Newsgroups: sci.military.naval
From: baldwin@netcom.com (J.D. Baldwin)
Subject: Re: Any thoughts on NFO in June Playboy???
Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 16:00:15 GMT

In article <3550ac75.0@news1.ibm.net>, Brad Meyer <bradm@ibm.net>
wrote:
> >I didn't see the spread, but despite ho gorgeous the young lady may
> >be, no naval officer should pose for skin pics.
>
> I guess I don't understand this. Why should she (or any officer) not?
> Possibly "conduct prejudicial . . ." but even that would have to be
> demonstrated. She has engaged in an off-time activity that is not
> illegal in the locale where she engaged in it.

The posing alone is a slam-dunk "conduct unbecoming" and there isn't a
court-martial jury out there that would fail to find so.  It's almost
a textbook case of same.  If she were enlisted, prosecuting her might
be slightly problematic (but see below), but for an officer there's
no serious question.

The "conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline" is one of those
General Article things, and the GA is a bit trickier than most people
imagine, so let that go for now.

One thing that is most certainly not "not illegal" for her is the
misuse of uniform items -- and uniform items that are still,
technically, government property, at that!  You could probably find
enough there to keep her in irons for a couple of years.  My
guess is that if it ever saw a court, she'd get six months.  But
the Navy didn't care enough to try.

If you're male, though, and you run a joke "leg-shaving booth" in
private, out of public view, you WILL face "conduct unbecoming"
charges.  There's some pretty blatant politics at work here.
--
 From the catapult of J.D. Baldwin  |+| "If anyone disagrees with anything I
   _,_    Finger baldwin@netcom.com |+| say, I am quite prepared not only to
 _|70|___:::)=}-  for PGP public    |+| retract it, but also to deny under
 \      /         key information.  |+| oath that I ever said it." --T. Lehrer
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Newsgroups: sci.military.naval
From: baldwin@netcom.com (J.D. Baldwin)
Subject: Re: Any thoughts on NFO in June Playboy???
Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 14:25:02 GMT

In article <3557615C.5B29@umail.umd.edu>, Prof. Vincent Brannigan
<vb15@umail.umd.edu> wrote:
> > The posing alone is a slam-dunk "conduct unbecoming" and there isn't
> > a court-martial jury out there that would fail to find so.  It's
> > almost a textbook case of same.
>
> What makes it an interesting question are the First Amendment
> implications.  The posing and quotations clearly fall in the category
> of first amendment protected speach, which presumably would put on the
> military the oblgation of showing how the particular speach interfered
> with military discipline.  The military has always accepted the
> difference between speach and action.

You were going OK (on the "interesting question" angle) until this
last sentence.  Articles 88, 89 and the final part of 91 make it
pretty clear that "speach" *is* action, as far as the UCMJ is
concerned.  I don't see why 133 ("conduct unbecoming") would be
any different.

It might be interesting from a purely academic perspective, right up
until the CMA slam-dunk affirmed the conviction and the Supreme Court
refused to give a second glance to the petition for certiorari.

> Advocating homosexal participation in the military, for example is
> clearly protected speach even if it disrupts the organization due to
> some persons's attitudes.  Im not sayng the lady would win, but it
> would be an interesting case.

Disrupting the organization with purely internal dissent is one thing.
Posing nude with UNIFORM ITEMS (!) and making a big deal about one's
naval officer status is another, entirely.
--
 From the catapult of J.D. Baldwin  |+| "If anyone disagrees with anything I
   _,_    Finger baldwin@netcom.com |+| say, I am quite prepared not only to
 _|70|___:::)=}-  for PGP public    |+| retract it, but also to deny under
 \      /         key information.  |+| oath that I ever said it." --T. Lehrer
***~~~~-----------------------------------------------------------------------