Assuming the testimony can be trusted, this is against regulations unless the photos were for intelligence purposes.
On the other hand, one of the Haditha Marines is charged with ordering a staff sergeant to delete photos from his computer. Whatever you do can be used against you.
As is the case with Sgt. Evan Vela, who was going to put two soldiers on report (Petta and Flores) but they went running with lies to superiors instead. But they (Petta and Flores) have been exposed with the truth. Not that it got Sgt. Vela out the the mess he is currently in.
I would think that these days, soldiers and Marines could take pictures with their cell phones and email them to themselves or others at home. They can then delete them immediately.
True, but for some reason the officers are to dam dumb to enforce it. Look at the pictures taken in the prison. If I was the company command they would understand quickly how it felt to hide something that was not part of your uniform and equipment. Setting on a camera all day would do wonders.
The problem with the computer picture was that it was already taken, thus he was ordering evidence destroyed. Stopping the picture taking on duty is not destroying evidence.