Army general in Iraq issues pregnancy ban

everybody just chill. this order was rescinded on 12/24/09...so let's all just go back to whatever we were doing.

Seems justifiable. We just need to give them the option to either 1) pay back everything we paid them during basic training, or 2) get rid of the baby.

The men still have the option to go out and find a nice afgahn/iraqi woman to knock up though. Women kinda get screwed here, but hey there is always a private contractor you can go work for.

It makes sense... in some weird way.. Like, you can't tell people what to do, but they're soldiers, full docillity is expected..

I can understand where the general is coming from: During the gulf war, I was stationed with an Armor battalion in Germany. The support battalion that shared our base had an explosion of pregnancy's at the start of the war, preventing the unit from being deployable. These were doctors and nurses who were needed in Kuwait, all of whom had signed a contract stating that they would give their lives for our country.
This is comparable to the soldier who shoots himself in the foot to get sent home, an act of cowardice in the face of adversity.

I say Kudo's General Cucolo, I salute you.

I asked my mom about this who was in the army when she became pregnant with me and she said that if a woman wanted to escape the sexual harassment and threats of rape from superior officers, one option was to get pregnant. She got preggers on accident, but it is true that women do it.

I think the punishment is a bad idea. It's sexist by not punishing the soldier who fathered the kid (it takes two) and it's going to encourage risky abortions in unsafe areas of the world.

Good policy, but the punishment is too harsh. When you are a soldier overseas, your #1 priority is being ready for the mission. If you are a women who is getting knocked up then you aren't going to be mission ready.

Sucks because everyone needs a release over there, which is why the punishment should be less. The military needs to be mass passing out condoms though because people will not stop having sex.

CAUTION:

Don't sign government contracts.......especially when you're just a pawn in the bureaucrats game.....

Where are the conservatives on this issue?

camo condoms???... I see a military contract in my future.

This is sad. But, that's the army for you. shoot or bomb first, rape and pillage later. And then, maybe, if they feel like it. ask questions much later.

WTF! That is total BS!

PhillyPhil: "...Its as if you sign up for the military and you relinquish all rights to be a human. The army is basically taking ownership over woman's sexuality and the right to become a mother. you sign up, you have no more will or rights. but i guess that's nothing new...."

Hit the nail on the head. Once you sign the dotted line to become a solder male or female you're a indentured servant of the US military (or any country's military) until your dead, severely injured, retired, or dishonorably/honorably discharged. IMO I don't know how any woman or man could get aroused enough in the battle field to have sex. I could understand if they're on a base in Germany or Japan but Iraq?! It would be such a mood killer for me.

Aside for that one guy on Real Time W/ Bill Mar--and I'm sorry I can't grasp his name-- I'm surprise NO one in the mass media is talking about the frighteningly zealous way the military is pushing religion--mostly Christianity that is very liberal--onto privates.

I know solders don't have rights like regular US citizens, they should have the right to choose what they believe.

But when a general is telling his solders that they have a divine right to fight against people who've been using Islam as the sole reason to fight opposing countries with different religious backgrounds, is treading onto a very dangerous territory.

It's like a ticking time bomb attached to a nuclear warhead.

All of the emotions put aside, I feel like I/we have to ask the fundamental question: do service persons on combat deployments have the right to impregnate/become impregnated? I asked two of my friends that were deployed and both responded, "the rules were no sex period, technically*." If these are the rules should there be a punishment for breaking them? Should the rules be changed? Are there any solutions out there for the increased workload for the other members in the unit?

I'm interested in any kind of feedback, apart from the "you liberal shithead/you neocon motherfucker" response.

Just send the women home. This does not sit well with me.

@mojojuju,
Your comment "maybe vasectomies are just what the military needs these days" is outrageous.
Women have a right to join military, women have a right to have sex and have children, but men should have vasectomies? This is called misandry.

Won't work. They just need to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

war zone day care has got to be a bitch to find.
if a baby is born in war by an active soldier what is it.s citizenship?

Can/does the military provide women with birth control?

Geez people its 2009 not 1949. There is absolutely no reason to be pregnant or get pregnant if you don't want to--and there is no reason to bring abortion or sterilization into the picture either.

Seriously you can have sex all you want and not get pregnant--it's called masturbation. That or if you must include a live partner use one of the several forms of birth control that are legal and easily accessible like birth control pills, condoms, or trying to find a private roomy spot to even have sex in a full barracks with only twin bed cots--and that's if your an officer--otherwise its probably a blanket in a tent.

A simple solution would be to have abortion clinics in each military base. Alternatively, it should be a requirement for all soldiers - male and female - to be sterilized upon joining the military.

wtf?! What's next? THe SAME thing for the American people in the name of climate control? I feel "pregnancy bans" will become more common in the near future.

I can see the toilet seat and doorknob arguments winding up as we speak.

This has proved to be a problem in the past in the Navy though, where support ships spent long periods of high danger the pregnancy rate skyrocketed. Sometime folks just need to celebrate still being alive I guess. They're probably only going to prosecute this though if they can prove a soldier purposely got pregnant to avoid duty.

Good for the major. Everyone screams about abortion and the killing of innocents but what about the pregnant soldier putting a innocent into danger. Any one pregnant should of been sent stateside right away. As a former WAC I am all for women fighting alongside her male soldiers and gay soldiers but not pregnant.

It's pretty obvious that women and couples shouldn't be getting pregnant and makin' babies while on duty/on tour/in combat. You can't serve effectively if you're having morning sickness and facing possibly more complications of pregnancy. Plus the psychological stress having a child puts on you detracts your attention from all else. I mean, having babies while on duty is just a bad idea, right? No brainer.
However, I think this policy is going about the problem in the wrong way. Jail time and a court martial for getting pregnant? Come on. Just send them home. And really, if this is becoming such a problem that they have to come up with a penalty for it, shouldn't they start combating the problem at its source? Prevention not punishment, people!
I don't know much about the military's sexual conduct policies (besides DADT) but it would be completely unreasonable if the authorities expected all servicemen and women to abstain completely from sex for their entire time abroad, especially if they're married couples in the same unit. People have sex! It's a fact of life, it's human nature. I'm sure most of these servicemembers have enough common sense to not want to have a baby until they get home, but I'm sure they also need and want to have sex just like any other normal person. Make contraceptives available to them! Don't be so lacking in common sense and wisdom as to expect that every single soldier is going to be celibate for months and possibly years at a time! Maybe in an ideal world people would be able to abstain for indefinite periods, but this is the real world, and the military authorities need to start living in it.

Ahem, bullshit. The military already has a protocol you can't just make shit up that is courtmartialable that you want to.

This general just gets his jollies off knowing he's preventing people from having sex. Seen shit like this happen FAR TO MANY TIMES in Oklahoma where I live.

I will say it is equally applied because anyone who impregnates another gets the court martial/jail time as well.

That and honestly its a war zone--its no place giving birth or dealing with morning sickness or trying to figure out how to deal with becoming a mother. And if you are a man you have to start worrying about how you are going to support a child or tell your wife or girlfriend or extended family back home you are expecting a child...but the even bigger picture is it sucks to go out every day and put your life on the line to fight a war--its really unfair to ask soldiers to do that carrying the added burden of a unborn or newborn child they will be leaving behind without one parent or the other (or both) if they get killed.

maybe we shouldnt be at war, then these bogus false choices would rectify themselves... another stupid policy in a failed war.

its as if you sign up for the military and you relinquish all rights to be a human. the army is basically taking ownership over women's sexuality and the right to become a mother. you sign up, you have no more will or rights. but i guess thats nothing new....

could 'don't ask, don't tell' work here?

A person should decide to start a family and have children or be in combat but not both at the same time. Solder or a mother?

Also women want gender equality? Here it is.

If they expect people to go without sex , this is going to be way bad for morale ..... It flies in the face of human nature .

This will not fly. Anyone remember when the Marine Commandant banned Marines from getting married? It's funny how the military (I was a member for over 14 years between active duty & ANG) is a very religious organization (overwhelmingly christian) and would even consider this blasphemy! LOL.

You'll see a retraction soon.

Makes since, however, applying this to married couples is pushing it.

I support that there shouldn't be pregnant women on the field, but to court-martial them and the men that impregnated them? That is ridiculous! But give it to the military to come up with a "genius" plan like that...

Ummm this is really nothing new. My last command basically did this mainly because we couldn't get 10% of our women to finish a 6 month deployment without getting pregnant.

You guys need to chill and think about why they decided to do this. If you had people sign up to the military only to get pregnant or impregnate another soldier and then have to leave because of safety reasons you are loosing people. I mean how hard is it to either have safe sex or not have sex with soldiers while serving. This implies that you are not in the service for a fun ride, but you are there to serve your country. Pretty logical.

The effectiveness of this policy is going to hinge upon what the military is willing to do to keep women in uniform from getting pregnant in the first place. Are they going to promote contraception or are they going take the easy way out by preaching endlessly about abstinence and "personal responsibility" being the preferred method for keeping soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen/women from rounding third base and heading for home?

And, as was mentioned in an earlier post, what happens in cases of rape? As much as the armed forces try to deal with the problem of sexual harassment and exploitation in their respective ranks (...and move past the scandals of "Tailhook", Aberdeen Proving Grounds and the Air Force Academy), the facts suggests that it can never be eliminated completely.

Frankly the policy strikes me as being an unnecessarily harsh for something that has been happening since men and women started serving together as relative equals since the mid '80's. Along with the arguments for keeping qualified personnel who happen to be homosexuals from serving in the military , the justification for putting a woman in a stockade just for getting pregnant is going to be hard to justify fully.

I would not want to be responsible for innocent unborn children in the middle of a war zone in Iraq. If the punishment seems ill fitting then consider a free trip home is not fair to the unit as a whole.

I'm so relieved. Nothing frightens me so much as the idea of khaki-clad women bearing children.

How could you support this policy? Jackasses.

I support this policy, but I think the punishment is too harsh.

maybe homosexuals are just what the military needs these days :)

I support this idea. But I believe this will encourage women to falsely accuse men of rape.

Who's the jackass that thought of this? It would be better if they are sent home to spent time with their families, but to be court-martial and sent to jail?? I would have asked Maj. Gen. Anthony Culo to go back and get me the dumb ass that thought of this... That's a CULO!!!