Navy helicopter pilot Paula Coughlin was ready to serve her country through the rigors of combat — to kill or be killed. We assume that she was ready to fly into enemy territory and even suffer the fate of a prisoner of war. And who knows what sort of treatment would have awaited her as a POW? Would the enemy act like gentlemen?

But we know that Coughlin will lead the champagne life now after winning a $5 million dollar judgement against Hilton Hotels. And what did Hilton do to merit such a tremendous penalty? Well, they apparently didn’t sufficiently protect her from other government employees — her fellow officers.

Was Coughlin raped, or maimed? Well, not exactly. This elite and combat-ready warrior suffered “psychological damage” as a result of groping and “molestation” at the hands of her fellow officers.

And what might Hilton Hotels have to do with this you ask? Were they participants in all this? Well, it all took place in their hotel, and in the constant search for deep-pockets they were accused of not protecting their guests — from each other. You might wonder why trained combatants like Coughlin would need protection from the hotel industry — but that just shows that you’re not a member of a 1990s American jury.

In the United States the median annual household income is $30,000 and the median household income for business managers is $57,000 per year. The president of the United States, arguably the most powerful man in the world, receives a salary of $250,000per year.

Yet a single incident, not of rape or murder, but of “groping,” is now worth five million dollars. Thus a single evening spent at the Tailhook convention will compensate the pilot with the amount that an average American family would earn in 166 years. And who says government service doesn’t pay?

Former lieutenant Coughlin announced, not surprisingly, that she was “really pleased” with the ruling.

(Source: Reuter.)