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AOL criticizes Navy for sailor dismissal
January 21, 1998
McVeigh
Web posted at: 2:52 p.m. EST (1952 GMT)From Correspondent Jonathan Karl
WASHINGTON (CNN)-- America Online, the world's most popular online service, lashed out at the U.S. Navy Wednesday, saying the military service disregarded federal law when it ordered the dismissal of a sailor it suspected was gay based on an AOL profile.
"(The Navy) ignored both federal law and well-established procedures for handling government inquiries about AOL members," AOL said in a statement.
Naval Senior Chief Tim McVeigh -- a 17-year veteran of the Navy with no relation to convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh -- was to be dismissed from the Navy for violation of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, but that dismissal is on hold.
McVeigh is suing the Navy for improperly dismissing him and violating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
The lawsuit alleges that a Navy investigator called America Online to confirm that a profile listed on the online service was indeed provided by McVeigh. The investigator then used that information to order McVeigh's dismissal.
AOL said it has sent letters of protest to both the Navy and the Department of Defense, insisting on what it called the use proper legal procedure in the future.
AOL said in its statement that the Navy investigator "misled our representative into confirming information the Navy already possessed about Senior Chief McVeigh."
AOL acknowledged that their customer service representative confirmed the profile belonged to McVeigh.
"This clearly should not have happened and we regret it," AOL said.
Related stories:
- Navy delays discharge of sailor said to be gay - January 15, 1998
- Court orders ruling on U.S. military policy on gays - July 1, 1996
- Judges blocks Navy from discharging sailor - March 30, 1996
- Military still asking, telling, paper says - February 27, 1996
- Court looking at 'don't ask, don't tell' policy - January 18, 1996
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