A Department of Defense official, on the condition of anonymity, has told The Associated Press that as many as seven members of the Army’s famed 82nd Airborne Division are being investigated over allegations that they appeared on a gay-themed porn website.
A division spokeswoman, Maj. Amy Hannah, refused to say how many paratroopers were involved in the unfolding scandal. However, Hannah did say that “once the investigation is complete, the chain of command will take appropriate action.”
The military-themed website, while not making direct reference to the 82nd Airborne or its Fort Bragg, N.C., location, is registered with an address in nearby Fayetteville.
Maj. Todd Vician, a Defense Department spokesman, weighed in on the controversy and noted that the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy states that “homosexual orientation alone is not a bar to service, but homosexual conduct is incompatible with military service.”
Vician went on to say, “We define homosexual conduct as homosexual acts or verbal or nonverbal communication that a member is homosexual.”
Steve Ralls, a spokesman for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an organization devoted to protecting those in the military, said, “Depending on what was included on the website, the criminal charges they could be facing include a conduct unbecoming of an officer charge, and that carries a potential prison sentence. They could be charged under the military sodomy statute. That also includes a potential prison sentence.”
Ralls also offered the opinion that “it’s very unusual they are talking about ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ rather than the criminal charges. This is a charge that seems to me to be handled as a criminal charge rather than an administrative one.”
Ralls added that his organization will “watch closely to make sure their punishment is predicated on their [actions] and not their sexual orientation.”
The 82nd Airborne is composed of 15,000 troops and is trained to be deployed to anywhere in the world within 18 hours. Its soldiers have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and several thousand remain overseas.
