A soon-to-be-released military audit will reveal that “a number of Pentagon employees” gambled and solicited escorts in Atlantic City and Las Vegas on the taxpayer dime, prompting one U.S. senator to remind civil servants not to use their government credit cards “for prostitutes.”

Politico military reporter Bryan Bender broke the story yesterday:

The audit of “Government Travel Charge Transactions” by the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, which is to be made public in coming weeks, found that both civilian and military employees used the credit cards at casinos and for escort services and other adult activities — in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

A Pentagon official briefed on some of the findings stressed that the federal government did not necessarily pay the charges; holders of the cards pay their own bills and then submit receipts to be reimbursed for expenses related to their government business.

The official said that the employees may have used the government cards for gambling and escort services in order to shield the charges from spouses.

Lest anyone fear that America’s military force has lost its edge, few acts can be deemed as gutsy as seeking reimbursement for your lost weekend at the MGM Grand. Fortune favors the bold!

The audit, expected to be published later this month, doesn’t single out the offenders, but rather points to systemic problems with how Pentagon personnel use their expense cards.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) took credit for the investigation, which was begun last year to comply with a government fraud law Grassley helped pass in 2012. “I’m interested to see the report and find out more about what’s being done, right and wrong, at the Defense Department to prevent abuse,” he said in a statement.

Later Thursday, Grassley had a more pointed message when talking with reporters:

[Photo credit: U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Felicia Juenke]

Contact the author at adam@gawker.com.

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