Navy Region Southwest spokesman Doug Sayers answered the following I-Team questions:

1. First, may I have the official Navy picture of Lt. jg Mark Wiggan? (While we're on the topic of pictures, do you have any still pictures inside a court room where court martial's take place? I know cameras are not allowed.)

We don't have a copy of the photo of Wiggan. There were no photos taken inside the courtroom of which I am aware.

2. Secondly, why did the Navy proceed with a court martial in the case of Penland, but did not court-martial Mark Wiggan? Is there a double standard?

Disciplinary decisions are made by the Convening Authority/Commanding Officer of the command to which the member is assigned. In this case, Penland and Wiggan had different COs; committed different crimes; and had different performance records ... It is less a case of the Navy having a "double standard" or one of "discrimination," than it is an exercise of command discretion by different commanding officers.

3. What is the Navy's reaction to Lt. Cmdr Penland's claim that she was punished for being a whistleblower over "fraud, waste, and abuse" at the Maritime Expeditionary Security Group 1?

Penland's charges and relief of responsibility PRE-DATED her allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse.

4. Why was it considered adultery if Wiggan was separated from his wife?

An element of adultery is that one party is married. Wiggan was still married. Penland was not. More egregious than her sexual interaction with a married man was the abuse of her rank to repeatedly harass her lover's enlisted wife at the wife's workplace (USS MOBILE BAY) on government time with government equipment; and her conduct onboard USS PRINCETON during work hours insisting upon an audience with the CO or XO about a purely personal matter. By the time the Commodore (a former SWO and ship CO, himself) had received two telephone calls from executive leadership onboard two different warships (both cruisers) complaining about the conduct of his 0-4 Supply Officer, the matter had escalated beyond simple adultery and command action was required.

5. How many people have been court-martialed for adultery?

Don't know. But, it's probably fair to say that not many people (almost none) have been court-martialed for adultery alone.

6. Is the military code outdated when it comes to "adultery"? Would the Navy support a law change to remove adultery from its status as a crime?

To be a violation of the UCMJ, the act of sexual intercourse in which one of the actors is married to someone else must also have the additional element of "prejudicial to good order and discipline" and the concept of good order and discipline is not an outdated one in the USN.

7. What is the status of Lt. jg Mark Wiggan?

It is my understanding that Wiggan has not escaped discipline altogether. My understanding is that neither of his commands desired to pursue an "adultery-alone" aspect (not uncommon in the Navy -- in fact, MESG-1 also did not pursue the matter when it was effectively an adultery-alone case), but after Wiggan committed perjury during the court-martial, disciplinary action against Wiggan commenced. I don't know the form of disciplinary action taken nor its current status. He is currently attached to USS NIMITZ.

8. Are penalties for adultery uniform, regardless of rank and prestige? It would seem that some higher ranking officers did not face the same consequences as Lt. Cmdr Penland.

All personnel charged with Adultery face the same potential sentence for Adultery per se. That said, sentences should - and do - take into consideration aggravating and mitigating circumstances in each individual case; and rather than attempting a side-by-side comparison of adultery-to-adultery, a better analysis would be to evaluate the case, and the accused, in their entirety. That is, were the higher ranking officials convicted of the same crimes as Penland? Behaved in the same way? And, equally important, subject to the same convening and sentencing authority.