Yes, yes….how dare an Army general tell his troops not to get knocked up or to knock up someone else, right?

Wrong. I defend this man’s order entirely. He needs his troops mission ready, we are at war. I may not approve of the war, but I do not approve of idiotically acting like it is ‘business as usual’ either.

The military no longer forces pregnant women out of service, not even single ones, unless they can’t provide a “parenting plan.” That is why I got out instead of re-enlisting after we had our second child; we both disliked the parenting we got and were not willing to send our children to the same.

This is an in-theater ban on pregnancy. Because the US military does NOT follow the policies once extant in ancient Ireland—wherein warrior women went to battle even pregnant or with babes at breast—military women are removed from the war zone if pregnant. This causes two problems: (1) It can be used as a ‘get out of war free’ card by any fertile woman, and (2) The removal leaves an unfilled position in the unit possibly already stressed by casualties.

A woman getting pregnant in such conditions basically makes herself a casualty of sorts and endangers her comrades-at-arms. Lest you decide this is wild sexism at play, the Army also punishes members of either gender who do stupid things that incapacitate them for duty. I have seen military justice administered for people stupid enough to sunburn themselves out of duty-capability, for instance.

So unknot your knickers. They can get knocked up upon arrival back in the USA.

Comments are closed.