censured the unit’s former chief petty officer, Michael Toussaint, forcing him to retire from the Navy.

Previously, an investigation into the hazing at the base in Bahrain between 2004 and 2006 revealed widespread abuse of sailors and other misconduct, including gambling and soliciting prostitutes. On September 22, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead ordered Navy Installations Command (CNIC) to review what actions were taken as a result of the hazing investigation.

"After reviewing the investigation and the CNIC report, Admiral Roughead found the incidents were not in keeping with Navy values and standards and violated Navy’s long standing prohibition against hazing," said Navy spokesperson Commander Elissa Smith.

Smith said the Secretary of the Navy's letter of censure will become part of Toussaint’s permanent military record. Toussaint, now a senior chief petty officer, will be reassigned to Naval Special Warfare Group 2, where he will perform administrative duties until his retirement in January.

Roughead has also ordered the Naval Criminal Investigative Service to interview commissioned officers who served in Bahrain at the time of the hazing. Previously, a navy spokesman said the investigation report had indicated that two commissioned officers might have had knowledge of the hazing events. The spokesman told Youth Radio neither officer was recommended for disciplinary action.

Joseph Christopher Rocha served in the unit and experienced some of the worst abuse at while under Toussaint’s leadership. The 23-year-old said many of his fellow sailors have mixed feelings about the results of Roughead's review.

"A lot of us are disappointed in that Toussaint won’t see his day at a military court martial," Rocha said. "But overall, I commend the CNO and the Secretary of the Navy for a wanting to look further into this, to see how widespread the corruption was."

Previously:

Sailor Abuse Investigation on KPFK

noah — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:10:41 -0700

Reporter Rachel Krantz spoke to KPFK Pacifica Radio today about her experience reporting Youth Radio's Sailor Abuse Investigation. She was interviewed by Barbara Osborn and Howard Blume for their weekly show about the media, Deadline LA.

Check below to listen to the interview and hear the inside scoop about how the Youth Radio investigation was brought to the public.

(download mp3)

Joseph Christopher Rocha in the News

rkrantz — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:09:09 -0700

UPDATE (2:55 PDT): Joseph Rocha's story aired again on Wolf Blitzer's Situation Room. The re-airing of this morning's video (see below) was accompanied by an interview with Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) a formal 3-Star Navy Admiral who has made this case one of his priorities.

Navy Veteran Joseph Christopher Rocha has gotten attention from the national news media this week.

Youth Radio first broke Rocha's story back in June when he told us about the abuse he experienced during his time serving in Bahrain.

Since then, Youth Radio has broken major investigative pieces as seen on the Huffington Post and NPR telling Rocha and other unit members' stories in detail.

This weekend, we were happy to see Joseph Christopher Rocha's editorial in the Washington Post. Here's an excerpt from the powerful piece of writing:

I don't think I will ever feel as powerless as I did when I was on my knees, wearing a U.S. military uniform in the Middle East, forced by my superior to shove my head between another man's legs. But I have discovered that telling this story holds its own kind of power.

We were also excited to see a profile of Joseph and his story on CNN this morning.

That video, and more, after the jump...

Rocha is hopeful the new round of media attention will help bring justice for the sailors who experienced abuse in Bahrain, and for other gay service members still living in fear.

For years, I kept this story a secret from my loved ones, wanting simply to move on. But I believe we have a window of opportunity now in the effort to repeal "don't ask, don't tell," and this has propelled me to go public with my experience...The more I talk about what happened to me, the more I hear from others who have been in similar situations. Students in the service academies calling me, crying, asking if they should quit. World War II veterans. Enlisted soldiers serving overseas. They are hopeful that we may soon have a different kind of military, that gay and lesbian men and women can serve the country we love with job security and dignity.

Despite everything, I am hopeful, too.

Stay with Youth Radio as this story continues to develop--we'll be the first to let you know.

Navy Sailors Say They Were Hazed, Abused

noah — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:43:14 -0700

The following is a transcript. To listen, use the audio player in this post. For access to all documents, posts, and images associated with this story see our Sailors' Abuse Investigation Hub.

Joseph Christopher Rocha enlisted in the U.S. Navy on his 18th  birthday, in 2004. He remembers being excited about his first overseas  assignment: to serve in Bahrain. He became a dog handler with one of  the Navy’s biggest kennels. But Rocha says once he got there, he  entered a culture of hazing and abuse at the hands of his fellow  service members that made him feel like the animal.  

ROCHA: I was hog-tied to a chair, rolled around the base, left in a  dog kennel that had feces spread in it.  

Rocha says six weeks into his deployment, when he made it clear he  wasn’t interested in the unit’s parties with prostitutes, the Chief,  Master-at-Arms Michael Toussaint, and others on the base, made him a  target.  

ROCHA: I was in a very small high testosterone-driven unit of men…I  think that's what began the questioning-you know-‘Why don't you want  to have sex with her? Are you a faggot?’  

Read the rest of the story after the jump...

He says the hazing escalated across the unit. Incidents ranged from spraying  down uniformed personnel with hoses, to directing sailors to simulate  sex acts on videotape. Petty Officer Shaun Hogan, who was stationed in  Bahrain with Rocha, remembers a so-called “training video” sailors  were ordered to produce.  

HOGAN: Petty Officer Rocha and another junior sailor…They were  instructed to go into a classroom by Chief Michael Toussaint, who  orchestrated the entire training. And Chief Toussaint asked them to  simulate homosexual sex on a couch.  

Hogan played a handler barging onto the scene with his dog. Rocha says  the Chief coached him on how to act in the video.  

ROCHA: …telling me I needed to be more believable, act more queer,  have a higher pitched voice, and make the sounds and gestures more  realistic...  

The hazing got worse, but Rocha was afraid reporting it could lead to  an investigation into whether or not he was gay.

Youth Radio has interviewed six sailors from the canine unit. They all tell similar stories of abuse.

One sailor who would only talk on tape if we changed her voice, remembers seeing a different sexually charged video. In it a female sailor was ordered to role-play as the lover of another female in the unit, who was handcuffed to a bed, and appeared naked under the sheets.

ANON: My thought was what are these people thinking? How is this going to be valid training for her to play—and I’m going to quote here a bitchy Lt, it was very disgraceful.

All six sailors we spoke with were afraid to report the abuse. They say that Toussaint threatened to revoke their dog  certification if they complained. And some feared  worse. They remembered his warning, “God help anyone who airs our  dirty laundry.”  

ANON: It’s supposed to be this tight knit unit, we’re  supposed to be a family. And when you get into it, the enemy’s not  outside the line, your enemy’s within…Your enemy is your chain of command.  

Finally, in 2006, one sailor broke through the silence, and reported an assault. The Navy  commissioned an independent investigation that uncovered the hazing and other abuses.  The investigation’s findings—obtained through the Freedom of  Information Act—and corroborated by Youth Radio’s interviews show the abuse was  widespread in the unit, and in some cases sanctioned and instigated by  its leadership.  

The investigation found evidence to support accusations of physical  assault on sailors and in two instances, prostitutes on base. The documents also show systemic hazing through humiliation  and unnecessary labor. 

The conclusions and recommendations of the investigation are redacted  in the copy of the report we obtained. To fill in the blanks, we called the Navy’s regional spokesperson, Lt.  Commander Wendy Snyder. She said she couldn’t give details of specific disciplinary actions. And that because the investigation took place more than two years ago, the records are no longer available.  

WENDY SNYDER: Whether they're shredded or destroyed, I don't know…As  far as I know, the investigation was completed, and the outcomes I  don't know of those individuals involved. 

Since then, a Navy officer familiar with the case has told NPR the  report recommended courts martial for both Chief Toussaint and another  non-commissioned officer from the unit.  The recommendation for courts martial was never followed. Instead, the case was closed, and Toussaint received a “non-punitive letter of caution”—the  military’s equivalent of a slap on the wrist.  

What’s more, Toussaint has been promoted… to Senior Chief.  We asked Yale Law Professor Eugene Fidell, who is President of the  National Institute of Military Justice, to review the investigation’s  Findings of Fact and give his opinion on the Navy’s follow up.  

FIDELL: It did seem to me (from the materials that were made  available) that some criminal punishment under the UCMJ was called  for, it looked to me like rampant misconduct of a kind that was  utterly incompatible with military service on behalf of our country.  

Professor Fidell served as a Judge Advocate and has made a career of  reviewing military justice cases.  

FIDELL: I would expect anybody in pay grade Petty Officer and above to  be held accountable. These people have responsibilities, they are  supposed to be leaders, we depend on them, and if they’re either  engaging in this kind of misconduct or tolerating it, they need to be  taught a lesson.

Meanwhile, unit members we’ve interviewed are still struggling with  the aftermath of their experiences in Bahrain.  Shaun Hogan—the sailor who played the dog handler in the simulated sex  video—is now in the Naval reserves. He says he’s haunted by personal  guilt.  

HOGAN: I was duty-bound to protect those under my command; Petty  Officer Rocha [and] several others. I have a lot of regret for not  having spoken up at the time and intervening...  

As for Joseph Christopher Rocha, the Veterans Administration diagnosed  him with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. When he heard there would not  be a court martial, he took it hard.  

ROCHA: It took a lot of courage to testify against Toussaint… And then … to be told that there was no need and there would be  no trial…    

Rocha says he was devastated. He still can’t quite describe the feeling.    

ROCHA: That kind of loss of gravity, of saying, what just happened?  That stuck with me…    

Shortly after hearing that news, Rocha made the hardest decision of  his life. He ended his military career—out of fear that he’d face more  abuse at a future deployment, and because he’d come out as gay.    Rocha’s official statement read:  

ROCHA (reading): I am homosexual. I am proud of my service and had  hoped that I'd be able to serve the navy and country for my entire  career. However…I must be honest with myself, courageous in my beliefs  and committed to my course of action.  

(On the basis of that statement) Rocha was officially discharged by the  U.S. Navy.

Toussaint’s second in command while he was in Bahrain was Petty  Officer Jennifer Valdivia. Shortly after being told she’d be removed from her position in the kennel because of the hazing investigation, she took her own life.  

As for Toussaint, Youth Radio tried repeatedly to reach him by phone, through e-mail and via social networking sites. His  command confirms they forwarded our questions to him. We wanted to know his side of the story. He has not responded.  Michael Toussaint is now Senior Chief with what’s regarded as the most  prestigious dog unit in the Navy, the Naval Special Warfare  Development Group, based in Dam Neck, Virginia.  

But this may not be the end of the story.

Since Youth Radio began reporting the story, Rear Admiral David Mercer has ordered a review of the outcomes of the investigation at the Bahrain Kennel. He’s in charge of naval installations in Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia.

A Navy spokesman issued this statement:

“The incidents that occurred within the Military Working Dog Division at Naval Support Activity Bahrain do not reflect who we are as a navy. They are considered an anomaly based on sailors who were inproperly led.”

And yesterday, we learned yet another higher level review of the investigation has been ordered, this time by the Chief of Naval Operations, the Navy’s highest ranking officer and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The deadline for that report is October sixth.

This story aired on National Public Radio's All Things Considered.