At least two Army officers are under investigation for posting photos of themselves in dog-shaped BDSM gear while in uniform.
The photos surfaced last week after one of the officers posted a picture of himself wearing the dog masks, announcing his retirement from the Army. Another Twitter account posted a long thread revealing that two of the members were commissioned officers and reportedly in a sexual relationship. The Army announced Tuesday it was investigating the posts.
“U.S. Army Pacific is aware of content found on social media reflecting soldiers’ activities while wearing uniforms,” U.S. Army spokesman Major Jonathan Lewis said in a statement to USA Today. “The incident is currently under investigation.”
According to federal law:
Any commissioned officer, cadet, or midshipman who is convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Furthermore:
all disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces, all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces, and crimes and offenses not capital, of which persons subject to this chapter may be guilty, shall be taken cognizance of by a general, special, or summary court-martial, according to the nature and degree of the offense, and shall be punished at the discretion of that court.
USA Today noted that there are a variety of punishments for such conduct, including letters of reprimand, and possibly demotion. A retired officer can be restored to active duty specifically for court-martial purposes. He or she can also be retired at a lower rank, which would lower their military pension payments.
“All U.S. Army soldiers are expected to uphold high standards of personal conduct and to avoid discrediting the service and the uniform, both in person and across social media,” another Army spokeswoman told USA Today.
The investigation arose after one of the accounts, who goes by the handle “Pup Ravage,” announced his retirement from the Army last week. The tweet caught the attention of conservative veterans on Twitter, many of whom blasted the tweet as evidence of the growing problem of wokeness in the military.
A Twitter account called NoVA Campaigns posted a Twitter thread revealing that the retired officer was Army Colonel Brian T. Connelly, of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Connelly was stationed to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hicks in Hawaii. He frequently posted sexually explicit pictures of himself, as well as other photos of himself in uniform and wearing a dog mask, on an Instagram page of the same name.
Connelly was also in a sexual relationship with Captain Dayton Tenney, who went by the name “HonuPup” on social media. Connelly and Tenney are members of the “pup play” kink community, a BDSM-related sexual fetish where individuals dress up in leather masks and tails and act like dogs for sexual satisfaction. Connelly was photographed with other members of this community on his Instagram. According to NoVA Campaigns, both officers had multiple partners.
The account also found that one of the replies to Connelly’s retirement tweet came from another officer, a Captain in a medical unit, also wearing a dog mask. All of the users in question have locked or deleted their accounts.
Earlier this year, two Biden administration officials made headlines for publicizing their sexual appetites. In September, photos of White House deputy coordinator of monkeypox response Dr. Demetre Daskalakis in bondage gear surfaced; and now-former deputy assistant secretary for Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition Sam Brinton drew controversy when photos of him engaging in “puppy play” also surfaced on social media.