The United States Marines are currently under investigation for leaking nude photos of female service members in a group called “Marines United.” This was revealed on a non profit news source called ‘The War Horse’ on Saturday via reveal. The marine corps have come under a media frenzy and the veteran who exposed the group has received death threats.
Under the pictures of the scantily clad women, one could find degrading and explicit comments and have even shared some of these women’s personal information including their full names.
The women have received explicit messages from service men. One woman describes the messages as “usually something around like: ‘Where were you when I was in? I would’ve f****d you too.’” Another woman said, “Some days I don’t want to leave my house. Some days I’m hesitant to even go into the gas station. My dad is a retired gunnery sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, so I grew up thinking the Marines were it — that there was no better for honor and integrity. I grew up a Marine brat and this isn’t the Marine Corps image my dad fought to represent.”
A google drive link with the photos have also been found but have since been taken down along with the pictures and comments on the Facebook page.
The misconduct not only breaks Facebook community guidelines, but the service members involved could be criminally prosecuted as well.
General Robert B. Neller spoke about these events in his Message to the Force:
“We need to be brutally honest with ourselves and be accountable for our shortcomings. We must be more disciplined—both at the individual and unit level— and live up to our core values of honor, courage, and commitment […] We must do a better job of looking out for each other.”
The scandal has enraged many marines and ex-marines on social media as well:
“PROVE IT! PROVE that this won’t be tolerated. Sorry but I’d bet my life the USMC tries to minimize this to “a few bad apples” excuse. The culture is sick. It’s every branch,” said one facebook user in response to a post by the US Marine Corps regarding the incident.
What happened to honor? I’m so sick of the excuses for these animals. https://t.co/8EHyT2nD0m
— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) March 5, 2017
The marine corps has also provided links and information for any victims who would like to receive legal counsel.
The problem with sexual assault in the military is no secret. With 6,083 reports of sexual assault in the past year, rape culture in the military is still rampant and thriving.
