The scope and nature of the sexual harassment and the at-
tempted cover-up produced a national scandal resulting in
the disciplining of more than seventy senior officers and a
multimillion-dollar judgment against the hotel in which
the symposium was held. Reaction to the event underscored
the seriousness of sexual harassment in both the militar y
and workplace and was part of a national growth process.
As Labor Day 1991 approached, final preparations
were made at the Las Vegas Hilton to hold the
Thirty-fifth Annual Tailhook Symposium. The Tail-
hook Association was a private organization, named
for the hook underneath an aircraft’s tail that
catches the arresting wire on the aircraft carrier and
brings the landing plane to a stop quickly. Its mem-
bers included Navy and Marine Corps aviators as
well as government civilian employees and defense
contractors. Most of the memberships were related
directly or indirectly to aircraft carriers. The meet-
ing had grown over the years, but so had problems
related to drunkenness and lewd behavior. The fact
that squadrons celebrated together led to some of
the less refined aspects of group behavior. During
the 1980’s, competition had developed among
squadrons over who could party the hardest.
The 1991 symposium had a record turnout of
nearly five thousand, due in part to a two-day de-
briefing on the effects of naval airpower in the re-
cent Desert Storm operation in the Persian Gulf.
However, a different type of storm was brewing in
the halls of the Hilton. Junior officers had tradition-
ally viewed the symposium as a place to let loose, and
in 1991 there was a victorious military operation to
celebrate. The Academy Award-winning filmTo p
Gun(1986) had set a model for macho aviator be-
havior. Moreover, integration of women into the mil-
itary was not going smoothly. Resentment grew as
downsizing, another trend in the military, threat-
ened the tenure of career officers.
Usually, what went on at Tailhook stayed at
Tailhook, but 1991 was not destined to be such a
year. Lieutenant Paula Coughlin, a thirty-year-old
helicopter pilot and admiral’s aide, filed charges
that as she emerged from an elevator onto the third
floor Hilton hallway, she faced a gauntlet of fellow
officers who grabbed her private parts, tore her
clothing, and hurled her to the ground. Dozens of
other women reported running through this same
gauntlet and being attacked in a similar manner.
Resistance resulted in a torrent of curses being
hurled at them—although one fe-
male officer reportedly “decked”
her assailant.
Coughlin’s complaint to her com-
mander, Admiral John W. Snyder,
produced no overt concern. She
then filed charges through normal
naval channels, but nothing hap-
pened. In frustration, she related
the story to the press. Interviews
with World News Tonight andThe
Washington Postturned the spotlight
on “outlaw” pilot behavior. On Oc-
tober 29, 1991, the Department of
the Navy ended all ties with the
Tailhook Association and hoped
that reaction to the scandal would
soon fade away. It did not. Seven
months after the incident, amid
public outcry, the Naval Investiga-
tive Service (NIS) investigated the
charges, interviewing the nearly
four thousand male military atten-
dees. The investigation was contin-
ued by the Naval Criminal Investi-830 Tailhook incident The Nineties in America
Lieutenant Paula Coughlin, right, arrives for the first day of the Tailhook trial in
Las Vegas on September 12, 1991. Coughlin sued the Las Vegas Hilton for failing
to provide the necessary security to prevent the sexual harassment and assault on her-
self and others.(AP/Wide World Photos)