'Pure Bloods' and Call Signs Military.com first wrote in April 2018 about the two aviators and their dismissal from VFA-106. The Navy pilot, Lt. Courtland Savage, would ultimately leave the service in 2017 and start a new job flying for a civilian airline; the Marine Corps pilot, who asked not to be identified as he remains on active duty, continues to serve as a pilot in a C-130 squadron, having been removed from fighter training in 2016.
While at VFA-106, Savage said he was given the call sign "Radio," a reference to a movie about a mentally challenged black man. Other black students, he said, got call signs including "8 Ball" and "Kazaam," the latter a reference to a character played by Shaquille O'Neal.
Other minority pilots in the squadron also gave evidence of race influencing call signs. Another pilot, a lieutenant commander, said he also received the call sign "Radio" at his first squadron in the fleet, but later had it changed to "MC," short for "MC Hammer," in reference to a childhood nickname. A commander said his call sign was "Snoop," in reference to "poor rapping abilities." And a third pilot, a lieutenant, said his call sign was "Ruby Rhod," a reference to a Chris Tucker character from the movie "The Fifth Element." Only one black pilot interviewed had a call sign -- "Mr. Bucket" -- with no racial connotation.
The two pilots also submitted logs from a WhatsApp chat group called "Pure Bloods," in which instructor pilots disparaged them and their performance. In the chat, one of the instructors used the eggplant emoji to refer to the Marine pilot. It was a visual representation of a racial slur, the pilot alleged.
"That dude was so bad. I can't even comprehend how someone does not have the most basic level of self-awareness and realize he's going to kill himself or someone else," an instructor wrote in the chat.
The Marine pilot had also been singled out in the squadron when a significant mishap for which he was responsible -- mistaking an instructor's order and blowing the canopy off an F/A-18 -- was depicted on a class T-shirt with the slogan, "Once you pop, the fun don't stop."
The investigation determined the eggplant had been meant as a phallic symbol, not a racial one. Paired with a cork-popping champagne bottle emoji in the chat, the symbols were intended to reference masturbation, not the Marine pilot and the canopy incident, the probe concluded. However, the discussions were evidence of a broader lack of inclusion and professionalism, Miller decided.
