Military and pornography.

[Shrapnel]

This article is from
www.nationalpost.com

June 19, 2001

Head of Pacific fleet admits using DND laptop for porn
Relieved of command

By James Cudmore
National Post, with files from the Ottawa Citizen

EDMONTON - The commander of the Canadian Forces' Pacific fleet has been temporarily relieved of his duties after admitting he used his government laptop to view Internet pornography.

Commodore Eric Lerhe, a twice-decorated officer who assumed the command in January, made an unprompted confession to authorities that while on duty in San Diego, Calif., last year he used his Department of National Defence laptop to access pornography from his officers' quarters.

"In April 2000, when I was deployed out of country, I accessed several Penthouse-like sites using my DND laptop, from my quarters, when off duty using my personal Internet account," he said in a statement.

"I fully recognize that my own actions were against the regulations and that disciplinary action against me would likely follow. I accept this. "

The commodore is far from alone in using the Internet for purposes unrelated to work. A 1999 study cited in the Journal of the American Psychological Association found that 86% of American men were likely to click on sex sites, nearly 13% of them while at work.

In 1997 the Defence Department installed a $100,000 computer system to track employee Internet usage after a Defence Department civilian worker was arrested on child pornography charges. That, however, did not deter some employees. Monitoring over a three-day period in 1997 showed there were at least 175 visits by employees to unacceptable Web locations, mainly adult sex sites, according to a military report released under the Access to Information law.

Commodore Lerhe confessed after being advised that disciplinary proceedings were being taken against one of his sailors for a similar crime.

"As he was one of my direct subordinates, there was a strong possibility I would be the presiding officer, that is the judge, at his summary trial," he said. "For the next 24 hours I pondered this, and then informed my superior, Vice-Admiral [Ron] Buck, that I also had contravened the DND rules for computer use some nine months earlier."

As a result, Vice-Admiral Buck, the commander of Maritime Forces Pacific, asked military police to investigate the matter. On Friday, the military's National Investigation Service charged Commodore Lerhe with conduct prejudicial to the good order of service discipline for violating the military's Internet use policy.

The Canadian Forces consider it an offence to use military computers or Internet systems to "copy distribute, view or otherwise deal with sexual materials, in any form, for non work-related uses."

Vice-Admiral Buck announced yesterday that he had relieved Commodore Lerhe of his command pending the outcome of the charges.

Contacted at his home in Halifax yesterday, Commodore Lerhe said he did not wish to speak about the charge. "I've said everything in my statement so I don't wish to carry on," he said.

In Edmonton yesterday, Art Hanger, the recently deposed defence critic for the Canadian Alliance, commended Commodore Lerhe for his forthrightness.

"I think this man has set an example for those subordinate to him in a military setting. I think he did an honourable thing and I believe he did the right thing," Mr. Hanger said.

"I realize that he understands there is a consequence involved and I assume that after whatever [judgment] is made he will be reinstated to his position."

Commodore Lerhe is the recipient of the Order of Military Merit, a prestigious medal recognizing "conspicuous merit and exceptional service by members of the Canadian Forces." He has also been awarded the Canadian Decoration, a good service medal.

York University defence analyst Martin Shadwick described Commodore Lerhe as well-educated and someone seen as an example of a new generation of naval officers.

In Ottawa yesterday, Major John Pumphrey, a spokesman for the Canadian Forces' National Investigation Service, said due to Commodore Lerhe's status as a high-ranking officer, sensitive investigations officers were assigned to the case.

Despite the commodore's confession, Maj. Pumphrey said investigators still sent the laptop to computer experts for forensic evaluation in order to determine whether it had been used to view pornography. "If the individual was inappropriately accessing the Internet we still have to prove that."

Illicit Internet use at work is a growing problem for companies around the world.

A list of 2000 Web sites most frequently visited by American chief executives in one month of this year, conducted by research company Nielsen//Netratings, ranked a site named "Wildteenagevirgins" as 29th on the list.

Another survey found that Australians were the greatest consumers of online pornography. A third of Australia's 6.8 million Internet users visited a pornographic site last December, according to research firm Media Metrix.

Media Metrix, based in Manhattan, says that 30% of the Internet population visit adult entertainment sites each month, while Nielsen//NetRatings put the figure at 23% -- or about 21 million Americans. Some 16% of those call up adult sites while at work, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.

Maj. Pumphrey said military police officers are increasingly called in to investigate allegations soldiers, sailors and airmen misused military computers to view or distribute sexually explicit materials.

In 1999, Captain Dave Marshall, the commander of Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt was investigated for "conduct inconsistent with his position," when it was discovered he had sent lewd and sexually explicit e-mail messages to a female United Way volunteer.

Although he was never charged, Capt. Marshall was relieved of his duty as base commander and later resigned from the navy rather than be forced to relocate to Ottawa.

[Shrapnel]

At 6/24/01 06:24 AM, Shrapnel wrote: This article is from
www.nationalpost.com

The response- which I agree with.

June 20, 2001

Charging officer was 'overkill'
Supporters decry discipline over commodore's porn site visits

James Cudmore
National Post, with files from The Canadian Press
The Canadian Forces erred in its decision to charge a senior naval commander who confessed to viewing Internet pornography on his government laptop, according to a leading civil libertarian.

Stephen Jenuth, president of the Alberta Civil Liberties Association, said Commodore Eric Lerhe should be spared disciplinary action as he voluntarily admitted misusing his navy computer to access pornography.

"Maybe we should start firing anybody who reads one of these things," he said. "What we have to remember is that there is a big division between what is private life and what is public life, and when those two start to get enmeshed and the state or employers get involved in private affairs we begin to cross a threshold in which people's rights and civil liberties tend to be seriously affected."

Last Friday, Commodore Lerhe, 52, was charged in an incident last April in which he admitted to using his Department of National Defence laptop to access "Penthouse-like" Internet sites through his personal service provider. He has been relieved of his duty as operational commander of the Pacific fleet.

Mr. Jenuth said a distinction should be made between Commodore Lerhe's offence, which occurred in private officers' quarters, and similar occurrences in the workplace.

"One can see that in a work environment you wouldn't want to do these things, but on the other hand, we are getting into the situation where if someone thumbs through a Penthouse in a magazine store they might be dismissed from their employment," he said.

Commodore Lerhe confessed his transgression after he was advised disciplinary proceedings were being taken against one of his sailors for a similar crime.

According to Canadian Forces administrative orders, it is an offence to use military computers or Internet systems to "copy, distribute, view or otherwise deal with sexual materials, in any form, for non work-related uses."

In Halifax, Fred Crickard a retired admiral, said he was displeased with the Forces' action and said Commodore Lerhe showed integrity by admitting his alleged crime to superiors.

"To be relieved of his command because he used government property contrary to a regulation, not a law, is overkill in my view," he said.

The commodore is far from alone in using the Internet for purposes unrelated to work. In 1997, the Department of National Defence installed a $100,000 computer system to track employee Internet use after a civilian employee was arrested on child pornography charges. A three-day DND survey the same year showed there were at least 175 visits by employees to unacceptable Internet sites, mainly adult sex pages.

According to Nielsen/Net Ratings, a media research company in the United States that tracks Internet use, the number of visitors to adult sites from U.S. workplaces totalled more than 5.5 million in the month of May.

See related column "An officer and a genuine man" by Christie Blatchford on page A18. See related editorial "How to see porn" on page A19.

[shorbe]

Shrapnel: Perhaps he should have been looking at Canadian porn sites then. You know, in the interests of national security.

shorbe

[Shrapnel]

At 6/24/01 10:26 PM, shorbe wrote: Shrapnel: Perhaps he should have been looking at Canadian porn sites then. You know, in the interests of national security.

That reminds me of "loose lips sink ships".... haha...

What bugs me is that I'd rather my army look at porn off duty than go for some $10 underage whore in Thailand.

[ThunderBolt2001]

i don't really see the problem with viewing porn and using a government computer as long as it wasn't in work. like after work using your own account. i think that charging that officer was over kill. why don't they do a test to see how many women view porn with a government computer(i'm not a malist). men and porn were made to be together and they shouldn't fuck with it.

ThunderBolt2001

P.S. great article Sharapnel

[Raptorman]

At 6/26/01 05:49 PM, ThunderBolt2001 wrote: i don't really see the problem with viewing porn and using a government computer as long as it wasn't in work.

It still was a missappropriation of government resources. For this he should be appropriately reprimanded. Removal of command seem to be a punishment far outweighing the crime however.

[Shrapnel]

At 6/27/01 01:40 AM, Raptorman wrote:

At 6/26/01 05:49 PM, ThunderBolt2001 wrote: i don't really see the problem with viewing porn and using a government computer as long as it wasn't in work.

It still was a missappropriation of government resources. For this he should be appropriately reprimanded. Removal of command seem to be a punishment far outweighing the crime however.

I don't know- I'm assuming he can use the Internet for other purposes like reading CNN (haha) when he's off duty.
He also said it was his own Internet account (but he was using a gov't computer).

Removal of his command was really too much though.

The expectation of soldiers to be of strong virtues is ridiculous.