The State - News from Nov. 17, 1988

Officials of the San Diego company that trains dolphins and sea lions for the Navy said a Navy spokesman was wrong when he announced that the company, Science Applications International Corp., had fired a trainer who publicly criticized the program. A spokesman for the Naval Ocean Systems Center said two weeks ago that the company had fired trainer Rick Trout for speaking to reporters about alleged mismanagement and animal abuse in the Navy’s marine mammal program. However, Chuck Nichols, the company’s senior vice president for media relations, said Trout, who is on a medical leave, has not been fired. Trout’s public statements are being reviewed by Navy investigators who are attempting to determine whether he disclosed classified information, Nichols said.