The military members implicated in a prostitution scandal last week ahead of President Obama's arrival in Colombia were dog handlers and bomb-disposal experts from each armed service, a U.S. official says.
"Potentially all services may have personnel involved," says the official, adding all are enlisted servicemen.
The Pentagon previously had revealed only that 10 servicemen have been accused of hiring hookers and bringing them to a Colombian hotel the night before Obama arrived for a weekend summit with South American leaders. Also accused are 11 Secret Service agents.
Reports say the military troops involved were confined to quarters when the scandal broke last weekend, but they have since returned to their headquarters in Florida.
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The military routinely provides such experts to assist the Secret Service in the detailed protective missions for presidents, vice presidents and other senior government officials.
A Pentagon policy document states the Army is the military's executive agent for such missions. U.S. Southern Command based near Miami, Fla., put together the team of uniformed K-9 and EOD specialists that were assigned to the Colombian summit.
A military press release dubs the bomb-disposal troops "the MacGyvers of the force, defusing bombs and other explosive scenarios."
Defense officials said they remain unsure whether frequent deployments—which may have contributed to a Soldier's alleged homicidal rampage last month in Afghanistan—played a role in the presidential-support troops' decision-making in Colombia.
The Secret Service has placed its 11 accused agents on leave. The Pentagon has launched an investigation into the charges.
"We let the boss down," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Army Gen. Martin Dempsey said Monday during a Pentagon press briefing.
Dempsey said Pentagon officials are still trying to piece together what happened.
"We're not sure exactly what it is," he told reporters.
But the top U.S. general expressed regret that the scandal overshadowed Obama's talks with South American allies during the high-level summit.
"I can speak for myself and my fellow chiefs: We're embarrassed by what occurred in Colombia," Dempsey said.
In a statement released Sunday, Obama said if the allegations are proven true, he will be "angry."
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