A U.S. Army general in northern Iraq has added pregnancy to the list of reasons a soldier under his command could be court-martialed.
The new policy, outlined last month by Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo and released Friday by the Army, would apply to both female soldiers who become pregnant on the battlefield and the male soldiers who impregnate them.
Civilians reporting to Cucolo also could face criminal prosecution under the new guidelines.
Cucolo’s order outlines some 20 barred activities. Most of them are aimed at keeping order and preventing criminal activity, such as selling a weapon or taking drugs.
But other restrictions seemed aimed at preventing soldiers from leaving their unit short-handed, including becoming pregnant or undergoing elective surgery that would prevent their deployment.
Under Cucolo’s order, troops also are prohibited from “sexual contact of any kind” with Iraqi nationals. And, they cannot spend the night with a member of the opposite sex, unless married or expressly permitted to do so.
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“My body, My choice..”
HA!! Not when you join the army! The minute you sign up you become government property! And you are legally liable for anything you do to “damage” or render “useless” that property.
#1 – Absolutely correct. You agree to become the instrument, the tool of the government you’ve sworn to protect.
You have no rights. Period.
Anyone that’s been in the military knows that since females were allowed to serve alongside males, fraternization was a huge problem.
I served in a somewhat dangerous physically demanding job, and I am sorry, but females were not up to the task. They just became a distraction, and a dangerous one at that.
“become pregnant on the battlefield” ??!!!
Maybe war isn’t hell after all.
Damn straight, but what does this have to do with the Global Warming war on this blog?? Get back to the real war coverage…
Get Some*
The US Navy is having real trouble with female sailors getting knocked up on fleet deployment, and having to airlift them to safety. This is why homosexuality needs to be promoted as a patriotic and healthy lifestyle in the US Armed Forces.
#7
everyone in navy already has the ghey. No need to promote it.
#1, Correct. Sunburn will get in trouble, too, if it prevents you from doing your job.
#7, You mean if you lock men and women up on a big metal can for six months at a time, they are not able to suppress millions of years of evolution? Really?
#9 LL, and don’t forget these are people in their 20s, by in large. Their hormones are in full effect, they’re stressed, and their commanding General probably hasn’t had a sexual impulse in 15 years. This General is a moran, or is expecting his command to ignore his order, and in either case he is going to lose the command he is unfit to lead.
The solution to the problem is to encourage the ghey, or provide some workable means of allowing adults to recreate.
Either that, or expect the rape rate of the local nationals to increase geometrically.
I have no sympathy for those who join the military then decide to have a life and blame the military because they assigned them to a war. It just goes to show some people do not fully make a good decission when entering into the military. Maybe they believed all the hype or just wanted a education or money for one. But the bottom line is your Uncle Sam’s property until you get those discharge paper’s.
Don’t think that being in the reserves is any different.
This isn’t really a new policy, it just wasn’t as explicitly stated before. General Order 1 (USCENTCOM), which applies to the Middle East operations, prohibits military personnel from being in the quarters of members of the opposite sex and from public displays of affection. This effectily make sex prohibited. (The USAF includes marrierd members, while I believe the Army allows married members to get together, not sure about Navy or USMC). Of course there might be a loophole somewhere. Pretty sure this first was used in Desert Storm.
http://tac.usace.army.mil/deploymentcenter/tac_docs/GO-1B%20Policy.pdf
#1 – Ah_Yea
Very true.
#2 I continue to misunderstand how your constitution, which is supposed to be for ALL citizens, is presumed suspended for various people, usually the law abiding ones.
Isn’t it in the oath of service that you will uphold this constitution? Particularly in the oath of office the general would have sworn, yet the general seems indifferent to it.
OH, I know, these rules only apply to everyone else, not him!
It was easier in my day. No man with a functioning pair of eyes would have touched a WAC.
But we had some lovely female officers. I remember a particularly appealing surgical nurse that committed an offense against Army regs (and nature?) by sharing her carnal favors with a lowly sergeant.
Lt Lewis, wherever you are, you still come to me in my dreams.
#15. Fusion- Look, this is no different than when I was in the military. If you went into town, got into a fight and were injured, and subsequently declared unfit for duty because of that injury….you were subject to courts martial. You have become a burden on your fellow servicemen who now have to do your job as well as theirs. Liberal interpretation of this means nothing. YOU ARE GOVERNMENT PROPERTY. If you don’t like it…join the fucking Peace Corps.
You signed on the dotted line, your ass is
government property for the duration.
They get POed at you if you shoot yourself in the foot or something too. If you won’t do a tour they want your backside on the outside because you are a waste of money.
I heard plenty of stories, while I was in the USAF. Flightline mechanics (male and female), getting it on in the the wheel wells of parked aircraft. A female I knew, went on vacation with a mexican-american technician, to Vegas. And she came back pregnant. Then he wanted nothing to do with her. I believe she got an abortion. This pretty much destroyed her emotionally. She fell for Mr. Suave (think CHiPS’ “Ponch”), and paid for it. But I still felt sorry for her.
At the time, it almost seemed to me that the military was encouraging sexual relationships. In order to retain personnel, by them having the financial burden of children to take care of. So they wouldn’t be so quick to leave after their term was up. This was post-1975. And civilian jobs weren’t as easy to come by. Just like today. So it curious that this General comes out with this decree now, in this economy.
BTW, there has always been a double standard with these things. Officers usually get away with more, than the enlisted do. So sexual relations that result in some consequences, are usually ignored or treated with far more tolerance when officers are to blame. But just don’t let an enlisted man be at fault. Especially if HE knocks up a female officer. They’ll really hand him his head! It’s mainly meant to serve as an example, to others. But male officers can often screw married females (either enlisted or civilian married to enlisted men). And get away with it. That’s generally what I heard back in the 1970s. So, has this improved any? I doubt it.
Enlisted personnel also can’t refuse being dozed with any thing the military gets it in their heads to dispense. And they don’t even care if you might have an allergy to it. They’ll ask, and then give you the shot anyway. Only officers (especially pilots) have any choice in the matter. The military is mainly interested in supporting its drug and vaccine contractors. So that’s why the pump as many kids full of crap, that they can. I got five Polio boosters in as many years. I hadn’t bad a single one since grade school. And the 1970’s Swine flu shot nearly did me in. Again, they absolutely didn’t care. My bad reaction was never treated or recorded, I’m certain. My shop steward was simply told to keep me on the job. But I was useless for eight full hours, until I stopped violently shivering. Never again!!
When I caught a simple intestinal bug, they gave me a bottle of Valium to take. That made no sense to me, so I didn’t. But years later I realized that they were helping out the drug maker, by issuing Valium to everyone for everything. Because the civilian market was rejecting its use. So Valium replaced Aspirin for a few years, in the military.
This is stuff they NEVER tell potential recruits, that they’re in for. And I serious doubt that any full disclosure of same is being made now, of will be in the future. It might hurt recruitment. So don’t say they knew what they’re getting into. Because they really don’t. In fact they’re often flat out lied to.
#16, I continue to misunderstand how your constitution, which is supposed to be for ALL citizens, is presumed suspended for various people, usually the law abiding ones.
Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution says, To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
The rule and regulations they created is the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
http://tinyurl.com/4qxfh
Everybody who joins knows this.
#22 Glenn : Why you wanna go tell lies like that? Nobody ever prescribed Valium to you for an intestinal bug. They might have given you a tab or two to help you sleep through some cramping. If you’re gonna make up a story to try and destroy the reputations of some institution then at least come up with a believable one.
Just because a doctor is in the military doesn’t mean they stop behaving responsibly.
#18, McCullough,
If this was someone getting into a fight I could understand and even agree with your point.
This, however, is aimed at women. Men don’t become pregnant. Women do. American law denies a female soldier the chance of an abortion. That is not her fault.
Don’t forget, the military often does stupid things that Congress (and the media) shames them into changing. Do you remember the military charging wounded soldiers for lost equipment? Perfectly legal, as you suggest. Yet Congressional disapproval forced the Pentagon to change the practice.
All I said, and believe, is this General will have some “splainen” to do if a woman is ever court martialed for being pregnant.
#25 I disagree with you Fusion. If someone does something against the rules that affects the readiness of the unit, they should be punished. Maybe court martial, maybe not, but something should be done. And the soldier who got her pregnant should be punished too.
#26, Phydeau,
I don’t disagree. All I’m saying is that sometimes the “rules” have to be defended in a larger forum. And there are enough people that still believe reproduction rights are a woman’s inalienable right.
It was a big loophole, and certainly a lot easier than shooting yourself in the foot to get out of a war.