Air Force Welfare Sweep Nets Porn, Nose Art, Religious Books

The Air Force released the results of the “health and welfare” inspection ordered by Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh in December.

The Air Force found 631 instances of pornography…; 3,987 instances of unprofessional material…; and 27,598 instances of inappropriate or offensive items… In total, 32,216 items were reported.

The Air Force even published the entire list, if you’re keen on seeing 61 pages of small font of every item confiscated, removed, or destroyed.

Most media articles have already picked up on the things like Maxim magazine, nose art, and PG-13 movies on the list.  A few — mostly fighter pilots — will pick up on the mermaid-handled mugs that were removed.  Fewer will notice the Air Force actually had to order new parts for aircraft to replace “offensive” painted panels.

Wonder how many people will pick up on these: 

  • “Unprofessional” — 1 Religious photo, Workplace Common Area: Removed
  • “Inappropriate/Offensive” — 1 Religious themed movie, Workplace Com. Area: Removed
  • “Inappropriate/Offensive” — 2 Religious books, Workplace Common Area: Removed

Ironically, the inspection results inspired a couple of interesting accusatory comments:

The religious zealots went out and found everything offensive and the careerists looking to score some brownie points went overboard…

You can tell the puritanical religious nuts were leading some of these searches.

The inspectors may have been motivated by something, but its unlikely it was “religious zealotry.”  For the record, the article described “inappropriate” as “suggestive” and “unprofessional” as “discrimination, professional appearance.”  According to the official Air Force article,

The purpose of the inspection was to reinforce expectations for the workplace environment, correct deficiencies, and deter conditions that may be detrimental to good order and discipline.

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