For the money: Members of the 82nd Airborne stationed in Fort Bragg, NC, have apparently been nabbed appearing on a gay porn site that originated in nearby Fayetteville. Via Pam’s House Blend:
Army officials are investigating allegations that members of the celebrated 82nd Airborne Division appear on a gay pornography Web site, a spokeswoman said Friday.
Authorities at Fort Bragg have begun an inquiry into whether the paratroopers’ actions violated the military conduct code.
Division spokeswoman Maj. Amy Hannah declined to say how many paratroopers are involved or identify their unit within the division. A defense official speaking on condition of anonymity said up to seven soldiers are involved.
Hannah said soldiers questioned will be allowed to seek legal assistance, but she declined to say if any one had been charged.
“Once the investigation is complete, the chain of command will take appropriate action,” Hannah said.
The military-themed Web site does not appear to make any direct reference to the 82nd Airborne or Fort Bragg. The registered owner of the Web site’s domain name lists an address in Fayetteville, the city that adjoins Fort Bragg.
There was a very similar situation here on the West Coast a few years back. The upshot was, these young guys are on leave with no money. The pornster buys them beers, offers to pay them if they’ll pose for him.
This apparently goes on a lot — a whole lot — but only comes to the surface on rare occasions like these when the story goes public.
From the perspective of 20/20 hindsight, it seems to be a pretty risky thing to do, but the military guys apparently make the calculation that anyone they know in the service who might see the photos is probably gay and closeted, and so won’t rat them out.
What’s interesting is that the military apparently does not have a problem with personnel appearing in porn — as long as it’s straight porn.
The military is currently looking into the matter and will likely persecute the men involved under the “don’t ask, don’t tell charade.”
Pam at the Blend found the link to the website (which no one in the local traditional media seemed to be able to do) — here’s the link – but the site has apparently been taken down.
