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New videos emerge by fired Navy carrier commander

RICHMOND, Va. — More raunchy videos laced with bawdy jokes and profanity emerged Wednesday from the past of a Navy officer fired this week from command of an aircraft carrier after some of his other shipboard comedy segments became public.

The Navy Times, which said it obtained the videos independently, posted them on its website. They appear to come from the same 2006-2007 period as the previous ones and include a scene in which Capt. Owen Honors talks to an officer he identifies a member of the staff of the admiral of the USS Enterprise’s carrier strike group.

If true, that officer’s involvement would contradict Honors’ disclaimer in the segements that senior officers were not aware of his videos. Honors also acknowledged that the taped skits meant as entertainment for the carrier crew had drawn complaints from crew members. He was executive officer, or second in command, at the time and advanced to commander of the ship this year.

U.S. Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, homeport of the Enterprise, did not immediately respond to a telephone message or an e-mail from The Associated Press.

Adm. John Harvey, commander of Fleet Forces, on Tuesday relieved Honors from the command of the Enterprise for his "profound lack of good judgment and professionalism" in recording the videos in 2006 and 2007, when he was executive officer aboard the Enterprise.

He also launched an investigation of Honors and if other officers were aware of his filmmaking.

Earlier videos by Honors included anti-gay slurs, sailors of both genders in shower scenes, and salty language. The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk first made the videos public last weekend.

Some of the videos show they were made during the Enterprise’s deployment to the Persian Gulf, where it went twice during the height of the Iraq war.

In one of the new videos, Honors is shown surveying crew members to get their ideas on how he can spice up his videos after complaints that they’ve lost their edge. He uses a profane term to express that sentiment.

One crew member suggests he pose in a thong, while another suggests more sexual images.

The next image shows what appears to be Honors’ head superimposed atop a man on a beach clad in a skimpy swimsuit and flanked be women in bathing suits.

Supporters of Honors have said he used the raunchy videos to also deliver serious lessons to crew members on ship’s operations.

The military has said it called for a stop to the videos at the time but has not explained why only reprimanded Honors three years later.

The Enterprise is scheduled to leave this month for a deployment to support U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

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Online:

Navy Times: http://www.navytimes.com/

 

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