The commander of a B-52 Stratofortress squadron at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, who was recently relieved of duty after sexually explicit and phallic drawings were found during a deployment to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, attempted to stop his fellow airmen from drawing "d---s everywhere," according to the command-directed investigation (CDI) into the matter.
Lt. Col. Paul Goossen was removed from command of the 69th Bomb Squadron on Nov. 27 because penis drawings were discovered on a moving map displayed on the B-52's Combat Network Communication Technology (CONECT) cockpit software, as well as across bathroom stalls, vehicles, lodging facilities and even "dusty surfaces," according to the CDI, released by the 5th Bomb Wing on Friday.
"Inappropriate penis drawings and insensitive cultural phrases" were even found on bombs and weapons before they were loaded into aircraft, the investigation said.
In short, there was a "phenomenon [redacted] of drawing d---s everywhere," the investigation said. Military.com was first to report the contents of the CDI earlier this week.
Goossen attempted to stop the rampant drawings, investigators stated. He wrote on the unit's whiteboard, "Stop drawing d---s," listing locations where phallic drawings had been found.
The commander ultimately "acknowledged his failures" to stop the problem even though he stated he was unaware of the "depth and content" of the drawings within the cockpit's CONECT software until it was revealed at the end-of-deployment roll call.
Related content:
- B-52 Squadron Commander Fired over Penis Drawings in Bomber Cockpits
- Two Marine Pilots Grounded Amid Sky Penis Investigation
- Officials: 'Clown Penis' Is Not a Realistic Callsign for Pilots
During the 69th's deployment to Al Udeid between September 2017 and April 2018, penis drawings were repeatedly created by members of the unit and captured as screengrabs for a compact disc montage, sources said earlier this week. The montage was played at the end of the deployment, but left behind.
The CONECT system, used to display information such as pre-planned routes for sorties and target coordinates, captured the data for post-sortie debriefs. Screengrabs of the images were later used for laughs at an end-of-deployment party, the sources said.
The cockpit drawings included "genitalia incorporated into various themes," the CDI said. In one instance, the software displayed Santa Claus "with a sleigh that included penis sketches."
According to the CDI, the compact disc was discovered when a vehicle driven by an "other country national" was inspected as it entered the base. The disc was later turned in to officials. The suggestive material prompted an investigation.
"Any actions or behavior that do not embody our values and principles are not tolerated within the Air Force," Air Force Global Strike spokesman Lt. Col. Uriah Orland said on Wednesday.
The service's zero-tolerance policy "includes creating or contributing to an unhealthy, inappropriate work environment," he said in a statement.
-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
