At a time when breastfeeding in public is already controversial,
pictures of two military moms doing so while wearing their uniforms is
sparking outrage.

The photo is part of a local breastfeeding awareness campaign by Mom2Mom
of Fairchild Air Force Base, a support group launched in January by
Crystal Scott, a military spouse and mother of three. Among the intimate
close-ups of smiling young mothers cuddling their adorable babies, the
images of the two airmen stand out.

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"People are comparing breastfeeding in uniform to urinating and
defecating in uniform. They're comparing it to the woman who posed in
"Playboy" in uniform [in 2007]" Scott told Yahoo! Shine in an interview.
"We never expected it to be like this."

"I'm an X-ray tech and I breastfeed in my uniform all the time," Scott
says. "Granted they're scrubs. But people do it all the time in their
uniforms. If you have a hungry baby, why would you take the time to
change completely?"

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Terran Echegoyen-McCabe, a member of the Air National Guard who was
photographed in uniform nursing her 10-month-old twin daughters, says
that she's surprised by the reaction to the photos.

"I have breastfed in our lobby, in my car, in the park ... and I pump,
usually in the locker room," she told the "Today" show, adding that she
usually nurses her babies while on her lunch break during drill
weekends. "I'm proud to be wearing a uniform while breast-feeding. I'm
proud of the photo and I hope it encourages other women to know they can
breastfeed whether they're active duty, guard or civilian."

All of the women in the photos volunteered to appear in the awareness
campaign, and Echegoyen-McCabe is featured -- wearing civilian clothing
-- in a few of the other candid shots. None of the photos are posed; the
women are simply feeding their babies the way they usually do. But even
though some of the other photographs are just as revealing, only the
ones of Echegoyen-McCabe and her friend Christina Luna in uniform have
been criticized.

"The Air Force has never endorsed these photos," the photographer,
Brynja Sigurdardottir points out on her website, where she posted
several other photos from the Mom2Mom campaign. "These women just happen
to be in the Air Force, in their uniform, breastfeeding their babies."

When it comes to talking about breastfeeding in public, comparing it to
other bodily functions -- and even sex -- is common, in spite of the
fact that breastfeeding is legal and protected while defecating or
having sex in public is not. But the fact that two of the moms are shown
breastfeeding in public while wearing military uniforms makes the
entire controversy more complicated. The Army, for example, didn't even
come up with a combat uniform for women until 2010, so accepting the
idea of a uniformed soldier breastfeeding a baby may be especially
jarring. And the uniforms themselves come with their own sets of rules.

According to Military Spouse Central, public displays of affection --
even something as innocuous as holding hands -- are not allowed while
wearing a military uniform. Also forbidden while in uniform: eating,
drinking, or talking on a cell phone while walking, carrying an umbrella
that's not black, and (in some cases) smoking or even chewing gum.
While there is no policy that addresses breastfeeding in uniform, Air
Force spokesperson Captain Rose Richeson told MSNBC: "Airmen should be
mindful of their dress and appearance and present a professional image
at all times while in uniform." Military moms who are still
breastfeeding are encouraged to pump and bottle-feed their babies while
they're in uniform.

Scott suggests that the issue might have less to do with the uniform and
more to do with our own internal conflicts. "I think a lot of people
think that you can't be a mom and be a soldier," she says. "This is not
something that's out of norm for them. They breastfeed in uniform all
the time -- it's just not something that's usually captured on film."