2 investigations underway after risqué calendar video shoot


6 photos
Save Story

Show 1 more video

Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

CAMP WILLIAMS — Two investigations are underway in Utah looking into a promotional video featuring scantily clad women shooting military weapons in the state.

The Utah Department of Public Safety wants to know why two of its officers are seen in the video, and the Utah National Guard confirmed late Friday that some of the images were shot on Camp Williams property.

On its website, Hot Shots calendar says it has produced the “Hot Girls” calendar for 8 years, and calls the 2015 edition a “tongue-in-cheek” take of "life as a soldier."

“As always, our main aim is to raise money and awareness for Wounded Veteran Charities in the UK and the USA while at the same time showcasing the industry's latest, cutting edge military equipment," the site says.

To promote the calendar, a video was shot at several locations in Utah this past summer. In the video bikini-clad and partially nude women are seen shooting military-style weapons and climbing on various equipment.

Also seen are various men who are weapons trainers. Two of them, wearing Department of Public Safety uniforms, caught the eye of Col. Daniel Fuhr, the Superintendant of the Utah Highway Patrol.

“Our colonel was watching the news, saw the clip and said, 'That's one of our folks,' " said DPS Public Affairs Director Doug McCleve.

So first thing Friday morning, the Utah Department of Public Safety launched an investigation to find out why two of its SWAT officers were participating in the video.

Related Story

“Any time you wear a department uniform, whether it's the trooper on the street, or specialized teams like these guys do, you're representing the department, you're representing the State of Utah”, McCleve said.

The big question is whether any state resources were used in the video — that is, guns, ammunition and military equipment — and whether any of the video was shot on Camp Williams property.

Late Friday, the Utah National Guard released some preliminary findings in the matter and said in a statement:

“Utah National Guard did not provide weapons, ammunition, nor ranges used during the live-fire shots of the Hot Shots production based upon preliminary findings of the investigation launched Oct 14. Limited filming at Camp Williams with Guard personnel and equipment was confirmed with a senior non-commissioned officer of Headquarters Company 19th Special Forces Group as the unauthorized approval entity.

No payments were received by any Utah National Guard members for support or involvement in the production of the calendar.

#image

The Utah National Guard apologizes for any embarrassment that this incident may have caused for its members, their families, and the community and is continuing its ongoing investigation of this matter.”

The video was shot at several Utah locations last summer, including the Big Shot Ranch in Grantsville, a private company where members can participate in a military-style training environment.

“Turns out our guys know someone at the Big Shot Ranch," McCleve said. “They were invited by that individual to come out and help instruct some novice shooters.”

Mike Drury, the owner of the Big Shot Ranch, said in a statement on Friday that the facility was donated for the photo shoot, and added, "We are not aware of any improprieties for the equipment used in the calendar that is not owned by Big Shot Ranch. We were assured that everything would be professional and appropriate.”

Both Camp Williams and DPS hope to have their investigations wrapped up in the next couple of weeks. Both entities say they will take appropriate disciplinary action if necessary.

Photos

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Keith McCord

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast