Back in January, before more important events took over the headlines, a man named Owen Honors was all over the news. A distinguished Navy officer, Captain Honors was executive officer (XO) of the aircraft carrier Enterprise and later took over command of this ship. He was on track to be the historic carrier’s last commanding officer before its decommission, and by all accounts his future was unlimited.
Then came the videos. While serving as XO on the Enterprise, Captain Honors made a series of raunchy videos for “Movie Night” aboard the ship. Captain Honors himself was the host and star of the videos, which were fairly sophisticated in production and featured simulated sex acts, profanity, and other behavior one might consider unbecoming to an officer.
The videos were intended to be funny (some of the jokes were taken from the movie Caddyshack) and many on the crew enjoyed the films. Captain Honors was a popular officer with the majority of his crew. But there were some complaints about the videos at the time, which Captain Honors dismissed as “gutless,” advising those who did not like them to “go hug yourself for the next 20 minutes, because you’re going to be offended.”
The videos were made more than three years ago, but only surfaced publicly at the end of 2010. As a result of the videos going public, Captain Honors was relieved of his command and ultimately had a career-killing letter of censure placed in his official file.
The story of Captain Honors is one that every fire officer should pay attention to. Some would say that Captain Honors is the victim of an overly politically correct system that doesn’t understand shipboard culture. What’s wrong with having a little fun? But this conclusion ignores an essential fact about the situation: Captain Honors was second in command of the Enterprise when he spent considerable time and energy making these films. He wasn’t “one of the guys.” He was in charge, the authority figure, the person whom others looked to for guidance in what it means to be an officer.
What did Captain Honors do that was so bad as to end his career? He forgot who he was. Although many on the ship enjoyed the videos, some did not and expressed their opinions, only to be marginalized and denigrated by their captain. By doing this, Captain Honors changed his job description from “captain of the ship” to “leader of those who like me and agree with me.”
When you are an officer, you are responsible to everyone on the crew, not just the people you like or prefer to work with. If someone expresses a concern, your job is to listen respectfully and act accordingly. Captain Honors did neither.
Captain Honors is a charismatic guy, with lots of ego driving him. You don’t rise as high as he did without a healthy ego. But somewhere along the line, he seemed to forget that his service was not about him. It was about his country, the mission, and the people he commanded. Creating a personality cult in lieu of leadership is always dangerous.
In the videos, Captain Honors clearly wants to identify himself as “one of the guys.” He walks around wearing a bathrobe, simulates masturbation, and talks about “fags” and liking movies with “chicks in the shower.” Do sailors say and do things like this? Sure. But should the captain of the ship not only do these things, but proudly make a permanent record of this behavior?
Captain Honors was not alone in responsibility for what happened. He was second in command of the ship when he made the videos, and clearly his superior officer knew what was going on (other officers were also disciplined). But Captain Honors was the second in command officer when he made these decisions — the equivalent of the deputy chief of a fire department making such public statements. Is this the image you would want projected of your organization by one of its leaders? If your deputy chief made a similar video and it went public (they always do), how do you think your community would react?
There are clear lessons for every fire officer from the downfall of Captain Honors. Accept that leadership requires leading everyone, not just the people who agree with you. Don’t let your ego drive your decisions. Assume that anything put in print or on film will be a matter of public record sooner rather than later. Understand that anything you do on duty or in uniform is official conduct.
Spend some time figuring out the balance between being part of the crew and also being the example that others look to when they ask what it means to be an officer. Because once you are an officer, that is your first duty, and it’s not about you. It is about service — to your community, to your department, and to your crew. Don’t forget what that means to yourself and others.
