MarineMeat

In 2000, United States Marine Corps at the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command in Twentynine Palms, California appeared on the pornographic web site MarineMeat.com. On December 15, 2000, the U.S. Marine Corps launched an investigation into allegations that Marines posed for pornographic photos depicting homosexual acts. The investigation began after pornographic pictures alleged to include Marines were sent anonymously to the Marine Corps' top general at the Pentagon and to the local newspaper Desert Trail.

Marine Corps officials said the mailings included a letter claiming that Marines from the Twentynine Palms Training Center were involved in homosexual acts shown in some of the photos, which were reportedly lifted from the Web site. Other photos included in the mailing were of naked men not involved in any sexual acts.

Attorneys for the Marine Corps have contacted the operators of MarineMeat.com, serving them legal notice that they are to "cease and desist" use of the Marine Corps logo on their site, a Marine Corps official said. The operators claim that MarineMeat.com is not a gay web site, the men are not gay Marines and that the Marine Corps logo is used with a disclaimer cited in Title 32 Federal Code of Regulations, Chapter VI, Section 765.14 - Subsection 3 and Title 10 United States Code, Section 7881, Subtitle C, Part IV, Chapter 663, - Item (b). Allowing use of the US Marine Corps insignia and logo without permission as long as a prominent display of the disclaimer, "Neither the United States Marine Corps nor any other component of the Department of Defense has approved, endorsed, or authorized this product (or promotion, or service, or activity." Which the operators of MarineMeat.com claim appear on all the pages of their website.