DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT PROCEDURES Apart from their individual merits, legitimate complaints can provide valuable information about the existence of discriminatory treatment within a command. Positive action in cases where complaints are found to be valid lends credibility to your command’s stated commitment to ensure equal treatment and justice. No matter how badly they are treated, most people are reluctant to complain about this treatment or to express grievances to their seniors. People feel that if they complain, they will suffer. Navy Regulations and the  U.S. Navy Equal Opportunity Manual  guarantee personnel the right to file a complaint of discriminatory treatment without danger of reprisal from the command. This means that if you file a complaint about the way someone treated you, you can expect to be treated fairly and not be discriminated against by that person or anyone else. However, personnel should gather all pertinent facts before forwarding a complaint. Special Request Chit When you cannot resolve a complaint among the persons involved or with the help of a supervisor (your LPO or division CPO), submit a special request chit as your first course of action. Attach a written complaint to the special request chit and submit it through the chain of  command  within  a  timely  manner  of  the  incident. You do not have to follow any special format in writing a discrimination  complaint.  However,  you  should  fully explain the complaint and include all facts. Captain’s Mast Request As a Navy member, you have the right to speak with the commanding officer to voice a complaint or get help in  resolving  a  problem.  To  do  this,  you  request  a captain’s mast. But, you should request a captain’s mast only if your first course of action fails. (Remember, your first  course  of  action  is  to  let  the  chain  of  command correct the problem.) You can also request a captain’s mast  if  you  feel  that  the  problem  you  have  is  so important that immediate action is required. A captain’s mast  request  requires  each  person  in  the  chain  of command to forward the request—whether or not the request is approved. FALSE DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINTS Filing  false  discrimination  complaints  is  just  as serious  as  discrimination  itself.  The  Navy  doesn’t tolerate the filing of false discrimination complaints for any reason. The Navy takes the same administrative and disciplinary actions to those who file false complaints as it does to those who discriminate. HAZING Learning  Objectives:  When  you  finish  this  chapter, you will be able to— Define hazing. Identify the Navy’s policy on hazing. Military  customs  and  traditions  are  a  part  of  the Navy and Marine Corps. Ceremonies, initiations, and rites of passage are leadership tools that instill esprit de corps  and  build  respect  for  the  accomplishments  of other Sailors and Marines. Most ceremonies honor the bravery   of   our   military   men   and   women   and commemorate  (memorialize)  significant  events.  The accomplishments   of   Sailors   and   Marines   and significant  events  are  the  basis  of  the  Navy’s  Core Values—Honor,   Courage,   and   Commitment. Graduations,  chiefs’ initiations,  and  crossing-the-line ceremonies  are  used  to  celebrate  and  recognize  the achievements of individual Sailors, Marines, or entire units.  However,  hazing  behavior  (behavior  that  is degrading, embarrassing, or causes injuries) is illegal. DEFINITION OF HAZING Hazing  is  defined  as  any  conduct  whereby  a military member or members, regardless of service or rank, without proper authority causes another military member or members, regardless of service or rank, to suffer  or  be  exposed  to  any  activity  which  is  cruel, abusive,  humiliating,  oppressive,  demeaning,  or harmful.  Soliciting  or  coercing  another  to  perpetrate any such activity is also considered hazing. Hazing need not involve physical contact among or between military members; it can be verbal or psychological in nature. Actual  or  implied  consent  to  acts  of  hazing  does  not eliminate the culpability of the perpetrator. 1-17 Student Notes: