The Army is looking into allegations that some soldiers may be involved in an image-sharing message board where troops from all branches of the service are allegedly crowdsourcing naked pictures of female service members.
"Special agents from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's specialized Computer Crime Investigative Unit are currently assessing information and photographs on a civilian website that appear to include U.S. Army personnel," Army spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said in a statement to Army Times.
The special agents are working to "determine if a criminal offense has occurred," Smith said.
First reported by Business Insider, the Army's inquiry comes one day after news broke about AnonIB, a website where purported male service members request naked pictures of their female counterparts by name, rank and duty station. The Business Insider report also said the men allegedly were cyber-stalking and sharing nude photos of their female colleagues.
The revelation comes amid an ongoing Naval Criminal Investigative Service into the "Marines United" Facebook page, where members shared nude photos of female Marines, veterans and civilians.
Currently, there is "no evidence to indicate this effort is related to the NCIS investigation into the ‘Marines United’ website," Smith said.
Army CID agents are working with NCIS and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations to "ensure all investigative efforts are fully coordinated," she said.
The Army is a values-based organization, Smith added.
"Everyone is expected to be treated with dignity and respect," she said. "As members of the Army team, individuals’ interaction offline and online reflect on the Army and its values."
The Army defines online misconduct as the use of electronic communications to inflict harm, which includes, but is not limited to, instances of harassment, bullying, hazing, stalking, discrimination and retaliation, Smith said.
"Soldiers or civilian employees who participate in or condone misconduct, whether offline or online, may be subject to criminal, disciplinary and/or administrative action," she said.
Michelle Tan is the editor of Army Times and Air Force Times. She has covered the military for Military Times since 2005, and has embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Haiti, Gabon and the Horn of Africa.
