I'll let others explain it, because some were probably there, but it has to be the single most important event to mold Naval Aviation's culture in the last 20 years. Well, after Top Gun, of course.
It became much more than the event. I was a CO at the time and remember getting "personal for" message to CO's that basically said have all your aviators fill out the attached questionnaire within xx days (I think it was ten calendar days). If we do not receive one for every aviator assigned, the CO will be held personally responsible and may be relieved for cause. It went on to say that if any aviator is found to be lying on the form, the CO would also be held accountable and could be relieved for cause.
To the best of my recollection, below were the first three questions:
The first question was "were you in Las Vegas during the period xx to xx." It didn't say were you at Tailhook or at the Hilton. Simple yes or no.
The next question was whether you had visited the Hilton during the xx to xx period. Simple yes or no.
The third question was "did you engage in sexual activity in Las Vegas during the period xx to xx." Again, a simple yes or no.
Now, remembering the instructions to CO's, I passed along the questionnaire and had one aviator tell me he was concerned about answering it. When I asked why, he said because he had engaged in sexual activity, though it was with his wife, who went to Vegas with him. Now this was a guy who was a very straight-laced, happily married man. He went to the Tailhook events that were G or PG rated, and that was it.
I called the Bureau for guidance and was told "he answers them yes or no. Period." So he answered yes to all three questions.
All I can say is "standby for incoming rounds." It was unbelievable what descended on us. Even when we confirmed it was his wife (plane ticket receipts), we were grilled with a "yea, sure, that's the cover" response. It took over a week to finally get him, and me, cleared.