Military Members Posing in Sexually Explicit Pictures

Summary

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18 For servicemembers serving in the Central Command (CENTCOM) area of operations (AO), which includes Kuwait, Iraq, or Afghanistan, creating pornography or sexually explicit photographs constitutes a violation of General Order 1 (GO 1).19 A commander in the CENTCOM AO may charge the servicemember who takes a sexually explicit photograph of another person, as well as the servicemember posing in the picture, with a violation of UCMJ Article 92, section one, as a violation of or failure to obey a lawful general order.20 For servicemembers serving in the Continental United States or in other areas of the world, a commander may charge a Soldier for violating Article 120, of the UCMJ for indecent exposure.21 If a service member intentionally exposes his or her genitalia, anus, buttocks, or female areola or nipple, in an indecent manner, in any place where the conduct involved may reasonably be expected to be viewed by people other than the servicemember's family or household, then the servicemember violated Article 120 and may be found guilty of indecent exposure.22 Although the UCMJ does not specifically prohibit making sexually explicit photos for public viewing, it can be argued that the elements of the offense include posing nude for pictures with the intent that those photographs will be made public.23 A commander may also elect to create a specification under Article 134, clause two, for a general violation of service discrediting conduct, but the case law currently differs among the services as to what actually constitutes service discrediting.

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Military Members Posing in Sexually Explicit Pictures

Introduction

The Global War on Terrorism spurred an increase in the media coverage of military matters over the last several years. Unfortunately, it appears that some Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines capitalized on this media attention for their own personal gain.1 They seized the opportunity to become famous and posed in sexually explicit photos for magazines and on websites.2 Commanders face difficult decisions disciplining servicemembers in these cases because there is no clear cut, punitive prohibition against military members posing in sexually explicit photographs for the public's view.3

Former Air Force Drill Sergeant Michelle ...

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