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Airman in Playboy tossed from active duty

Staff Sgt. Michelle Manhart, an Air Force military training instructor who posed nude for Playboy magazine, has been removed from active duty, busted down to senior airman and given a letter of reprimand, she told Military Times on Feb. 15.

But things might be looking up for Manhart’s entertainment career, which she said could soon include a reality television series.

Manhart, who appeared both in and out of uniform in a six-page spread in Playboy’s February issue, said her commander notified her Feb. 9 that she was being demoted, removed from “extended active duty” and returned to the Iowa Air National Guard, where she was assigned before going on active duty.

She said she opted to resign from the Air Guard, which accepted her resignation and is processing her discharge.

“I’m actually quite relieved because I’m tired of dealing with their stuff,” Manhart said. “I’m just very displeased with the way things took place. … I have no faith in the leadership.”

Oscar Balladares, a spokesman for Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, where Manhart worked as a basic-training instructor, confirmed that she was removed from extended active duty Feb. 9 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, told Military Times on Feb. 15 that he had received some — though not all — of Manhart’s separation paperwork and had not yet processed it.

Manhart, 30, said the letter of reprimand issued by her group commander included charges that she violated articles 92 and 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Article 132 is for failure to obey an order or regulation, and Article 134 is a general article that prohibits, among other things, “conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces.”

She appealed to the wing commander, who summarily dismissed the appeal, she said. She plans to appeal the action after her discharge through the Board for Correction of Military Records.

Manhart told The Associated Press that the military’s action against her hinged on the fact that she was pictured in Playboy wearing her Air Force 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.

Manhart said she understands that some people were offended by her decision to appear in the magazine, but that the fuss the Air Force made far outweighs the seriousness of the issue.

Manhart said she will continue to live in Texas with her husband and two children.

But she said she hopes that the exposure of appearing in Playboy will lead her west to Los Angeles.

“I’m hoping that the right people will see me, and I’ll get some offers to pursue a career out there,” Manhart said.

She is in discussions to appear in a reality television show in the near future, she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.