Officer Forced to Retire for Hazing Gay Sailor
October 22, 2009 by Gay Agenda News Team · 1 Comment
The former leader of a bomb-sniffing dog unit in Bahrain will be removed from his current position and forced to retire after the Navy reviewed years-old allegations of hazing and sexual harassment against a gay sailor and others.
The Navy announced Wednesday that Chief Petty Officer Michael Toussaint also would receive a letter of censure and be subject to a retirement pay-grade determination, which could significantly affect his retirement pay.
The move came after the Navy decided last month to review its investigation of more than 90 hazing incidents that took place between 2004 and 2006 in the Military Working Dog Division at Naval Security Force, Bahrain.
One of the victims of the hazing, Joseph Rocha, said he decided to leave the Navy in 2007 by telling his commander he was gay, in violation of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
Rocha said he was tied to a chair and left in a dog kennel, hosed down while in uniform and forced to simulate oral sex on another sailor. He said he first came under suspicion for not sleeping with prostitutes when other men in the unit did. A Veterans Affairs doctor has diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder from the constant hazing.
Read more: www.nydailynews.com
Sailors’ Abuse Kept Silent in Navy Canine Unit
September 3, 2009 by Gay Agenda News Team · 1 Comment
It was inside that Bahrain kennel in July 2005 that Petty Officer Joseph Christopher Rocha, then 19 years old, says he was being terrorized by other members of his own division. “I was hog-tied to a chair, rolled around the base, left in a dog kennel that had feces spread in it.”
Rocha says that beginning six weeks into his deployment, he was singled out for abuse by his chief master-at-arms, Michael Toussaint, and others on the base, once Rocha made it clear he was not interested in prostitutes. “I was in a very small testosterone-driven unit of men,” Rocha says. “I think that’s what began the questioning-you know-‘Why don’t you want to have sex with her? Are you a faggot?’
Read more of this shocking story at: YouthRadio.org
Man Accused of Killing Gay Sailor Found Dead in Cell
August 1, 2009 by Gay Agenda News Team · Leave a Comment
According to a post on the LA Times:
The sailor accused of murdering a fellow seaman (August Provost) who was on guard duty at Camp Pendleton committed suicide in the base brig, Navy officials said today.
Jonathan Campos, 32, of Lancaster was found unresponsive in his cell about 12:20 p.m. and rushed to the base hospital. He was pronounced dead at approximately 1:15 p.m.
Campos, a petty officer 2nd class, had apparently asphyxiated himself with toilet paper, officials said.
He had been on suicide watch in the brig and had last been checked at 11:45 a.m., according to a Navy release.
Read original post here.
Man Charged in Gay Sailor’s Murder
July 24, 2009 by James Hipps · 1 Comment
The U.S. Navy has stated a fellow seaman has been charged with murder and of August Provost III, the gay Navy member who was shot to death Camp Pendleton on June 30. We are still waiting for the name of the suspect to be released.
Provost’s family believes the shooting may have been a hate crime, as they claim that Provost complained of harassment about his sexuality just days before his murder, but Navy officials are rejecting the family’s claims as they assert there is no record of Provost filing a report with the Navy about harassment. The family has stated however that Provost was afraid to file a complaint as it may endanger him from being discharged under the current “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy.
Provost was 29 and worked on hovercrafts. A Navy spokesman described him as a rising star earlier this month.
Gay Sailor Found Dead at Pendleton Guard Shack
July 2, 2009 by Gay Agenda News Team · Leave a Comment
Two “persons of interest” were initially detained in the case, but one has since been released, said Capt. Matt Brown, director of public affairs for Navy Region Southwest. (Examiner.com)
The preceding is an update to the story previously shown below:
A person was being held in connection with the suspected homicide of a 29-year-old sailor who was found in a Camp Pendleton guard shack, Navy officials said yesterday.
The body of Seaman August Provost of Houston was discovered about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday on the western edge of the base, said Doug Sayers, a spokesman for Navy Region Southwest.
An autopsy was completed yesterday, but authorities were waiting for results of toxicology tests to determine the cause of death.
A “person of interest” was being held in the brig at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station. No charges have been filed.
Read the rest at: SignonSanDiego.com
