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Sat, August 21, 2004
Sun swimsuit troops march over the line
Mike Strobel looks for a foxhole as military issues a cease-and-desist
By MIKE STROBEL
SOME DAYS, you just want to crawl into a foxhole and cover your head ... We get a letter from National Defence in Ottawa. "IMMEDIATELY CEASE." The command is underlined in boldface.
What? What? What have we done? Has Peter Worthington let slip a military secret? Did we misspell Ypres? No, says the letter. Much worse. The Sun, it says, has violated paragraph 291(1)(c) of the National Defence Act, section 419 of the Criminal Code of Canada, and subparagraph 9(1)(i) of the Trade-Marks Act. Oh, my. We're cooked. It's the brig for us. Say, does the brig get copies of Sun swimsuit issues? Not in this man's army. Not anymore.
That's what the letter this week is about. DND is ticked that we used bits of uniforms, including caps and badges, in our 2004 Winter Swimsuit Edition. Six months later, three (3) soldiers have complained and, voila, cease-and-desist. The order was given by Maj. Jim McKillip. He is DND's Deputy Inspector of Badges and Insignia. "I'm the guy who makes sure the use of badges, flags, uniforms and ceremonies corresponds with appropriate regulations," he tells me down the line from Ottawa.
That swimsuit edition, apparently, did not correspond. To wit: On the cover, Julie dangled a naval officer's cap from a shapely foot. In the centre spread, seen here, she wore the cap on her head, while saluting with Lynne (airman's cap) and Jessie (army beret). Julie reappears 13 pages later in bewitching fishnet and a 48th Highlanders cap. The 48th Highlanders complained?!? "No," says Maj. McKillip. So, who did, then? "The three complaints were from men and women here in Ottawa ... with concerns about the nature of some of the images." But there's nothing you can't see on any beach. You don't think this is over-reaction? "Well, no, or I wouldn't have pursued it in the first place. "Suggesting an association between pin-up girls and the Canadian Forces is just not something we're willing to do."
Funny thing, the only slightly raunchy image is Julie, again, draped in a strap or two of combat webbing, a canteen and a helmet. But that's okay, says McKillip, because you can't tell it's Canadian Forces. Same for Jessie in a pillbox cap that might be a cadet's -- or a Park Plaza doorman's. "You can get this stuff at any army surplus," says our photographer, Silvia Pecota. Her makeup guy, Gig, found a sailor's cap at a dollar store before heading to St. Vincent and the Grenadines for the swimsuit photo session.
Silvia is dumbfounded by DND's reaction. The military is a specialty. Her Web site includes a tribute to our fallen in Afghanistan. "I used parts of uniforms in the swimsuit issue because I wanted a 1940s look and because I wanted to bring attention to our soldiers. "All my friends in the army loved it. I mean, I got the 48th Highlanders cap from a retired captain. Whoever complained should take a valium."
Our lawyer, Li'l Al Shanoff, smiles and tells me he hasn't seen the likes since Bill Clinton's people complained when we ran a Bad Boy ad with a Slick Willie lookalike. "DND says it's bad for morale. If I was a soldier, I don't think this would have my morale flagging." Al says the letter's legal claims are too broad, if you will pardon the expression, to stand up in court. But who wants to joust with DND? We've always been fans of our armed forces. So, after today, we'll try not to use specific Canadian badges and such. I don't think our troubles end there, though. On Page 15 of that swimsuit edition, Jessie was stunning in a two-piece and a pirate's hat. Uh-oh.
Sun swimsuit troops march over the line
Mike Strobel looks for a foxhole as military issues a cease-and-desist
By MIKE STROBEL
SOME DAYS, you just want to crawl into a foxhole and cover your head ... We get a letter from National Defence in Ottawa. "IMMEDIATELY CEASE." The command is underlined in boldface.
What? What? What have we done? Has Peter Worthington let slip a military secret? Did we misspell Ypres? No, says the letter. Much worse. The Sun, it says, has violated paragraph 291(1)(c) of the National Defence Act, section 419 of the Criminal Code of Canada, and subparagraph 9(1)(i) of the Trade-Marks Act. Oh, my. We're cooked. It's the brig for us. Say, does the brig get copies of Sun swimsuit issues? Not in this man's army. Not anymore.
That's what the letter this week is about. DND is ticked that we used bits of uniforms, including caps and badges, in our 2004 Winter Swimsuit Edition. Six months later, three (3) soldiers have complained and, voila, cease-and-desist. The order was given by Maj. Jim McKillip. He is DND's Deputy Inspector of Badges and Insignia. "I'm the guy who makes sure the use of badges, flags, uniforms and ceremonies corresponds with appropriate regulations," he tells me down the line from Ottawa.
That swimsuit edition, apparently, did not correspond. To wit: On the cover, Julie dangled a naval officer's cap from a shapely foot. In the centre spread, seen here, she wore the cap on her head, while saluting with Lynne (airman's cap) and Jessie (army beret). Julie reappears 13 pages later in bewitching fishnet and a 48th Highlanders cap. The 48th Highlanders complained?!? "No," says Maj. McKillip. So, who did, then? "The three complaints were from men and women here in Ottawa ... with concerns about the nature of some of the images." But there's nothing you can't see on any beach. You don't think this is over-reaction? "Well, no, or I wouldn't have pursued it in the first place. "Suggesting an association between pin-up girls and the Canadian Forces is just not something we're willing to do."
Funny thing, the only slightly raunchy image is Julie, again, draped in a strap or two of combat webbing, a canteen and a helmet. But that's okay, says McKillip, because you can't tell it's Canadian Forces. Same for Jessie in a pillbox cap that might be a cadet's -- or a Park Plaza doorman's. "You can get this stuff at any army surplus," says our photographer, Silvia Pecota. Her makeup guy, Gig, found a sailor's cap at a dollar store before heading to St. Vincent and the Grenadines for the swimsuit photo session.
Silvia is dumbfounded by DND's reaction. The military is a specialty. Her Web site includes a tribute to our fallen in Afghanistan. "I used parts of uniforms in the swimsuit issue because I wanted a 1940s look and because I wanted to bring attention to our soldiers. "All my friends in the army loved it. I mean, I got the 48th Highlanders cap from a retired captain. Whoever complained should take a valium."
Our lawyer, Li'l Al Shanoff, smiles and tells me he hasn't seen the likes since Bill Clinton's people complained when we ran a Bad Boy ad with a Slick Willie lookalike. "DND says it's bad for morale. If I was a soldier, I don't think this would have my morale flagging." Al says the letter's legal claims are too broad, if you will pardon the expression, to stand up in court. But who wants to joust with DND? We've always been fans of our armed forces. So, after today, we'll try not to use specific Canadian badges and such. I don't think our troubles end there, though. On Page 15 of that swimsuit edition, Jessie was stunning in a two-piece and a pirate's hat. Uh-oh.