Drunken, naked episode gets Navy admiral fired
Rear Adm. David Baucom's night of drunken revelry last April got him fired from his job as one of the Navy's top supply officers, according to multiple reports.
After a night of throwing back booze at a gathering of the National Defense Transportation Association's Transportation Advisory Board at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club in Florida, Baucom, 56, ended up locking himself out of his room stark naked, according the Navy Times.
Two female hotel guests spotted a frantic Baucom running around looking for a towel, and alerted hotel security.
The incident was detailed in a report by the Naval Inspector General, which led to Baucom being found guilty of disorderly conduct and conduct unbecoming an officer, The Washington Post reports.
He has since been transferred to the Pentagon after losing his position at the U.S. Transportation command, the Post reports. His Navy bio indicates he took over the post in 2013.
Baucom is a former military aide to President Ronald Reagan, reports CBS Philadelphia.
On the night in question, Baucom "allegedly drank at least part of a gin and tonic, two glasses of wine with dinner and a scotch after dinner at the bar. Then a group of attendees went to another bar at the center compound where he allegedly ordered four more scotch whiskeys over two hours," the Navy Times reports.
Despite the large volume of booze consumed, Baucom blames his erratic behavior on an "atrial fibrillation event" brought on by mixing prescription medications and alcohol, according to a statement he gave the Navy Times.
At some point during the night of drinking, Baucom wet his pants, the Post reports. Around 1:30 in the morning, he hit his head on a bar stool and was taken back to his room by a hotel employee. At around 5:45 in the morning, he wandered out of his room naked.
In a statement given in the report, Baucom said: "I have served the Navy for more than 34 years and am proud of our institution. I deeply regret my actions caused discredit to the Navy I love."
The report dismissed Baucom's explanation that medications were to blame for his behavior, stating: "We determined that RADM Baucom's level of intoxication and his public nudity are of such a nature that they dishonored or disgraced him personally and seriously compromised his standing as an officer."