Hookers ok - coke bad? Is that how simple it is?
Pretty straight forward - its not 1985, or 1990, or even 2000 anymore and the shit you could get away with then just doesn't fly now. Is that bad or good? It doesn't matter. All that matters is that its a different environment - and its been pretty much beat into the heads of people currently wearing the uniform that things have changed. You can pound your chest and tell tales of trips to Reno all you want - its irrelevant to this story. These guys ended up in the national spotlight with the word "prostitute" attached - what the hell did they/you think was going to happen?
Which is one of my points in this whole thread - it's all about political correctness.
Half the high ranking officers beating their chest about how wrong these guys were probably whored their way around the world as JOs but now pontificate about how wrong it is. Meanwhile, half of these same high ranking officers probably think homosexuality is wrong and has no place in the military, yet they are publicly praising the change. (I'm not trying to get into whether gays in the military are right or wrong, just using this as an example.) The difference? The way the political winds are blowing. I don't like hypocrisy and that is what this is.
Having said that, I know guys in today's military can not get away with the shenanigans we did, especially pre-Tailhook scandal. But for once, I'd like to see an Admiral standup and say: "What these guys did was legal in the country they were in. The public incident in the hotel lobby involved the Secret Service, not our servicemen. These servicemen acted no differently than servicemen have historically and I can not in good conscious take any actions negatively affecting their careers in which they have shown sustained superior service to the Navy and their country." Our leaders have forgotten that loyalty is a two way street and that one of their primary concerns is taking care of their troops.
If they left classified info out in their rooms while the hookers were there, that I can agree needs disciplinary action.