Paula Coughlin is a former

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

and naval aviator in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. She is a

victim Victim(s) or The Victim may refer to: People * Crime victim * Victim, in psychotherapy, a posited role in the Karpman drama triangle model of transactional analysis * Casualty (person), the victim of an event Films and television * ''The Victim ...

who played a role in opening investigations into what was known as the

Tailhook scandal The Tailhook scandal was a military scandal in which United States Navy and United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps aviation officers were alleged to have assaulted up to 83 women and seven men, or otherwise engaged in "improper and indecent" ...

Early life

Coughlin attended

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...

, where she joined the

Reserve Officer Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

. She joined the Navy in 1984 and became a helicopter pilot.

Tailhook scandal

She attended the Tailhook conference in September 1991, organized by former navy aviators at the Las Vegas Hilton (now the

Westgate Las Vegas The Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino is a hotel, casino, and timeshare resort in Winchester, Nevada. Located near the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip, it is owned by Westgate Resorts. It opened in 1969 as the International Hotel, and was ...

). Many of the attendees got raucously drunk. Coughlin was one of the first female attendees who reported being indecently assaulted by male attendees. Coughlin testified she feared being gang-raped when she was forced to "

run the gauntlet "Running the gauntlet" refers to taking part in a form of corporal punishment in which one or more individuals is forced to run between two rows of people who attack them with weapons. Metaphorically, the term is also used to convey a public tr ...

". She had reported the incident to senior officers, but after a lack of progress due to "closing ranks and obfuscation," she went public in June 1992. The President,

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, met with Coughlin and expressed sympathy with her and promised a full investigation. Coughlin met with Secretary of Defense

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...

—who told her he had just fired the

Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...

, implying it was her fault. She resigned from the Navy in February 1994, after being subject to abuse in retaliation for her allegations. She settled out of court with the Tailhook Association in October 1994, and was awarded $5.3 million in damages from the hotel after a jury concluded that the Las Vegas Hilton hotel had been negligent in not providing adequate security at the Tailhook convention. A May 1995 made-for-television movie broadcast on ABC was based on Coughlin's story, ''She Stood Alone: The Tailhook Scandal'' (with

Gail O'Grady Gail Ann O'Grady (born January 23, 1963) is an American actress and producer, best known for her roles on television. Her roles include Donna Abandando in the ABC police drama ''NYPD Blue'', and Helen Pryor in the NBC drama series '' American Drea ...

as Coughlin), though she was not involved in making it.

Later life

In 2012, Coughlin spoke for Protect Our Defenders, a nonprofit civil rights organization that supports victims of

sexual assault in the United States military Sexual assault in the United States armed forces is an ongoing issue which has received extensive media coverage in the past. A 2012 Pentagon survey found that approximately 26,000 women and men were sexually assaulted that year; of those, onl ...

. She was featured in a

Retro Report Retro Report is a US non-profit news organization that produces short-form documentaries for historical context of current news stories. The organization describes itself as a counterweight to the 24-hour news cycle. They have covered topics inclu ...

documentary called
The Legacy of Tailhook
' and the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-nominated documentary on the subject, ''

The Invisible War ''The Invisible War'' is a 2012 American documentary film written and directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Amy Ziering and Tanner King Barklow about sexual assault in the United States military. It premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, ...

''. ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' on December 5, 2017, in the midst of the 2017 Harvey Weinstein and Weinstein effect sexual abuse allegations, reported that women who reported past sexual harassment have suffered purgatory. The first instance in the article was Paula Coughlin who testified against Tailhook, and had not been able to find work in the private sector since.Guynn, Jessica,
Sexual harassment used to cost women their careers. That may be changing.
, ''

'', 5 December 2017 She now owns and operates a yoga studio in

Atlantic Beach, Florida Atlantic Beach is a city in Duval County, Florida, United States and the second largest of the Jacksonville Beaches communities. When the majority of communities in Duval County consolidated with Jacksonville in 1968, Atlantic Beach, along with ...

References

External links

Biography on Ocean Yoga site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coughlin, Paula Female United States Navy officers 1962 births Living people American yoga teachers People from Virginia Beach, Virginia Old Dominion University alumni People from Atlantic Beach, Florida American whistleblowers Women helicopter pilots Sexual assault in the United States military Women United States Naval Aviators 21st-century American women Aviators from Florida

Early life

Tailhook scandal

Later life

References

Further reading

External links