Dan Coats: “this is clearly a difficult time for all of us, particularly the Navy. Tailhook was an ugly incident. I am pleased to be…”

“this is clearly a difficult time for all of us, particularly the Navy. Tailhook was an ugly incident. I am pleased to be able to use the past tense, because it is an incident that will not be repeated. I doubt if any institution is more sensitive to that fact than the U.S. Navy at this particular point. No one on this Senate floor condones what happened at Tailhook. Any incident of sexual harassment, sexual intimidation, is not something that we can condone. The question before us, I believe, is whether we look at what has transpired in the Navy since the occurrence of this particular incident and others, or whether we make a final point by demoting a man who has given 38 years of service in the service of his country and reached the pinnacle of success in the branch of service that he has served in. As Senator Nunn has said, the Armed Services Committee has very thoroughly investigated this matter.”