Air Force vs. Playboy

All right, everyone. I'm sure by now you've all heard about the Staff Sergeant at Lackland AFB who posed nude for Playboy. Well, maybe I'm doing this to see if I can get my blog Googled, but I also wanted to convey some thoughts that I had about this whole situation.

SSgt Manhart says that she doesn't think that she did anything wrong. While in essence, posing for these sorts of magazines is not illegal, she did do something wrong. Now, I'm not here to judge her morally, that's not my place, no matter what I personally think of what she did. Now, if she just the married mother of two in the civilian life, this would not be news at all. And frankly, it seems like the only reason that it is news is because she was suspended from duty. Well, let me say something about her duties. She is reported to be a Military Training Instructor (MTI) and these MTIs are responsible for all the training of the brand new airmen that enter the Air Force. So, it would seem to reason that she would be familiar with all the regulations that the Air Force has. Now, as far as I'm aware, there is no regulation about posing nude or doing anything along "tasteful" lines. There are some regs about pornography, but this is not where she went wrong in my opinion. The way I see it is that she broke regs about when and where you can be in uniform. I'll go over these a bit for you.

So, when you are in uniform, you are not allowed to do anything that would undermine the good order and discipline of the Air Force, nor are you allowed to make any statement or participate in any action that would convey a message that seems to show the Air Forces support of something non-military (ie political rallies, etc.). You can do everyday things, such as attend weddings, funerals, etc. But when you are doing these activities and you are in public view, you must be in FULL UNIFORM. By this I mean that every little button that needs to be buttoned is, every ribbon in place, and your hat had better be on your head (if you are outdoors). Now let me tie this into the whole Playboy situation for you.

I personally have not seen the pictures, but it was reported on Fox News that SSgt Manhart was pictured both in and out of uniform. Now, I find it very hard to believe that in such magazine that the SSgt would be completely in uniform, as required by the Air Force. And she knows that it must be done because she inspects Airmen in the uniforms daily! So, there's one thing that I am sure shows that she was in error in doing this.

In addition, as an MTI she interacts with many young men and women every day. On top of that, there are new Airmen coming in every day that would have the possibility of encountering her. What does that do to her credibility as an MTI? How can she continue to give "Tough Love" as the Playboy article calls it? It is very likely that some of these new young men who are just entering the Air Force have seen this magazine and run into her. Once they realize who this MTI is, there goes any real credibility, in their minds. Also, once again, the good order and discipline of the Air Force and Basic Training goes out the window.

Let me sum up and give my two cents. Is what she did wrong? Not the activity itself (from a "Freedom of Speech" point of view, but given her position: Yes. Should she be discharged? No, I don't think that a discharge is necessary. Should she be suspended? During any investigation, yes I do think she should be. What should the penalty be? After her suspension, I don't think there needs to be a penalty, per se. I do however feel that she must be transferred from being an MTI into another career field. Continuing in this field would be detrimental to the training of our enlisted Airmen.

This is just one opinion based on Air Force Instruction and personal belief. I just thought that it should get out there before it gets twisted up by the plagues of people that will be talking about this story. Maybe people will read it, maybe not. I just hope that the word gets spread.