Pregnancy - a court martial offense?
Interesting story. I can see both sides of this issue so am a bit conflicted.
Quote:
A top US commander is threatening soldiers who fall pregnant on active service with jail.
Under the new policy, troops expecting a baby face court martial and a possible prison term – and so do the men who made them pregnant.
And the rule applies to married couples at war together, who are expected to make sure their love lives do not interfere with duty.
Usual US Army policy is to send pregnant soldiers home from combat zones within 14 days.
But Major General Anthony Cucolo, who runs US operations in northern Iraq, issued the new orders because he said he was losing too many women with critical skills.
He needed the threat of court martial and jail time as an extra deterrent, he said.
Maj Gen Cucolo: No Courts-Martial
From Stars and Stripes, Mideast edition, Wednesday, December 23, 2009:
Quote:
The general who made pregnancy while on duty in Iraq a prosecutable crime defended his decision Tuesday, saying he never considered jailing or court-martialing pregnant women, but simply wanted his troops to think about the consequences of their actions.
Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo, who commands Multi-National Division-North, said he wanted to send the message that “anyone who leaves the fight early creates a burden on their teammates” and that such decisions “should have professional consequences.”
But he also said punishment for violating the ban, which falls under the command’s General Order No. 1, will involve only administrative discipline.
“I believe I can handle violations of this aspect with lesser degrees of punishment,” he said. “I have never considered court-martial for this. I do not ever see myself putting a soldier in jail for this.”
Click below for the entire article:
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?s...&article=66832