Whistler Mcgee's Whistle - Dirty Sailor Company

Is Whistler Mcgee right? An opinion piece on why Whistler Mcgee is blowing the wrong sound signal, from the Author of “Empathy for Coast Guard Seaman Ethan Tucker.”

Blowing a continuous blast on the ship’s whistle is a sign of distress, a sign that a person, vessel, or other craft is in immediate danger and needs help. The distress must be urgent and grave, and give a mariner reason to fear for the lives of the crew or the loss of the ship. When first responders arrive at the scene of a distress, it is obvious what needs to be done.

I’m not ready to cheer on Mcgee. As I watch hundreds, if not thousands, of my fellow CG Community do just that, I’m left feeling a bit shaky about the entire ordeal. As dozens of members began to list the full names and ranks of their fellow shipmates, with horrible accusations, I am, like many of you, struck in awe of the momentum Mcgee has created. And I’m not surprised, that within two weeks, it’s already reached its peak and is showing signs of collapse.

I mean, Mcgee is not the first one to stand up to the command on the issue of Military Sexual Assault or the issue of poor leadership. But Mcgee is the first one to grab the attention of junior military members in such a voracious way. They’ve effectively started a movement of vigilante justice within one of our Armed Forces.

But let’s not get our panties in a bundle (uh), I’m not saying I’m against Mcgee or The Victim. To be clear, if I went through the shit The Victim did, I’d hope I’d do the same thing. I mean, they went to the command first. They followed protocol. But they were royally fucked by all of them. What the fuck does Coast Guard leadership expect?

(I quickly want to point out that it’s unclear if Mcgee and The Victim are the same people. I asked them this and they did not respond. So, thus I’m using they/their/them, not because I’m woke, but because that’s the proper form.)

The junior ranks have been screaming for help for years. It’s gross and sticky at the bottom. And many of those who grow with that gross fertilizer turn into full grown gross fucks in dominant positions. That’s how it works. It’s obvious to the clean-cut kids leaving boot camp and entering the fleet that the values preached by the CG publicity department, and doubled down upon by Cape May, are not the same values out in the field.

Yes, the CG Academy has issues, and yes the shining stars from those issues will probably take the helm on the issues in the junior ranks (this is a reference to McLear, fyi), but that is also a problem. The harassment issues and political hoopla at the Coast Guard Academy are not the same issues our junior people are facing – and combining the issue is really not going to serve junior members. The problem is not going to be solved by Academy Cadets or by Cultural Change Suits trying to implement mandatory video training time. The problem is coming from the enlisted ranks, (A separate problem is the officer club avoiding junior members asking for help.) so a solution then can come from the enlisted ranks; and it needs to include a serious mentor program, a serious platform change for hard communications, and a standardized justice system for issues of harassment and sexual assault – more on this at the end.

If Whistler Mcgee and Victim are honest, then I support them. Though I do not think a gang of angry enlisted vigilantes running around doxing each other online anonymously is the correct way to go about this. Did you all know at least two senators were soliciting for these types of personal stories before the Mcgee wave hit – what will this movement do to the Senators’ efforts? There is a massive current investigation into CG SA already… Members of the military must use their chain of command. If that doesn’t work, and the stakes are high enough, I’ll be the first one to lend a hand finding an alternative route. But the Missions of the US Coast Guard are designed to protect our country – and we cannot jeopardize that with an unorganized and maligned movement. The energy behind this movement can be lost, it can fade away, and that is a bad thing. The potential energy Mcgee tapped into needs to be captured in a strategic and sustainable way. I hope Mcgee directs it to those who have been working on the Junior Enlisted SA problem already.

Ok, that was just an attention getter. I’m not here for Mcgee. Their story is just one more fiasco in the Coast Guard. It’s appalling yes, but Mcgee’s story gained traction because of its gall, not because of its content. If you want Coast Guard Leadership fiascos and rape stories, listen to CWO Julian Bell’s “Sailor Disgrace” podcast. If you want CG Leadership fiasco leading to both Death and Shipmate Shaming, read Laurie Powell’s book about her son, “Troubled Waters: The Story of Coast Guard Hero Travis Obendorf.” If you want to see how progressive politics can go too far, read “Abandoned Shipmates, the Destruction of Coast Guard Captain Ernie Blanchard.” If you want to read about an officer getting canned for reporting a sexual assault, read “The Case of CDR Benjamin Strickland.” And as you read these things, note the common element in all of them – it’s not that the main character has a political stance (these materials and characters span both sides of the isle); it’s not that sexual assault is more significant in the CG than like institutions; it’s not that there is some moral panic driving the new generation of Coastguardsmen wild. The similar themes are 1) poor leadership actions, and 2) inauthentic CG Headquarters and CGIS directives. How many times does CGIS delay its investigation until the Statute of Limitations runs out? How many times does CGIS refuse to interview certain individuals? How often does CG Headquarters use the UCMJ to override real investigations and justice, just to save face and protect colleagues who are needed to support their promotional race to the top? How often does CGIS search for dirt on the victims?

I used to spend a lot of time on these questions. I’ve reached out to many professional journalists in attempts to make some of the answers go public.

1. Why did the Coast Guard junior ranks not go apeshit when a Yale professor discovered the CG was illegally discharging enlisted men to save money – so they didn’t have to pay VA benefits? This is what Yale found in 2014 and you guys were silent: “The vast majority of Adjustment Disorders and Personality Disorder discharges failed to comply with Coast Guard regulations. 255 of a random sample of 265 discharges analyzed violated regulations in some way. Combined, one hundred percent of the AD and PD discharges from FY 2001 to FY 2005 as well as FY 2008 and FY 2012 in some way violated Coast Guard regulations. Peak compliance in FY 2007 was only 30.0%. Since 2009, use of AD discharges in the Coast Guard has risen substantially.”
2. CG enlisted men should have been all over the story of CWO Julian Bell. Who was ass raped by a gang of sailors in 2004, when he was just an E3. He shared his story in detail on his podcast “Sailor’s Disgrace” and virtually no one had anything to say about it. Mr. Bell went on to call out flag officers by name, saying they are “full of shit.” And virtually none of the FB mobs said shit. Why? His podcast was shared on multiple FB groups – I shared them.
3. In 2019 I wrote an article of the Ethan Kelch and Ethan Tucker fiasco, where Kelch died on the beach in Dutch Harbor and Tucker was framed by the Coast Guard for his murder. In my opinion it was all a way to cover up the poor search and rescue operation by the CG and their poor management of personnel in District 17. I wrote in my article: “I am arguing multiple things about the Coast Guard Seaman Ethan Tucker case: 1) That Coast Guard should have prevented this: there were enough warning flags leading up to the catastrophe. 2) The Coast Guard’s response was poor: initial information was hampered by zero-tolerance culture, quick reaction was burdened due to crew preparedness, and search and rescue was incumbered by a lack of both overall Coast Guard readiness and also local emergency response readiness (which the command knew about). 3) Coast Guard policies incentivize needless command risk taking, which endanger the mental and physical health of crews; including prolonged and unnecessary deployment, unsafe and unnecessary tasks, and internal competition between commands. 4) Charging Seaman Tucker with murder and as a renegade Coastie will have negative consequences throughout the Coast Guard ranks, including distrust in leadership, cynicism toward the UCMJ, suspicion of shipmates, and over-reporting and fear-of-reporting unauthorized activities. 5) The key players who have focused this story on Seaman Tucker have personal stakes in the results, and the head of the trial is within their fraternity. 6) The big picture here is the toxic Coast Guard Culture that led to the premature death of a shipmate. The number 1 tacit elite Coast Guard Leadership uses is perception management.” (Hey Tucker, reach out to me and tell me about club Mel-O-Dee. I heard some rumors that you should clarify.)

So back to Mcgee… A journalist could never post Mcgee’s letter without verifying their statements. It would be unprofessional and poor journalism. Of course I believe they should have the right to post such things, and they do. Mcgee and Victim are angry and she has a right to be. But I would warn those of you who now interact with or will interact with the members being called out in these anonymous letters online in harassing ways – the Coast Guard cannot allow for vigilante justice in its ranks.

Proving sexual harassment, assault, and rape is beyond a difficult thing to do. The Coast Guard has its share of these issues. For those that are charged with this task – I wish you 100% success. The perverted sexual predators who pray on junior personnel, minors, and the defenseless all need to be served justice to the max degree. And I agree with Mcgee, kicking people out is not justice. For those that are falsely accused, or accused in exaggerated way, which we know happens, I feel for you too. A wife of a Coast Guard member sent me an email a few years ago pleading for help because her husband was being discharged in his 19^th year for a sexual assault claim that wasn’t provable, and according to her, not probable at all. We cannot ignore the principal of “innocent till proven guilty.” We also cannot ignore a victims asking for help. Jesus Henrietta Christ, I’m glad I’m not in charge of managing this shit. So for those who manage it poorly, I have somewhat of a sympathetic feeling for you too. But that sympathy stops when it’s obvious your management claims are false, your words are not genuine, and your actions show you aim to manage perceptions instead of determine truth.

Back to my recommendations and a possible solution. We need to get these incidences down. Of course we need to solve the cases that are open already, and find justice for those involved too. But getting the number of sex abuse cases reduced to below what is averaged with similar institutions should be where we put most of our effort, as this will have the longest lasting impact. For the enlisted members for who I write with in mind, I call on you.

When you’re a 3^rd class, with non-rates surrounding you, and your 1lt uses morning muster to talk about fucking hamsters and getting blood on his clown costume, you have an opportunity to help. As you watch your chief and your BM1 standby idly, cracking smiles, you can stand up and request that your 1lt speak with you in private. Make a scene, and insist until he does, even it requires speaking with the Chief first. Once you have the 1lt in private, let them know that if they do not change their behavior, you will make a report to the command. Be the change, you 3^rd class Petty Officer. This is your time to support your subordinates, as they will support you later.
Hey 2^nd class, when you’re on the bridge and the new Ensign is discussing the new nonrate who is a “naïve Mormon girl fresh out of momma’s nest,” and he starts talking about the things he thinks you can do to her. Don’t blow it off as locker room talk. Don’t ignore it. Don’t walk away. Don’t join him. Don’t start jerking off. Say this: “Excuse me sir, I believe we should be focusing on watch and not discussing the sexual abuse of our shipmates who are not present.”
When your fellow 3^rd classes comment on your penis every time you step out of the shower, don’t laugh and then talk about theirs. Train yourself to be better. Don’t habituate sleaziness – that’s too easy and that’s the problem. Ask the guy to stop commenting on your body, find a locker in another part of the locker room, and keep your head up and enjoy your work in a healthy way. You don’t have to be part of the bro club to enjoy life.
When the 1lt ask you to stir his coffee with your dick, and you’re a seaman, and you’re too nervous to stand up to him, or maybe you just want to fit in, or maybe you actually think it’s funny to joke about putting your penis in warm frothy beverages, take a fucking breath and consider what you’re seeing online these days. Do you really need this type of talk in your life, in your career? Report the issue to two separate superiors once the watch is over. Let them know you want the 1Lt’s behavior to stop, or you’ll make an additional report to other superiors.
When the OS1 invites you and your underage nonrate friends to go get smashed at their beach house in Ocean Beach, and you see that they are flirting nonstop with your female shipmates, and obviously attempting to get them intoxicated, maybe say something. When that OS1 kicks you and your drunk friends out of their house, with no way to get home at 3am, but he allows your passed out female shipmate to stay and “sleep it off,” maybe you should put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Follow up on your shipmate the next day. Are they ok? What happened? Maybe take a second to make an anonymous report to your command about the OS1’s behavior. Be observant. Stop being children.
When your horny and it’s been a long time at sea. Jerk off. Don’t grope your shipmates. Don’t eye fuck them. Don’t say dirty little things to them. Jerk off. And when you get home, get on tinder like a normal healthy human. When your shipmates start blabbering on about fucking other shipmates, make them understand you’re not interested in hearing it. Don’t just walk away. Tell them you’re not available to discuss perverse matters with coworkers… Of course this isn’t 100% realistic. Humans want to fuck each other. Got it. But just put a little effort into growing into a human that is a little more respectable. Be a bit more graceful in your sexual lust. Be just an inch less of a dick to your shipmates.

For Mcgee, your actions online aren’t bad. They are probably needed. But please don’t encourage the vigilante stuff we’re seeing now. It’s going to cause more chaos and anxiety in the junior ranks. It will cause continued distrust and fear of reporting. We need junior personnel ready to help each other. We need mid-level petty officers taking leadership roles on this topic. We need to encourage junior personnel to trust in the chain of command – this is the fucking military. The USCG is taking steps to help members report. Listen to Julian Bell’s MSA podcast, “Sailor’s Disgrace,” he talks all about the CG’s new reporting mechanisms. As the numbers of anonymous Sexual Assault claims pile up, with names and ranks mentioned, the entire thing will surpass empathy levels for humans. We will see this current movement stall in the very near future. And the current problems with MSA will be seen as hype. This is not what we want. We need a controlled and organized, and orderly movement, and we ultimately need Coast Guard Leadership on our side.

Have a glorious Coast Guard mother fuckers!

Cheers Mcgee. Good luck with that shit.

Oh, and I did verify at least one of Mcgee’s claims, but I’m a bit confused why they are shamming this guy for being a stripper. Who would have qualms with a stripper?. I think stripping is a young mans’ game, and this guy does look younger than me. So bravo to the way you shake it. But fuck you if you’re a harasser liar piece of shit.