LOS ANGELES >> The Marine Corps says 17 people have been punished for placing ads on the Internet seeking sex while they were deployed to Afghanistan.

The Los Angeles Times reports Saturday those punished included 11 military personnel and six civilian employees of the Department of Defense.

The ads were discovered during a 2012 investigation. Those who placed the ads were deployed to Camp Leatherneck in Helmand province, which was then under the command of the Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

The investigations were revealed by the Marine Corps Times, which noted that military personnel were specifically told not to place sex ads on websites.

Punishment for the military personnel was meted out by their unit commanders, with possible loss of rank, extra duty, fines and restriction of privileges.