The U.S. Navy has disciplined an officer for calling enlisted sailors ‘hatchet-wielding perverts’ and ‘deviants’ who posed a risk to his family in a typo-ridden letter.
The letter was signed by ‘Lt. Nathanael Allison, PhD’, who wrote that he had been given orders to live in Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan for the next three years.
The disciplinary action against the officer comes after an investigation was opened last week when the letter was circulated on social media.
It the letter, Allison said he was willing to pay for his family to live in a hotel rather than have them staying in enlisted housing, Task & Purpose, who obtained a copy of the letter, reported last week.
Pictured: An aerial image of the the USS Ronald Reagan arriving at the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan, in 2017. The U.S. Navy has disciplined an officer for calling enlisted sailors ‘hatchet-wielding perverts’ and ‘deviants’ who posed a risk to his family in a typo-ridden letter after he was ordered to live at the base for a year
Allison alleged that the enlisted quarters were unsafe for his family because of alcoholism, rampant drug use, sexual assaults, and ‘other perverts’.
‘I personally had to deal with an enlisted child molester as my subordinate,’ wrote Allison, who added that the sailors who stayed in enlisted housing were ‘often drunk and hostile.’
‘I have a good-looking family, a wife and two daughters age 3 and 4. They are prime targets to be victims for these enlisted deviant activities. My family should be safe in housing that is with officers,’ Allison wrote.
‘Officers are more respectable and theses [sic.] type of deviant activities are incredibly rare compared to deviant activities of enlisted being common place. [sic.]’
The Lieutenant also complained that living in enlisted accommodation could isolate his family from other officers who would be reluctant to visit them.
He also argued that if he were forced to live with enlisted sailors, he would be duty bound as an officers to report any instances of drug use he may witness.
This, he wrote, would place his family at risk of retaliation, and he would constantly have to break up brawls among the other sailors.
‘A few tours ago, an enlisted housing unit had two gangs attacking each other with hatchets and other weapons over competing drug turf,’ he wrote. He did not clarify where the hatchet-fight occurred.
‘Forcing an officer to live in a large apartment building with almost with enlisted is unethical. Factor in the fact that it is far away from work and far away from other officer housing even on Ikego and this is just wrong in every way,’ he added.
Pictured: Family Housing in Yokosuka and Ikego, where Lt. Nathanael Allison took issue with being placed after being ordered to live at the base for three years
According to a response from Naval Hospital Yokosuka commanding officer Capt. Carolyn Rice posted on Sunday to the hospital’s Facebook page, the base hospital is investigating the letter for its strong remarks and language used.
‘I am aware of the recent allegation that a member of our staff sent a letter to the housing office with comments disparaging to enlisted service members,’ Rice wrote.
‘We are conducting an internal investigation into the matter and if any allegations are found to be true, we will take appropriate actions.’
Allison’s command is also reportedly working with the housing office to confirm the letter’s authenticity and authorship, spokeswoman for the hospital Erika Figueroa told Stars and Stripes last week.
‘It is under investigation, as is any case when someone allegedly acts in a way that is counter to our standards of behavior,’ she told the military news outlet.
The letter was reportedly sent on February 8, but began circulating on social media and causing outrage last week after it was posted to military community Facebook pages, and a YouTube video about the letter received over 300,000 views.
Pictured: A copy of the letter believed to be sent by Lt. Nathanael Allison, resulting in the Navy taking disciplinary action against him
Navy veteran and Ikego resident Amber Borrero told Stars and Stripes that she found the comments about her neighborhood unsettling.
‘I always feel safe here,’ she said last week. ‘It’s really upsetting, because our community is always really helpful. We have support pages specifically for Ikego, and if anyone needs anything they can make a post, and someone usually helps.’
However, not all disagreed with the letter’s sentiment. The official Terminal Lance Twitter account, run by Marine veteran, cartoonist, and author Maximilian Uriarte, wrote in response: ‘I mean he’s not wrong.’
In the US Navy, Lieutenant is the third commissioned officer rank in the United States Navy, and is comparable to the rank of Captain in the other branches of the Armed Service. It is the 18th rank in the United States Navy.
Enlisted Sailors are members of the Navy or Navy Reserve who serve in an occupational speciality that requires a high school diploma (or GED) as a minimum educational requirement.
Ikego base can be found around seven miles from Yokosuka in Japan. It features more than 800 housing units.
