As part of its ongoing recruiting drive, the U.S. Army recently launched a recruitment advertising spot titled “Honor.” The 15-second advertisement started airing on national television on May 8 but was then removed from all forms of media on May 15. The reason for the U.S. Army pulling the recruiting ad was that they had learned one of the soldiers featured in the footage was a convicted rapist. The Business Insider reportedly obtained a leaked document revealing the story, which outlined that the Army had used a photo taken in July 2014 of
The reason for the U.S.
Army pulling the recruiting ad was that they had learned one of the soldiers featured in the footage was a convicted rapist. The Business Insider reportedly obtained a leaked document revealing the story, which outlined that the Army had used a photo taken in July 2014 of a soldier, who was later convicted of rape in the following year.
Persons appearing in advertising footage are usually vetted beforehand
In the unclassified document, Major Avon Cornelius noted that all soldiers, family members, and civilians are usually vetted before filming footage for any local or national advertising drive. However, the document went on to note that participants in the advertisements are not normally vetted for a second time if those same images are used on a later date.
The Business Insider quotes figures from iSpot TV as saying the “Honor” recruiting advertisement had aired nationally around 245 times before being pulled.
#USA Army yanks TV ad after learning featured soldier's rape history: The U.S. Army yanked a TV ad this… https://t.co/sryWUJYxfb #1USNews pic.twitter.com/i9aME8mGM8
— USA News (@1USNews) May 18, 2017
Photo was taken in Fort Wainwright in Alaska
As reported by the New York Daily News, while the executive summary did not quote the name of the soldier in question, it does state that the photo used in the recruitment campaign had been taken in July 2014 at a photo shoot in Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
The document then states the soldier had been convicted of rape on July 14, 2015, during court martial proceedings.
Image of soldier will not be used again
Cornelius further wrote that along with pulling the advertisement, the U.S. Army had stated that the photo of the soldier convicted of rape will not be used again in future productions.
The document states that measures have been put in place to ensure that in all future recruitment or other video productions, secondary vetting of photos will be carried out to avoid any similar situation in the future.
Soldier received 20 years in prison for rape
During their investigation into the story, Business Insider uncovered an article published by the Alaska Dispatch which reported on the conviction of Spc. Nicholas Marcum, then 28 years of age, for the “forcible rape of a child.” Marcum was sentenced to 20 years behind bars after raping a 15-year-old girl in July 2015.
