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I Am Going Public!

Contributed by: Don Morris on 11/7/2007

1991 was a wild time for the United States Navy and presidential elections. A time when I spoke with the President of the United States, and it had to do about Vegas. After my conversation with the Leader of the Free World I then passed Secretary of State James Baker with a horde of photographers and reporters to go through. I bit my lip with delightful glee to ensure no tiny morsel of what I heard would pass my lips. Free of crowds and media I happily walked on air knowing my fellow Navy pilots would cheer at the news.

A scandal had erupted in Las Vegas. Tailhook, a traditional conference of 4,000 Navy and Marine Corps pilots with more drinking and carousing than any serious talk of flying had been finally exposed for what it is - what had stayed in Vegas was now brought to full light by female military officers, including 83 women and 7 men who had been groped, chased, assaulted and sexually harassed by their fellow military officers. Tailhook was now publicly synonymous with something more than the arresting hook for carrier landings.

The door was open for investigation, and what they found was that our few good men in the Navy and Marine Corps spent their days in Vegas having a wild drunken orgy that sunk to the depths of frat house debauchery. All on the tax payers dime! Half clad women being chased down hotel halls by wild drunken men in un-zipped flightsuits is not how the general public likes to see their brave soldiers.

The media had their story of sex, debauchery and harassment. They pushed to learn more, but the good ol' boys of Naval Aviation fell to the tried and true code of silence. The media was stonewalled. No one would talk.

Their is a saying in the Navy, "Sh... rolls uphill." The junior officers knew if they spilled the beans the heads of commanders, captains and even admirals might be lopped off, since they had been in on the fun as much as the rest of them. The brotherhood would stay intact. A patch was made and quickly circulated to all military pilots. In the patch was a smirking Bart Simpson in a flightsuit holding a beer with a woman in a bikini frantically running away from him. The words around the patch read, 'I didn't do it! No one saw me do it -you can't prove a thing!' The patch became a collectors item, and pilots wore them proudly on their flightsuits.

A fury of indignation rose among the media and public. Senators and the administration were told to investigate further.They dutifully complied with somber pronouncements of how terrible this all is, and how they will get to the bottom of this horrible scandal. By official order the Bart Simpson patch was banned. A few top officers, including 14 admirals were spanked and almost 300 pilots disciplined severely. The tradition of Tailhook would never be the same. And one President at the time would say goodbye to a tradition he knew well, since he had been a heroic Navy pilot in World War II.

On a sunny day walking along Larimer Street I saw a gleaming black limousine quickly stop and a number of men in black with square jaws, sunglasses and ear pieces jump out and form a perimeter. I was getting ready to pass The Market when one of these alien shooters stopped me.

Out stepped President George W. Bush 41'. He was campaigning in Denver, and he was stopping for lunch. A large crowd quickly formed with shouts and hurrahs! So many people wanted to touch him and say something. He would pass right by me.

I shouted, "Mr. President! I'm a Navy pilot as well!" I knew this would get his attention - a brotherhood of pilots.

He came over, and in his 'wrangly' good ol' boy Texas way shook my hand. He asked, "What's your name?"

"Lieutenant Morris, sir."

"What do ya fly?"

"P3 Orions, sir."

He nodded his head, "Where are ya stationed?"

"NAS Brunswick, Maine, sir"

He smiled. His favorite place to vacation is Kennebunkport, Maine. Then he motioned for me to lean towards him. He wanted to whisper something in my ear.

I was surprised to think he wanted to tell me something in secret. I smiled and listened curiously.

With the president's hand cupped over my ear he said, "Ya know that Tailhook scandal?"

I nodded.

"Don't let those bastards get ya down!" The President of the United States shook my hand with a grin and went on his way.


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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments
Submitted By: Don Morris
posted on 11/26/2007 @ 11:02:30 AM
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I had never known or heard of a P3 out-maneuvering a F14. The P3 may be able to go slower than the fighter which could make it difficult to trail.
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Submitted By: Bill Prather
posted on 11/21/2007 @ 10:43:49 AM
Rated Story
Thanks for the info! I remember a pilot once told me that a P3 could out-maneuver an F14. Maybe he was biased, but I believed him.
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Submitted By: Don Morris
posted on 11/12/2007 @ 8:41:21 PM
(Not Rated)
The P3 Orion is still flying, and with Russia and China growing in military power I imagine it is still performing Anti-submarine warfare. It has also served other purposes since the end of the cold war such as drug interdiction.
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Submitted By: Bill Prather
posted on 11/8/2007 @ 9:29:26 AM
Rated Story
Great story. I flew (as a guest) in P3 Orions from Diego Garcia and Adak, AK. Sure would have liked to have met G.H.W. Bush. By the way, what's become the Orion, now that the Soviet Sub threat is gone?
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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments
CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Don Morris

Denver , CO

Don Morris has posted 2 stories and 2 comments since joining on 2/22/2007. Don Morris 's average story rating is 5.
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