The Navy senior staff have finally come to grips with the Nude Photo scandal As is well-known Marines and veterans were members of a secret Facebook page, where they shared pictures of naked women colleagues. The scandal was initially thought to be limited to a few soldiers. Now it is known that it was widespread and nearly 30000 marines and veterans were members of this secret Facebook page.
Congress was concerned about this, and the senior brass was seized about the effect this scandal could have on discipline in the Marine Corps. A new set of regulations has now been published.
The new rules ban the publication of nude photos on Facebook or any other social media site. It has also been stipulated that the offense is punishable under good order and discipline and punishment can range from administrative action to court martial. This was essential to keep up the morale of the Marines who have many women in their ranks.
New regulations
Many of the women Marines have complained that their photos in the nude, have been published on the Facebook site without their permission and knowledge. The Navy had to act, and the news is that the new regulations have been signed by the Acting Navy Secretary Sean Stackley. These have gone into immediate effect and will be made a permanent part of the next edition of the Navy regulations when they are published.
The regulations had defined an intimate image as a "photo that shows explicit content when there was a reasonable expectation of privacy."
Investigation
The case has been investigated by the Center for Investigative Reporting. They found that a few photos were consensual, but the majority of the photos of the nude women soldiers were without their knowledge and permission.
The problem is widespread and has been known to have affected the Air Force and other armed groups as well
The marine command's crackdown was expected. No fighting force can allow such things to happen.Such a scandal can seriously affect the morale of the women soldiers. It was perhaps not a serious offense when women were not part of the military.But now the field for women is open, and they can join any branch of the military.
The top brass had to formulate rules in the interest of the morale of the corps. It would be a sad day if a soldiers attention was diverted from fighting the enemy to thinking how his woman colleague looks without clothes
Future
Though the Navy has published the regulations, the chances that such an event will not occur again is in the realm of fantasy. Soldiers in the heat of battle can commit such acts which are not rationale. However, the Navy has taken the right decision. A few Marines have been awarded administrative punishment. In case the Navy is serious they will have to punish quite a few Marines. This is not an easy task, as any punishment on a mass scale will affect the morale of the Marine force as a fighting unit
