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Australian Defense Report Unveils Alarming Misconduct Onboard HMAS Success
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
A report released by Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith, reveals a "tribal" culture and predatory sexual behavior onboard the Naval supply ship, HMAS Success.
The independent inquiry was commissioned by Defense Force Chief Angus Houston after allegations of unacceptable behavior emerged during the ship’s 2009 tour of South-East Asia and China.
The first part of the report was presented to Parliament on February 22. In his report, author Roger Giles, recounts incidents involving sex in public, tribalism, predatory sexual behavior and intimidation.
The report found that the source of much of the misconduct was the Marine Technicians (MT) unit who stuck close together in secrecy. Giles writes. “I came to the conclusion that there was a culture of silence and mutual protection among the MT sailors onboard the Success.” Members of this particular unit put sexual bounties on female crewmembers, verbally and physically intimidated those who tried to speak out and banded together to avoid random testing for alcohol use. Complainants were reportedly afraid to come forward for fear that complaining about the seemingly condoned behavior, would lead to repercussions.
The report states that members of the crew were aware of the lack of action against the MT unit and perceived them as a protected group.
Much of the misconduct onboard the ship seemed to involve alcohol and most incidents occurred during shore leave, including one that involved two sailors engaging in sexual acts at a bar while another watched.
Other accounts included frequent fraternization among the crew and heavy alcohol consumption in hotels and bars onshore. During one three-day stop in Hong Kong the sailors did a “robe run, in which participants were dressed in hotel bathrobes and at least one of them had not clothing underneath the bathrobe.” On the third night, sailors reported wore Lycra suits and frilly dresses to look like Snow White. Senior sailors reportedly wore schoolgirl outfits.
The Royal Navy says the sailor’s conduct was a breach of the ship’s orders and a violation of the Navy’s dress standards, and port initiatives in relation to dress and behavior ashore.
The report notes that officers onboard were aware of what was going on but did nothing to punish or stop the behavior. In the report, complainants eventually bypassed the engineering chain of command and directly approached the Ship’s Warrant Officer, who directed them to the Executive Officer.
Finding alcohol to be a reoccurring theme in the report, the Royal Australian Navy is now reconsidering its policies on alcohol overseas. The Navy hasn’t yet said if they will ban alcohol on deployments, but did say they are committed to the development of a new ADF alcohol management strategy.
The Defense Forces says they will act on the recommendations outlined in the report and those mentioned in the report will could face serious disciplinary actions.
The HMAS Success is an auxiliary oiler replenishment vessel used for supplying fuel, ammunition, food and stores to naval combat units at sea. In March 2009 the Success deployed from Sydney to Southeast Asia and China with 220 crewmembers, including 30 females
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
A report released by Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith, reveals a "tribal" culture and predatory sexual behavior onboard the Naval supply ship, HMAS Success.
The independent inquiry was commissioned by Defense Force Chief Angus Houston after allegations of unacceptable behavior emerged during the ship’s 2009 tour of South-East Asia and China.
The first part of the report was presented to Parliament on February 22. In his report, author Roger Giles, recounts incidents involving sex in public, tribalism, predatory sexual behavior and intimidation.
The report found that the source of much of the misconduct was the Marine Technicians (MT) unit who stuck close together in secrecy. Giles writes. “I came to the conclusion that there was a culture of silence and mutual protection among the MT sailors onboard the Success.” Members of this particular unit put sexual bounties on female crewmembers, verbally and physically intimidated those who tried to speak out and banded together to avoid random testing for alcohol use. Complainants were reportedly afraid to come forward for fear that complaining about the seemingly condoned behavior, would lead to repercussions.
The report states that members of the crew were aware of the lack of action against the MT unit and perceived them as a protected group.
Much of the misconduct onboard the ship seemed to involve alcohol and most incidents occurred during shore leave, including one that involved two sailors engaging in sexual acts at a bar while another watched.
Other accounts included frequent fraternization among the crew and heavy alcohol consumption in hotels and bars onshore. During one three-day stop in Hong Kong the sailors did a “robe run, in which participants were dressed in hotel bathrobes and at least one of them had not clothing underneath the bathrobe.” On the third night, sailors reported wore Lycra suits and frilly dresses to look like Snow White. Senior sailors reportedly wore schoolgirl outfits.
The Royal Navy says the sailor’s conduct was a breach of the ship’s orders and a violation of the Navy’s dress standards, and port initiatives in relation to dress and behavior ashore.
The report notes that officers onboard were aware of what was going on but did nothing to punish or stop the behavior. In the report, complainants eventually bypassed the engineering chain of command and directly approached the Ship’s Warrant Officer, who directed them to the Executive Officer.
Finding alcohol to be a reoccurring theme in the report, the Royal Australian Navy is now reconsidering its policies on alcohol overseas. The Navy hasn’t yet said if they will ban alcohol on deployments, but did say they are committed to the development of a new ADF alcohol management strategy.
The Defense Forces says they will act on the recommendations outlined in the report and those mentioned in the report will could face serious disciplinary actions.
The HMAS Success is an auxiliary oiler replenishment vessel used for supplying fuel, ammunition, food and stores to naval combat units at sea. In March 2009 the Success deployed from Sydney to Southeast Asia and China with 220 crewmembers, including 30 females
