WASHINGTON — Months before the U.S. military's nude photo scandal was unveiled, an intense internal feud had erupted inside one of the main groups known for sharing explicit imagery of their female co-workers.
Some members of the secretive, all-male Marines United social media network worried openly about the consequences of participating in potentially illegal activity, and some outright denounced the practice and sought to sabotage it.
One member, appalled by content celebrating "revenge porn" and "talk about rape," claimed credit for getting the group removed from Facebook where its following reportedly included some 30,000 active-duty Marines, military veterans and others. At the same time, however, there is evidence the group's administrators not only ignored internal warnings before restarting it, they took steps to reassure participants that photo swapping and disparaging commentary would not be censored.
Now criminal investigators have launched a wide-ranging probe into Marines United to reveal the scope of wrongdoing. Meanwhile, outraged lawmakers want to hold congressional hearings and look to amend military law, making it easier to punish those who target women.
The contentious back-and-forth inside the members-only community offers a rare look at how its members have responded to the misconduct that threatens to undermine public confidence in an institution largely viewed throughout American society as honorable and trustworthy. It also raises an important question: The mob mentality fosters online abuse. Can it be overcome by those wishing to fight back?
That's what happened within Marines United when Marine veteran John Albert took a stand.
"I am so incensed at the members of our Marine community that would let this go on unchecked," he wrote on Reddit in September while explaining why he reported the page, prompting Facebook to shut it down.
Albert, 30, who identified himself publiclylast week after his Reddit post was recirculated online, said he was added to the group by an acquaintance and absolutely sickened by what he saw.
An enlisted infantryman who deployed to Afghanistan twice before being medically retired with shoulder injuries, Albert appealed to the values instilled in every Marine at boot camp — honor, courage and commitment — and admonished those who did nothing while women were stalked, ridiculed and threatened.
"If you were part of the problem," he wrote, "then you are an absolute disgrace to our dead brothers," Albert wrote.
Albert told Military Times recently that more people must step into the fray on social media and push back against the practice of posting pictures of women without their consent or making comments that can encourage sexual assault.
"There are 30,000 people in Marines United," he said. "Where are the other several hundred thousand retired and inactive Marines? Group-think and people unwilling to go against the masses: That's what allowed this stuff to go on."
It appears now that when Albert first spoke up last year, he had tacit support among others inside Marines United. But those who felt the same way also acknowledged feeling reluctant to voice their disapproval publicly.
"I agreed with you," one Reddit user wrote last week after Albert's post was recirculated. "However, I wanted to fit in and ... was too afraid to go against the majority, but I am glad there are Marines out there like you that said: 'F--- that. I'm going to do the right thing.' "
On Friday, the Marine Corps' top general, Commandant Robert Neller, concluded a week of public appearances by holding a 25-minute press briefing at the Pentagon. Asked about the apparent fallout within Marines United, the general bluntly said, "I don't really know or am I interested in what their internal dialogue is."
Privately, though, some in the Pentagon acknowledge that, in addition to any formal action to be taken by military leaders, the effort to undermine this culture of misogyny must rely to a degree on individuals like Albert, a sort of vigilante who has held his ground even as others hurl insults at him, threaten his safety and accuse him of betrayal. Military leaders have struggled to influence this type of behavior. And while arrests and criminal convictions may serve as a deterrent, many have said that change will have to be led from within the military's lowest ranks.
Marines United was nominally intended to help prevent veterans from committing suicide, a defense that's been offered by many in recent days. But the group's leaders were also unabashed about its other mission serving as a pipeline for compromising imagery often shared without the women's consent.
Facebook disabled the page after Albert reported it last fall, but those who maintained the database of nude photos quickly restarted it and dismissed internal criticism.
The post says members posting explicit images should seek permission from the women before sharing them with the entire group, but stopped short of forbidding the imagery that was at times pornographic or advocated sexual violence.
"We do not wish to make any further efforts to censor our members," the message says. "After all, a Marine with a clean sense of humor is a lonely Marine."
Military Times has been unsuccessful in numerous attempts to contact the individuals who appear to have made these posts.
The Marine Corps is the only military service that segregates men and women during basic training. Many have argued this why misogyny is so prevalent.
Photo Credit: Sgt. Richard Blumenstein/Marine Corps
Last week, after the scandal came to light, a different type of Facebook group was activated. Called Not In my Marine Corps, the community includes active-duty Marines, veterans and others "dedicated to ending sexual harassment and assault" in the ranks. There's nothing secretive about it, nor does it discriminate on the basis of gender. The page and its corresponding websiteinclude anonymous stories of sexual harassment and violence endured by women in uniform dating back years.
And there are two calls to action. They want the Uniform Code of Military Justice amended to address the sort of nonconsensual photo swapping fueling abuse online. And they want the Marine Corps to integrate recruit training, to allow young men and women to train side by side as they do in the Army, Navy and Air Force.
"All military services' general and flag officers require Senate confirmation before they may assume their post or next highest rank," the website says under a section titled Turn up the Heat. "Demand that their hearings be delayed until they pledge written support to make this a priority for immediate action."
One of the group's founders, Erin Kirk-Cuomo, told Military Times that her organization has heard from hundreds of women in the past week. "They're afraid to come out and report. They're terrified of retribution, of being labeled a problem," said Cuomo, 36, a former Marine sergeant. Beyond directing women to legal and psychological assistance, she hopes to encourage people to intervene in the future.
"Marines United had 30,000 followers," she said. "Many were bystanders who saw this happening and didn't say anything. If you see something like that, you need to stand up and do something."
Andrew deGrandpre is Military Times' senior editor and Pentagon bureau chief. On Twitter: @adegrandpre. With additional reporting by Marine Corps Times' Jeff Schogol. On Twitter: @JeffSchogol.
