Playboy-Posing Sergeant Demoted

(AP)  An Air Force drill sergeant and former Iowa National Guard member who posed nude for Playboy magazine has been removed from active duty, she and the Air Force said Wednesday.

Michelle Manhart, who appeared in a six-page spread in Playboy's February issue, said she got word Friday that she was removed from "extended active duty" and was also told that she was demoted from staff sergeant to senior airman.

"I'm disappointed in our system," Manhart told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "They went too far with it."

Manhart said that she was reverted to her Air National Guard status and that she submitted a "resignation" to the Guard, which she said is pending. Manhart was a member of the Iowa Air National Guard before going on extended active duty.

Oscar Balladares, a spokesman for Lackland Air Force Base, confirmed that Manhart was removed from extended active duty Friday but said Lackland did not discharge her.

"She was removed from active duty status, and thus reverted to National Guard status," Balladares said. "It is not up to the Air Force — it is not our jurisdiction to discharge her."

Lt. Col. Greg Hapgood, a spokesman for the Iowa National Guard, said that because the Guard did not have "documentation of her separation" from the Air Force, it did not have her on duty status.

Manhart, a 30-year-old mother of two, said the military's action against her hinged on the fact that she was pictured wearing her uniform.

She was photographed in uniform yelling and holding weapons under the headline "Tough Love." The following pages showed her partially clothed wearing dog tags and fully nude. After the pictorial hit newsstands in January, Manhart was relieved of her duties pending an investigation.

[ecuadoriana]

dirtydog55, I was being sarcastic, duh. My sarcasm was fueled by the hypocricy of the situation.

And why is it that you feel the need to use the typical threat of "go back to where you came from" when someone says something you don't like or that you don't agree with? Huh? Threatened? Sad, especially because I was born here of irish descent parents- not from ecuador. How come no one threatens the irish with "go back..."? Is it because we're white?

dirtydog55, you should go back to the sad little barn you were raised in & shut the door behind you.

[chrisiansnan]

She knew she was going to get ripped when she posed. When you sign and take the oath to be in the military, you become government property. Anyone who has been in the service knows you wear your uniform 24/7. And most people who have served wear it proudly for life.

[xenalily]

tuckerndfw- I highly doubt she will be making millions off of this Playboy shoot- they don't get that much money. Maybe the book deal or the Lifetime Movie of the Week could get her there if this story gets more than its 15 minutes. I don't agree with what she did but perhaps this will lead her in to a career path that better suits her needs and those of her children and I wish her the best. I have a hard time though viewing Manhart as a feminist hero. Who do you have more respect for- someone who demands attention by using her intelligence to make her statement or someone who flashes her vajayjay to get attention? Gee... that's a tough one isn't it?

[von67trumpet]

My service time was in the U.S. Army in the early 70's. A fine looking woman like Michelle Manhart would have been assigned to the battalion staff or the general's staff. She boosts my morale without trying. Why the hypocritical double standard regarding appropriate conduct for men, but not women? If you want thinking men and women in today's armed forces, allow them the latitude to be more than one-dimensional robots, following the commands of their "superiors". Off duty time should be her own time, not subject to review, unless she harms others or herself. Puritanical jealousy from military wives might have something to do with her administrative disciplinary action. I bet the U.S. Army would enlist her in a flat New York minute. Best regards on your future, Michelle.

[acephoenix1]

The Air Force cited that her actions "don't comply with the integrity of the Air Force's core values." Yet the Air Force seems to be okay with their cadets sexually harassing fellow female cadets, even raping them. Who are they to preach about "values"? I thought it was extemely tasteful and did nothing to diminish my already low opinion of the Air Force.

[semperfeisty]

"People, she gets extra money to support those kids from the military!! And it's PER KID!"

Um, no she doesn't. She gets basic pay, the usual allowances (BAS, per diem, etc) and BAH(Basic Allowance for Housing), at the with dependents rate, but it's the same whether she has one dependent or 15.

[down-ndirty]

"She'll end-up a piece of porn trash somewhere with a pimp. Maybe another Anna Nicloe life of "famous for being famous" ???? Look at what happened to that family. Tragic!" Posted by mdc76082

Yeah, right! What a simple, narrow, one-track mind you have. I would think that 25 years in the Navy would have given you a broader perspective on life. You only look at the negative.

After 28 years in the Navy, living and working with all the hypocracy, I definitely have a much broader perspective.

Yeah, she made a mistake. So friggin' what? Simple-minded pious folk like you would make her pay the rest of her life for that one mistake.

Go girl! Greater things than serving an ungrateful government are awaiting you. Go get 'em.

[down-ndirty]

"Let me see, potentially millions of dollars as a Playboy model, or a life of misery and uselessness as an Air Force NCO." Posted by tuckerndfw

...or the luxurious life of a Hollywood star, a la Victoria Principal, an Air Force 'brat' who also posed nude in Playboy. Her pay for nine years on 'Dallas' is several times more than I made in the 28 years I faithfully served my country, only to be stabbed in the back by Reagan.

I hope that all this 'negative' attention will result in a chance for Michelle to have an opportunity for a much better life.

Eat your heart out all you pious hypocrites and name-calling hapless losers.

[nynative1340]

"Maybee they can save a few bucks in her medical records and replace them exrays, but lets not disgrace the uniform." Posted by fizzal

Not exactly sure what you mean. What does this have to do with her medical records. Whatever...

However, what's more disgraceful than sending the 'uniform' to fight in an illegal war WITHOUT proper protection?? If anyone is a disgrace to the uniform, it's our COMMANDER IN CHIEF!

Michelle, you go, girl!! Anyone who can trade a few 'snapshots' for a couple hundred thousand dollars is a much better business person that loser running our government 'business.'

You've got my vote, Michelle!

[nynative1340]

"She was removed from active duty status, and thus reverted to National Guard status,... It is not up to the Air Force %u2014 it is not our jurisdiction to discharge her."

and

"...a spokesman for the Iowa National Guard, said that because the Guard did not have "documentation of her separation" from the Air Force, it did not have her on duty status."

A typical military SNAFU!! A situation FUBAR!!

She's not in the Air Force, and she's not in the Guard, and she hasn't been formally discharged. If she simply walks away, she's AWOL.

How much more ******** up can the military make it? She's in limbo, or may pergatory is a better word.