NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- A sailor aboard the Norfolk-based USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) aircraft carrier staged racially-charged graffiti and vandalism on his bunk, an NCIS investigation revealed.
Back in November, the sailor posted on Facebook several pictures showing his bed slashed and racial slurs written on the wall. "I proudly serve the Navy and this is what I'm receiving in return," the sailor wrote. "Somebody knows something."
In a statement to 13News Now, the Navy said the sailor fabricated the entire incident:
NCIS supported command investigation following a claim of racially motivated vandalism aboard the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush has determined that the alleged victim staged the incident himself. The United States Navy does not tolerate racial discrimination of any form and the well-being of our sailors is our top priority. Although the claims were ultimately determined to be unfounded, the chain of command used the incident to provide additional training to the crew and re-emphasized that vandalism and racism will not be tolerated. It has also been reiterated to the ship that the chain of command has an open door policy for reporting incidents of misconduct. The sailor who made these false claims has received appropriate administrative actions and additional counseling and training. He will remain a member of the crew and continue to perform his military duties.”
Navy Commander David Hecht said that because the sailor was not charged with a crime, his name would not be released. Hecht said the name used on the Facebook post was a pseudonym.
It was also not clear why the sailor staged the vandalism.
The sailor remains stationed on board the USS George H.W. Bush. “We consider all of our sailors valuable and we feel that we have remedied the problem with administrative punishment and counseling," Hecht said.
Hecht added the claim was first made on November 13, and the investigation into it was immediate.
"We took it extremely seriously," Hecht said. "We initiated an investigation swiftly, and the bottom line is there was no racial incident aboard the George H.W. Bush."
The aircraft carrier most recently returned from deployment back in August.