page_title: Tailhook scandal
section_title: Cases
hierarchical_section_title: Tailhook scandal / Nonjudicial actions / Cases
caption_attribution_description: English: United States Navy Admiral Joseph Paul Reason.
context_page_description: The Tailhook scandal was a military scandal and controversy in which United States Navy and U.S. Marine Corps aviation officers were alleged to have sexually assaulted up to 83 women and seven men, or otherwise engaged in "improper and indecent" conduct at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada. The events took place at the 35th Annual Tailhook Association Symposium from September 5 to 8, 1991. The event was subsequently abbreviated as "Tailhook '91" in media accounts.
  The alleged sexual assaults mainly occurred in a third floor hallway in which "hospitality suites" rented by participating military units for the conference were located. According to witnesses, a "gauntlet" of male military officers in civilian clothes groped, molested, or committed other sexual or physical assaults and harassment on women who walked through the hallway. In addition, military officers were alleged to have engaged in public nudity, excessive alcohol intoxication, public sexual activity, and other lewd behavior in and around the convention location at the hotel.
context_section_description: In late 1992, as the DoDIG investigation progressed, O'Keefe approved prosecutions of Tailhook suspects under what was called a "consolidated disposition authority" (CDA).  Customarily, in the US military, discipline is handled by the local chain of command.  Under a CDA, however, all prosecutions over a specific incident or matter are handled by the same convening authority.  The purpose was to make any punishments more consistent, and to avoid conflicts of interest that could arise if local chains of command included senior officers who had also attended Tailhook.
  The Department of the Navy established separate CDA's for Navy and Marine officers. The Navy CDA, established on January 30, 1993 was headed by Commander, Naval Surface Forces Atlantic Vice Admiral J. Paul Reason. Reason's legal team worked from Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek and hearings were held at Naval Station Norfolk.
  The Marine CDA, stood up on February 4, 1993, was presided over by Lieutenant General Charles C. Krulak and located at Marine Corps Base Quantico.
  On February 23, 1993, although its investigation had not officially closed, the DoDIG agreed to deliver its Tailhook case files to Navy attorneys to review in preparation for prosecutions.  At that time, the DoDIG/DCIS had compiled files on 300 officers.  The DoDIG considered 160 of the cases as not worthy of prosecution and held onto them for the time being before giving them to the Navy in May 1993.  Of the remaining 140 suspects whose files were turned over in February, 118 were Navy officers and 22 were Marines.  The DoDIG also had 35 files on the flag officers who had attended Tailhook 1991 that it kept separate from the other 300 cases.
  Reports differ on what happened to the 35 flag officer files.  Mancuso stated that the files were delivered to Kelso's office (who at that time was acting Secretary of the Navy), but Kelso's staff claimed that the files were kept by the office of Secretary of Defense Les Aspin.  The location of the flag officer files was a sensitive issue, as one of the cases involved Kelso (see below).
caption: J. Paul Reason
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