Army General Orders Troops Not To Get Pregnant
12/20/09-by Paula Brooks
Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo, the commander of US Forces in northern Iraq, has released a new policy for his troops… it says if you get pregnant while in his command… you may also get a court martial to go along with that new little bundle of joy…
Military officials say the order was issued because Army policy requires a pregnant soldier to be removed from the war zone in Iraq within 14 days of learning they are pregnant … and that removing the pregnant soldier leaves a hole in the unit that makes it more difficult to complete the mission.
The rule governs all those serving under Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo III, who commands Multi-National Division-North, including Balad, Kirkuk, Tikrit, Mosul and Samarra. According to the order, it is “applicable to all United States military personnel, and to all civilians, serving with, employed by, or accompanying” the military in northern Iraq, with few exceptions…. (via Stars and Stripes)
The new policy, outlined last month by Cucolo and released Friday by the Army, would apply to both female soldiers who become pregnant on the battlefield and the male soldiers who happen to impregnate them, even if married, with the general saying married soldiers in combat zones should either put their love lives on hold – or take precautions.
Married servicemembers are allowed to room together in Iraq.
“I’ve got a mission to do, I’m given a finite number of soldiers with which to do it and I need every one of them, ” said the general, “So I’m going to take every measure I can to keep them all strong, fit and with me for the twelve months we are in the combat zone.”
A well place Pentagon source told LGR yesterday, that for Cucolo it is a pretty “black and white” issue… but added the Pentagon is also “watching this one pretty carefully,” since this prohibition is “mine field” of legal, ethical and policy issues….
” Personally… Even though the JAG people have said this is legal… I think this one is probably going to come back to bite us in the ass at some point, if not legally, then in the form of some really terrible PR, ” said our source.
“Here you really have issues that go to the core of personal integrity: reproductive rights,” said Eugene Fidell, a professor of military law at Yale Law School in a Star and Stripes Article.
There are also issues of enforcement, Fidell said. The woman is immediately suspect once the pregnancy comes to light, but unless she identifies her partner, the male could go unpunished despite bearing the same culpability under the order.
It is the first time the US Army has made pregnancy a punishable offense and so far there are no reported cases where a pregnant woman or a baby’s father has been disciplined for disobeying the order that went into effect Nov. 4, 2009.
Now just saying here…. On a little note as to how this story just might have some relevance to the Military’s Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell policy… you could be pretty sure unintended pregnancies would not be a problem for openly serving gay and lesbian troops … That is if Gen. Cucolo had any under his command anyway …
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Funny, I thought the purpose of marriage was to have children. Well, according to those funny anti-marriage equality folks anyway.
Of course, letting gays and lesbians serve openly is a surefire way of making sure that we don’t have any pregnant couples running around.
Sorry, I just can’t muster any sympathy for people who kill for the government.
I wonder what the right will do when they figure out that the military is trying to force women to have abortions.
Thanks in part to the Hyde Amendment and other restrictions, military hospitals do not provide abortions to anyone but those who’ve filed rape charges willing to pay for it. It’s quite difficult for a female soldier to obtain one, not wanting to be reprimanded for having sex on base, not wanting to take leave to fly back home, and so on.
Nevermind their deplorable record on rape in general.
Remember when protecting women’s rights was given as a justification for getting into this war to begin with?
Thanks to anti-abortion forces in Congress and other culture warriors, female soldiers are not protected by the Constitution they defend.
However, You can be sure this order will force many female troops to seek a back alley abortion…. in a back alley in Baghdad now.
I believe that Soldiers that get pregnant while serving in Iraq should be punished. I know this seems to single out married couples, but that’s because they are allowed to share rooms with their spouses. The single spouses are not. So why should married Soldiers take advantage of this fact and opt to get pregnant to get out of deployment? This is not fair. The gap left when even one Soldier leaves is hard to fill. Most units are being sent out so understrengthed that they can barely complete the mission as is.
I am happy that something is finally being done!
SIngle Soldiers not spouses*
Also, Soldiers that are married are not allowed to have relations with their spouses that are not deployed.
Actually, Rachel, he finally rescinded that order.
Actually Rachel…. his boss, the overall commander of US Forces in Iraq, General Ray Odierno rescinded that order about a week after the pregnancy policy issued by Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo…. after that policy triggered the criticism of several womens rights advocacy groups and a nasty letter from several women Senators to Army Sec John McHugh…. and thus netting both Odierno and Cucolo more then a few “what the hell are you thinking over there?” phone calls from the Generals Pentagon and Central Command higher ups….