CHICAGO, IL — Lately the military is on everybody’s mind. The war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, strife in Somalia, possible expansion into Iran, naked sailors and soldiers in Playboy…Naked sailors and soldiers in Playboy?

Indeed, the world and one of the most talked about men’s magazines have both changed considerably since December 1953, when the latter first appeared on the scene. Since then, a number of controversial photo spreads have graced the infamously softcore publication’s glossy pages, including, but not limited to, February’s centerfold of U.S. Air Force staff sergeant and drill sergeant Michelle Manhart.

The six-page spread, entitled “Tough Love” is already stirring up the proverbial shit, with some individuals expressing outrage that such a thing could happen.

Manhart, who has been suspended and faces a possible (if not likely) discharge after her behavior is investigated, is shown in all of her patriotic glory while working out, as well as wearing her basic dress utility uniform and holding weapons. In typically American fashion, it’s not the presence of deadly weapons that’s upsetting people; it’s the appearance of Manhart’s beautiful nude body.

As quoted in the San Antonio Ranger, the opinion of people such as Sgt. 1st Class Michael Trujillo is that the issue is simple. “Anything that discredits the military is against the rules.”

Allowing the enemy and the nation to know that some of its military personnel are exceptionally comely apparently “discredits the military” in some eyes.

Trujillo further posits that if Manhart was paid for posing for the magazine, it could be considered a part-time job, which needs to be approved by the military.

For Francisco Sota, a Junior ROTC cadet who spoke to The Register, the issue is whether or not the men she trains during boot camp will be able to “look up to her” having seen her naked in one of the only sexy magazines allowed to be sold at a military store. “She is allowing trainees to cross the line,” he insists, perhaps ignoring the fact that many of those trainees may well have already seen her naked — in their minds.

Trujillo echoes Sota’s concerns and potentially making one wonder precisely how military men view women, why they follow orders, and how much time they spend watching each other under the sheets, when he observes that “During the day, these basic trainees are following orders from her, but at night they are going under their covers with their flashlights to look at her. How much respect could they have for her then?”

Female Army ROTC cadet and psychology major Leticia Gonzalez sees it differently. “I don’t think anything was wrong,” she tells the college paper. “They shouldn’t discharge her. If it was a guy, I don’t think they would be making that big an of an issue.”

Trujillo concedes that here are no rules against male or female cadets posing nude, but cautions that any under scholarship could well lose it, along with their clothing and modesty. Those not in scholarship would have their exhibitionism included in any consideration involved in determining whether they would ever receive such financial assistance.

Navy Petty Officer and Playboy Playmate Sherry Lynne White recently told Military.com that she wishes the various branches of the military would develop a clear and specific policy concerning nude modeling.

“The military needs to make guidelines that say, ‘if you want to do this, you can’t wear the uniform and you can’t use our name,” she proposed. “Right now, there’s nothing in black and white. It’s up for interpretation. There’s no set punishment.”

White told Military.com that although she’s sympathetic to Manhart’s situation, she thinks it’s an important distinction that “She used her uniform — or pieces of it — to claim that fame,” whereas White “would never dishonor the military like that.”

White’s modeling career took off during the late 1990s, when she was an Information Systems Technician working on the Submarine Forces Pacific staff. Needing to make extra money to make ends meet while going to school full-time, she entered a bikini contest and placed last of four. Motivated to make changes, she lost weight and began working in commercials, working for Fantasy Island and Baywatch Hawaii in addition to being a Miller beer model — and posing nude for a freelance photographer. The former gigs posed no problem for her military peers, but when shots of her in the buff appeared in Playboy on the same day she was honored as SUBPAC’s Sailor of the Year she was given a medal and then a letter of reprimand before being told that if she could get all of the photos of her back from the magazine and keep them from ever appearing, she would not be further punished.

Naturally, with publication schedules being what they are and profit being what it is, there was no way for White to do as she’d been strongly encouraged. Sick of spending half her career at sea, she agreed to pose for a six-page pictorial, which appeared in the September 2000 issue of Playboy. Knowing there were rough professional waters ahead of her, she warned her command, which gave her an “RE-4” (honorable but with misconduct) discharge. She worked for Playboy full time, until she got religion in 2003 and decided to earn a teaching certificate and become a high school teacher. Nonetheless, she told Military.com that had she the opportunity to do it all over again, she would.