US Military In Nude Photo Sharing Scandal
Reports last week uncovered widespread photo sharing by current and former Marines on Facebook, triggering a navy investigation.
But the BBC has seen a message board where servicemen from other branches have shared hundreds of photos.
The Pentagon said such behaviour was “inconsistent” with its values.
Male service members use a message board on an anonymous image hosting website to share nude images of their female counterparts.
They often first post clothed photos of female personnel taken from their social media pages, and ask if any members have nude photos, which they call “wins”. Others then post photos.
Those posting sometimes provide names and other details of women, including where they are stationed. Lewd comments accompany many posts.
The behaviour previously reported was confined to Marines on Facebook.
A Facebook group called Marines United with 30,000 members was recently closed down after the scandal erupted.
But the message board on the image-hosting website remains publicly accessible, and indicates that such practices extend throughout the military.
“Just heard [name redacted] and her bf [name redacted] broke up,” a comment on 19 December from an anonymous user on a post that appears to involve personnel at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska reads.
“Maybe he would post some.”
The US Department of Defense said in a statement that it had issued “policy guidance” to prevent and deal with “sexual harassment and hazing”.
It is developing a new “comprehensive workplace harassment prevention and response policy”, spokesperson Myles Caggins told the BBC.
“The alleged behaviour is inconsistent with our values.”
Although the Marines United Facebook group has now closed, there are at least half a dozen similar groups or sites, Marine officials told CBS News.
On Wednesday, two women who said they were victims spoke out publicly alongside their lawyer, urging others to come forward.
“I can tell you that this exact behaviour leads to the normalisation of sexual harassment and even sexual violence,” said Erika Butner, 23, who served in the Marines for four years until last June.
Marines United’s activity was first uncovered by The War Horse, a non-profit news organisation run by Marine veteran Thomas Brennan.
Some of the photos are believed to have been taken surreptitiously. Other images are thought to have been consensual, but posted without permission.