Navy's Owens recommended for expulsion

Colleges and Universities A-Z Naval Academy - Annapolis
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<p>
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An Annapolis alderwoman and the Anne Arundel chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People stepped forward yesterday in support of Lamar Owens Jr.

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<p>I was wondering when they'd turn up. :rolleyes:</p>

<p>As for the convictions and the diploma. Profmom brings up a valid point, but everyone should remember that the UCMJ is a funny document, and that military justice sometimes goes in bizarre directions.</p>

<p>Again, I've not seen all the evidence, nor am I going to waste time digging it up, but this entire case has been mishandled so badly that I don't think ANY resolution will be universally welcomed.</p>

<p>To all those applying: See what can happen to all the effort you're putting in now? It can vanish in one second of bad judgement. Don't let it happen to you.</p>

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<p>However, it is not really up to the politicians... In the end, it is still the assistant SecNav's call.</p>

<p>-Personally my whole view on the situation is that the fact that he was "convicted" is irrelevant. First, the conviction from the court did not mandate seperation. Second, the word conviction is an extremely elastic term. Conviction of what? Rape? Murder? Drug Dealing? In the case of Owens it was conduct unbecoming and disobeying a direct order. Two more very elastic terms. All that being said, the Supe is well within his right to seperate Owens. I have never yet heard of anyone who the Supe recommended for seperation being retained. If they choose to retain him then there better be a damn good reason</p>

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<p>Owens Deserves Degree</p>

<p>Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Rodney P. Rempt has recommended that embattled Academy quarterback Lamar Owens be expelled from the school with neither a commission nor a degree. </p>

<p>Owens is the former star quarterback who was charged last year with -- and later acquitted of -- raping a fellow midshipman in her barracks room. While not convicted of the rape, Owens was convicted of two lesser counts: conduct unbecoming an officer (for having sex in the dorm) and disobeying a lawful order (for having contact with the accuser). However, the jury recommended that Owens receive no punishment. His accuser will graduate this May.</p>

<p>In his role as judge and jury in a separate administrative hearing held at the Naval Academy, Rempt has recommended to Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter that Owens be booted from the school with neither the economics degree he earned nor an ensign's commission.</p>

<p>Rempt justified his controversial decision this way: "Having been convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer as a midshipman, it is disingenuous to commission him as an ensign in the Navy. Based on his lack of suitability for commissioning, he is not eligible to graduate," he wrote.</p>

<p>While logical, the decision to not grant a degree is unfair and unwarranted.</p>

<p>One can more easily understand the reasoning for not making Owens an officer -- at the most basic level, his ability to lead others has been severely compromised -- than the decision to withhold the academic degree he justly earned. At this point, it just seems spiteful.</p>

<p>Copyright 2007 Army Times Publishing Co.
All Rights Reserved
Navy Times
March 12, 2007</p>

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<p>Alumni way not like opinion of some current Mids and current Mids parents: What way to get out of your 5 year committment. Screw up your second semester of firstie year, get convicted of conduct unbecomming, get recommended for seperation and yet I can graduate with my degree and join the civilian population...and make bigger $$$. </p>

<p>Yep, sends a really good message to the underclass.</p>

<p>Quite frankly as a taxpayer if he is granted a degree, he should then pay for it - I am sure he can get one of his supporting alumni to cough up the dollars or the USN can find him a spot as an enlisted for 5 years. 4 years on the football field is not paying for it. When it is done in a civilian school, it is not my tax dollars - even at a state funded school, the money for athletic scholarship does not come from the state budget.</p>

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<p>Do we know what the recommended punishment for the female coop/perpetrator is? Most certainly hers was conduct equally unbecoming.</p>

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<p>She was not charged and was granted immunity for her testimony. Not an uncommon practice, however that in its self is the double edged sword as her conduct was* probably questionable* but she was given immunity – I don’t think we need to nor should revisit her status. </p>

<p>As my Mid stated there is no real winner here but chain of command is chain of command.</p>

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<p>What a mess.</p>

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<p>i don't mean to sound crass, but let me call it like i see it: lamar owens was one mid. mids get screwed over by the conduct system everyday. his was an unfortunate position, since the fact that he was the quarterback thrust both him and academy into the spotlight. but honestly, i had people coming up to me in jamaica on spring break asking me about lamar. don't we have enough other things going on at the academy, enough positive and meaningful things to perhaps let those take precedence? over a disgrace? imagine yourself in admiral rempt's position: those are some heavy burdens to bear, and he continues to do so with dignity and charm. myself and many other mids i know will miss him when he goes.</p>

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<p>
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don't we have enough other things going on at the academy, enough positive and meaningful things to perhaps let those take precedence?

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Totally agree with Wheelah44</p>

<p>We will certainly miss Adm Rempt and his wife. My Mid too will miss him and hopes that the new Supe will continue the direction that Adm Rempt has taken the Academy as my Mid has benifited from his leadership.</p>

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<p><a href="http://wjz.com/topstories/local_story_057222536.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://wjz.com/topstories/local_story_057222536.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p><a href="http://www.newtotalitarians.com/FreeLamarOwens.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.newtotalitarians.com/FreeLamarOwens.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p><a href="http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/03/ntowens070312/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/03/ntowens070312/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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[quote]
Fifteen months ago, Midshipman 1st Class Lamar Owens was the toast of Annapolis, having rushed for three touchdowns in leading Navy to a 42-23 victory over Army.</p>

<p>Today, Owens, 23, is known as the marquee quarterback who was charged with — and later acquitted of — raping a classmate.</p>

<p>Instead of graduating last May with an economics degree — he’s completed all academic requirements — and being commissioned as a surface warfare officer, Owens spends his days flying a desk at the Washington Navy Yard. He draws a midshipman’s pay, sometimes less than $200 per month after deductions....

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<p>Has something fundamental and significant been overlooked in all the rhetoric, heat, light and emotion of this matter? Has not the line between a CONDUCT OFFENSE and an HONOR OFFENSE (MORAL TURPITUDE) been obscured? Did not Midshipman Lamar Owens commit a CONDUCT OFFENSE along with the participating accuser, but did not the accuser commit an HONOR OFFENSE by first alleging "rape," then recanting and then suggesting maybe the sex of the CONDUCT OFFENSE might very well have been consensual? (Apparently only after being confronted with evidence and verification of the accuser's participatory culpability in the event did the accuser agree that the conduct was consensual). Isn't that "LYING?"</p>

<p>Doesn't a conduct offense warrant punishment according to the offense? But then doesn't an HONOR OFFENSE warrant the "poison pill" being reserved solely and exclusively for Owens but not for the accuser? </p>

<p>Back in my Naval Academy, IMMUNITY was not required to provide information regarding a personal involvement in a conduct issue. One was required to "bilge oneself" if required to do so by the question being put? "Mr., did you talk in ranks today?" Whatever the answer to that question was, was what the punishment outcome would be. We did not have the privilege, nor should we have, to demur in our complete and total, un-sea lawyer response to potentially bilging ourselves. That is the crux of HONOR as was inculcated in this former midshipman.</p>

<p>So, how in the world did we come to the circumstance where the accuser would provide total and complete information only in the circumstance of garnering immunity for herself?</p>

<p>Has our HONOR and CONDUCT code been so corrupted that "sea lawyering" is now an accepted reality? I ask that rhetorically, for I am afraid the answer to that question is a resounding YES. My personal, recent experience in wading in this pond is that the midshipmen themselves (men and women, and particularly upperclassmen who have lived with the reality for some years) do not have FAITH or TRUST in the "system." I have been told that clearly.</p>

<p>The improper and biased and hidden initiative motivations behind this farce and injustice to Lamar Owens have damaged beyond near-term repair what it took 150 years to build at my alma mater regarding the underpinnings of HONOR. I am saddened. I am angry. I am appalled. </p>

<p>Owens was a dumb cowboy with raging hormones led on by an equally dumb cowgirl, apparently with equally raging hormones. Both deserve severe punishment for their consensual infractions and colossal stupidity. Owens does not need to be, nor should he be, the whipping boy for this mutual conduct aberration. But, the accuser should not get by scot-free for the HONOR code violation in her moral turpitude by dint of the moronic offer of immunity bestowed upon her.</p>

<p>Neil Block
CAPTAIN, USN, Retired
USNA '61</p>

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<p>This has been my point throughout the entire episode. Why should a midshipman be required to receive immunity in order to tell the truth? By opening that avenue, the prosecution has also, when Owens was found not guilty, opened a huge can of worms. I truly hope that SecNav will inject some common sense into this fiasco and reverse the Sup's ruling. Maybe, hopefully, he is waiting until closer to Rempt's retirement in order that the Sup might still be an effective leader until his tenure is complete.</p>

<p>Black male athlete aside, it was a huge travesty of justice. It is obvious that it was a "railroad" job from the very beginning. The UCMJ is better than this. And the Academy is definitely better than this.</p>

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<p>Spot on GreatAmerican!</p>

<p>"Testimony during the trial brought out the fact that the alleged victim had a 'serious drinking problem [10], regularly going on binges and blacking out. And as she drank she became very aggressive with guys. Several male midshipmen testified [11] that they repeatedly saw the female midshipman drinking and drunk, in bars in Annapolis. 'She was usually very drunk, testified one witness, who had seen the woman about midnight Jan. 28 in the Acme Bar & Grill. That night, 'she had a drink in her hand. She was drunk?swaying back and forth.' Another? witness said the woman walked up to another midshipman and 'put her face close to his. He tried to get away from her. Another witness testified that he also saw the woman that night and that 'she seemed to be intoxicated' when she walked up, grabbed his shirt to get his attention and and asked 'why I hadn't called her back.' 'She left and came back in five or seven minutes,' the witness said. She again asked why he had not called before walking away. 'That happened over five times,' he testified. 'She was overly friendly,' testified another midshipman, who also played on the Naval Academy's football team. One male midshipman testified [12] that the woman 'became flirtatious and socially aggressive' when she was drunk. Another Naval Academy graduate testified that she, while drunk, offered to give him a lap dance and then cursed him out when he declined."</p>

<p>Lovely.</p>

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<p>In my previous post, I quoted Dr. G. Atkinson at
<a href="http://www.newtotalitarians.com/Rempt-RapeAtUSNA.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.newtotalitarians.com/Rempt-RapeAtUSNA.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>I am sad beyond belief.</p>

<p>I remember the home football game last year when the firsties were being honored- Lamar Owens escorted by his very proud mom onto the field- and I thought, "what a proud day" for the Owen's family.</p>

<p>No doubt another commissioning day is going to be hard for this family, and my prayers go out to all of them; I suspect it is going to be hard on another family as well in light of "behavior unbecoming." I have to wonder if it will be a "proud day."</p>

<p>Only 2 people know the truth....prayers go out for both of you, and may God have mercy on your souls, even if the Navy will not.</p>

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<p>GA, I also found your post "on spot!" That was the most informative reading I have seen of the case. Sadly, my local paper never reported this case, even tho' there is a major Army base here. </p>

<p>It does seem as if justice has been applied with a 'just us' mindset. I join you and others in hoping the Asst Sec will finally put a righting hand to this debacle. At least let the young man have his degree. Afterall, his accuser is getting her commission and a shot at a career. How is that fair?</p>

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<p>Continuing on, what happens when this midshipman accuses another person, maybe an enlisted person of sexual assault or harrassment, after another bout of 'binge' drinking? Will her past behavior be disallowed in any consideration of the validity of her new accusation? Will she be required to refrain from consuming alcohol at any official social function, to perclude any unfortunate repeat episodes of the Owens incident? Will she seek therapy to control her drinking excesses? Does this sound like someone who should even be in a command situation?</p>

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<p>Oops! A little correction: GA, I also found your post "on spot!" SheepDog, thanks for that transcript excerpt. That was the most informative reading I have seen of the case. I can't understand how this case was allowed to proceed to trial. The evidence just wasn't there. Once the details of the accuser's behavior and her known past capacity for poor decision-making was known, this case fell flat on its face. Sadly, my local paper never reported this case, even tho' there is a major Army base here. </p>

<p>It does seem as if justice has been thrown out with the bathwater. I join you and others in hoping the Asst Sec will finally put a righting hand to this wrong. At least let the young man have his degree. He certainly earned it honestly. Afterall, his accuser is getting her commission and a shot at a career. How is that fair?</p>