WASHINGTON, August 19 (RIA Novosti) – The US Marine Corps says it has punished 17 people who were looking for some extracurricular action when they placed Internet ads seeking sex while deployed to Afghanistan, according to US media reports.
The 17 people included 11 military personnel and six civilian employees from the Department of Defense, who were deployed to Camp Leatherneck in Helmand province under the command of the Camp Pendleton, California-based 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, according to The Associated Press (AP).
The Internet ads were discovered during a 2012 investigation which was revealed by the Marine Corps Times, which said that military personnel were told not to place sex ads on websites.
Some of the ads involved men seeking women and others were men seeking other men, The Los Angeles Times reported.
The Marine Corps announced the punishment over the weekend, which will be handed down by unit commanders, with possible loss of rank, extra duty, fines and restriction of privileges, according to the AP.
Lt. Col Stewart Upton, spokesman for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said the investigations “did not target personnel based on rank, gender, marital status or sexual orientation, but rather were directed at conduct that is considered prejudicial to good order and discipline while conducting combat operations in a war zone,” The Los Angeles Times reported.
