An American Lion

Why is a U.S. Army general getting any grief at all for threatening to court martial female soldiers who get pregnant while deployed to a war zone?

A US Army general in northern Iraq has defended his decision to add pregnancy to the list of reasons a soldier under his command could face court martial.

It is current army policy to send pregnant soldiers home, but Maj Gen Anthony Cucolo told the BBC he was losing people with critical skills.

That was why the added deterrent of a possible court martial was needed, he said.

The new policy applies both to female and male soldiers, even if married.

The male sexual partners of female soldiers who get pregnant would also “face the consequences”, he said.

It is the first time the US Army has made pregnancy a punishable offence.

Gen Cucolo told the BBC it was a “black and white” issue for him.

He said married soldiers in combat zones should either put their love lives on hold - or take precautions.

“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.”

“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,” he said.

The problem is, there is a definite advantage for a female soldier to get pregnant while deployed—she is immediately required to leave the deployment or war zone. A deployment requires male soldiers to put off having children with their wives—why should a female soldier have the advantage of being able to start her family while deployed when a male soldier cannot do the same? All the general is trying to do is maintain good order and discipline overseas.

On a side note, if you want to see adults make themselves look like navel-gazing idiots, have a gander at this, and, remember—this is why liberals don’t have any connection whatsoever to our modern military.