It Ain't Flattery, Guys

For most women, catching the hey-baby bloodshot eye of a drunken sailor is about as pleasing as walking past a bevy of foul-tongued construction workers. Unfortunately, the women present at a Las Vegas naval gathering in September witnessed an even darker side of the military man on the make. In a memo issued last week, Navy Secretary H. Lawrence Garrett III implicated 70 officers in an investigation of sexual harassment at the now infamous Tailhook convention. Part of the shenanigans at this annual meeting of Navy and Marine aviators included lining up in the halls of the Hilton Hotel and pawing at the breasts and buttocks of any unlucky woman who walked by.

At least 26 women -- more than half of them officers -- were assaulted at the convention, but an initial inquiry into the incident turned up few culprits, because male pilots remained tight-lipped on the subject of after- hours "fun." Garrett's memo fiercely chastised the six men directly involved in the incident, but also targeted those who refused to cooperate with the investigation and the commanding officers present at the Hilton who ) did nothing to end the lewd goings-on. The Navy says it is taking appropriate action against all those involved and started a service-wide program against sexual harassment.