The conduct of a U.S. Navy submarine's crew is in question after a 74-page investigative report revealed male sailors kept a list of ratings of women along with "lewd and sexist comments" next to each woman's name.
Military.com first reported the lists which were revealed through a Freedom of Information Act request, The Washington Post reports.
The reports have come to light a little more than a year after the submarine in question began to integrate female members into the crew. Of the 173 crewmembers, 32 were women.
The USS Florida was integrated in February 2018, and the reports of misconduct were told to superior officers four months later after two sailors stepped forward, Military.com reports.
The so-called "rape lists" ranked female crewmembers by a "star system" based on appearances, characteristics, and sexual acts they wished to perform with them, which added "aggressive sexual activity," according to the reports.
The lists lived on the boat's computer network and were continually updated every few works, the NavyTimes reports. One of the sailors who stepped forward reportedly told the superior officer the male sailors were going to vote again soon.
The commanding officer, instead of taking immediate action, reportedly said, "they only had a piece of paper."
Other forms of harassment started to come to light, including secret filming of women showering as women started to become more fearful of complaints being swept under the rug.
Higher ranking officials somehow obtained the lists and began to conduct a formal investigation.
Capt. Gregory Kercher, who started working on the ship in 2017, was fired, two other sailors were discharged and "additional administrative actions were taken" against others, according to Military.com.
Adm. Chas Richard, commander of the U.S. Submarine Forces, gave the following statement to Military.com:
“While I cannot guarantee that an incident such as this will never happen again, I can guarantee that we will continue to enforce our high standards of conduct and character in the Force."
NavyTimes.com reports that female integration has not been easy, namely after issues such as 12 sailors being implicated in 2014 for taking or viewing photos of undressing or showering female officers. However, the Navy is still pushing forward with its plans to "gradually" integrate more submarines.
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