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When The Salty Soldier first reported that an active-duty U.S. Air Force noncommissioned officer appeared to be operating a monetized adult content business while serving in uniform, the story raised immediate questions about military standards, disclosure, and accountability.
The reporting detailed how Air Force Staff Sergeant Hannah Kaipat Smith—an E-5 assigned to Shaw Air Force Base—appeared to maintain two carefully separated online identities on the same social media platform. One account presented Air Force-themed content and featured Smith in uniform. The other, branded under the name “Champagne,” promoted sexually explicit material and directed followers to a subscription-based adult platform.
The issue was never about morality. It was about standards, outside income disclosure, credibility, and risk—particularly given Smith’s apparent cyber-related role, where security clearances, insider-threat awareness, and reputational vulnerabilities are taken seriously.
What happened after the Air Force was notified may be just as revealing as the conduct itself.
The original reporting
Published on December 20, 2025, The Salty Soldier’s investigation documented Smith’s public statements, livestreams, and monetized content using her own words and posts.
In livestreams reviewed by the outlet, Smith discussed what she referred to as her “side gig,” acknowledged that she had previously drawn scrutiny online, and stated that she no longer “announces it like [she] used to.” Her adult-content platform advertised sexually explicit material and personalized paid interactions marketed for profit.
While her explicit account avoided overt military references, her Air Force-related account featured uniform appearances on the same platform—sometimes during what appeared to be the duty day.
For veterans and active-duty readers, the implications were immediately familiar. Undisclosed outside income, deliberate separation of online personas, and sexually explicit material tied—directly or indirectly—to a uniformed identity raise questions under long-standing Air Force and Department of Defense guidance.
As part of standard journalistic practice, The Salty Soldier contacted Shaw Air Force Base Public Affairs and Air Forces Central prior to publication, seeking clarification on applicable policy and whether leadership was aware of the activity. No response was received.
Documented outreach
Email records reviewed by The Salty Soldier show that multiple written requests for comment were sent to official Shaw Air Force Base Public Affairs email addresses in December 2025.
Those inquiries were sent on December 20 and December 23, 2025, and were addressed to:
20fw.pa@us.af.milshawafbpao@us.af.mil
Both are valid Air Force Public Affairs inboxes. None of the emails were returned as undeliverable, indicating they were successfully transmitted.
At the time, the absence of a response was noted in the original article. What remained unclear was whether the inquiry had been received and reviewed internally—or whether it had simply disappeared without action.
The FOIA request — and what it revealed
To determine whether the Air Force had actually received or processed its request for comment, The Salty Soldier filed a narrowly tailored Freedom of Information Act request on January 1, 2026.
The request did not seek disciplinary records, investigative files, or internal deliberations. It did not ask whether any punishment had occurred or whether leadership believed the conduct violated policy.
Instead, it asked for one basic thing most readers would reasonably expect to exist:
“Records sufficient to show the receipt, handling, routing, and disposition of media inquiries submitted by The Salty Soldier to Shaw Air Force Base Public Affairs regarding Air Force Staff Sergeant Hannah Kaipat Smith.”
In plain terms, the request sought documentation showing whether the inquiry had been received, forwarded, reviewed, or formally declined—the kinds of routine emails or tasking messages that typically accompany even minor media engagement.
The Air Force approved expedited processing, granted a full fee waiver, and placed the request on its “Simple” processing track, a category reserved for requests involving few records, limited complexity, and no anticipated delays.
That classification suggested the search would be straightforward.
A search — and an absence
In its final response, the Air Force stated that a search conducted by 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs located no responsive records.
According to the FOIA determination, Public Affairs personnel searched for emails and records using terms including “The Salty Soldier” and “SSgt Hannah Kaipat Smith.” That search, the Air Force said, produced no documentation showing the inquiry was received, routed, handled, or responded to.
The Air Force formally classified the outcome as a “No Records” determination.
Notably, the response did not state that Public Affairs declined to comment. It did not indicate that leadership reviewed the matter. It did not reference legal guidance, policy analysis, or internal discussion.
Instead, the Air Force’s official position is that it could locate no records at all documenting any handling of the inquiry.
For readers unfamiliar with military bureaucracy, that distinction matters. A documented decision not to comment would normally leave a paper trail. So would a referral to leadership, a legal review, or even an internal acknowledgment. The absence of any such record suggests either that the inquiry was never formally processed—or that it was processed without documentation.
The Air Force did not clarify which scenario applies.
Silence that remains unexplained
As of publication, Staff Sergeant Smith appears to remain on active duty. Her social media accounts remain active, and no public statement has been issued by Shaw Air Force Base or Air Forces Central addressing the conduct documented in the original reporting.
The Air Force FOIA office advised that any appeal of the “No Records” determination would be directed to the Secretary of the Air Force. The Salty Soldier has not yet filed an appeal.
For now, the Air Force’s official records position remains unchanged:
It has no documented record showing it received or responded to the inquiry.
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