Fat Leonard Quotes

“Midshipmen are persons of integrity. They stand for that which is right. They tell the truth and ensure that the truth is known. They do not lie…. They do not cheat…. They do not steal. —From the Naval Academy Honor Concept”
― Craig Whitlock, Fat Leonard: How One Man Bribed, Bilked, and Seduced the U.S. Navy

“After a decade of U.S. wars and surging defense budgets, an expectation of special treatment had taken root in the Navy. Many officers felt they were owed something extra for enduring long deployments at sea and missions to support the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The American people fed such attitudes by placing uniformed personnel on a pedestal, thanking them for their service with discounts and freebies. The further one got from Washington, the easier it became to stretch the norms of acceptable conduct. In Asia, Navy officers pocketed favors they knew would be taboo at home.”
― Craig Whitlock, Fat Leonard: How One Man Bribed, Bilked, and Seduced the U.S. Navy

“the officers’ commitment to ethical purity was overblown and that their honor code had an unspoken and self-defeating corollary: Snitching was considered a cardinal sin. Francis had learned that even the most upstanding officers would not dare to out their crooked shipmates for taking his gifts and bribes. Their silence and tolerance perpetuated the culture of corruption that had infected the Navy.”
― Craig Whitlock, Fat Leonard: How One Man Bribed, Bilked, and Seduced the U.S. Navy