Blue Angels Commander In Trouble For Hazing, Painting Giant Penis On Hangar Roof, And Being Generally Awesome

Bogey Wells10 years ago

The military just gets more awesome by the day. Yesterday, we reported on a U.S. Air Force bomber pilot who saved a civilian plane full of people after the pilot was incapacitated. Today, we bring you a story from the military that involves lots of porn, a giant penis, and newbie hazing.

Capt. Gregory McWherter led the Blue Angels demonstration squadron twice between 2008 and 2012. During his tenure as the head honcho, he oversaw a string of juvenile yet hilarious events, which have now landed him in trouble with the military’s leaders. On Monday, McWherter was found guilty of several charges brought against him. These charges will likely earn him a career-ending letter of reprimand.

During McWherter’s time in command, you could often find huge stashes of porn in the Blue Angels pilots’ cockpits. McWherter had also painted a giant penis on the roof of his unit’s hangar, which was visible from space. Why? Well, why the fuck not?

He was also very pro-hazing. New officers were often forced to wear foam penis hats, and mechanical “dog humping” hats were used to distract those giving speeches. When not flying, the officers would seek out attractive women in crowds by using binoculars, and they would often trade nudes behind closed doors.

From NY Daily News:

Binoculars were specifically provided to pilots for scanning the crowd for attractive women. They even had their own signal to alert members nearby to an attractive female who was posing with them for pictures, according to the report.

Behind closed doors, officers also showed off photos of girlfriends, some of which were nude, according to witnesses.

They would then joke or banter about the women shown, including a photo of a bikini-clad female-enlisted Blue Angels member they obtained through Facebook.

The commander of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet was quite perturbed with the captain’s actions.

“This Commanding Officer witnessed, accepted, and encouraged behavior that, while juvenile and sophomoric in the beginning, ultimately and in the aggregate, became destructive, toxic and hostile,” Adm. Harry B. Harris, commander of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet, wrote in the report. “He failed himself, failed those that he led, failed the Blue Angels, and failed the Navy.”

Whatever you say, admiral. I don’t think there is a man in this country who wouldn’t have loved to be a pilot under McWherter’s command.

[via NY Daily News]

Image via Wikimedia Commons