Pregnant soldiers leaving Iraq
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| Thu, 06-17-2004 - 4:14pm |
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/003200406170322.htm
Pregnant soldiers leaving Iraq, US "unaware of numbers"
Washington, June 17. (PTI): Many U.S. women soldiers in Iraq are leaving the frontline and returning home, but the Pentagon does not want to reveal their numbers as the "embarrassing" statistic includes unwed mothers, media reported on Wednesday.
"U.S. Central Command is not tracking the number of troops who must leave the Iraq war theatre due to pregnancy, prompting military advocates to charge that the Pentagon wants to keep secret what could be an embarrassing statistic," The Washington Times said in a report.
The paper said that there have been anecdotal reports of unmarried women soldiers becoming pregnant in Iraq. One military police unit reported losing three women for that reason.
Lynndie England, the 21-year-old photographed holding a leash attached to a naked Iraqi prisoner, became pregnant during an affair with another soldier at the Abu Ghraib prison compound in Iraq, it said.
But overall numbers are hard to come by. "We are definitely not tracking it," said a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, which runs the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I have been attending operations briefings for two years, and I don't think I have heard once that pregnancy has come up."
As in the case of England, said the paper, pregnancies can be embarrassing to the military. In May 2003, the Marine Corps was forced to bring a Marine back home after she gave birth on a Navy warship in the Persian Gulf. She told superiors that she did not know she was pregnant.

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It's not that women don't BELONG there per se but of all the rights that women clawed and scratched and fought to obtain this is one that I really don't understand. If anything, one of the few advantages to being a women in the past was not having to go and fight in these silly wars. Careful what you wish for ladies. At least there still remains the convenient "out" by becoming pregnant....however, maternity leave in the military is short so you probably would have to return home, spit the kid out, find a stranger to look after your baby then go back to duty.
As far as it being a "detriment" to the military, well that's a different thing entirely. It is only natural when you take red blooded young men and women, throw them together into a situation of adversity you will get a coming together of this sort. Frankly, I don't think it should be an embarassment, just something that should be accounted for. BOTH parties invloved in this should have taken responsibility for Birth Control and as long as the parties aren't off humping away together in the midst of combat and shirking their duties it shouldn't be a problem. To blame the women in this is ridiculous...both parties share the responsibility equally. At that, the numbers of pregnacies is rather small when compared to all the other reasons troops get sent home besides war related injuries.
It comes down to the fact that the military now needs women to serve to some degree. Less men are signing up and looking at the situation with Iraq, they are streched thin enough as it is. Without the women, they'd need to re-institute the draft.
In some ways (as someone else raised this issue) it's better than the soldiers going out and impregnating the local population as was the case in wars throughout history and leaving behind a bunch of war orphans in their wake.
Having been in the military myself (being one of 5 women amongst hundreds of men) I can say that the odd relationship did spring up. Big deal. However, I can share some stories about what some of these men did that would make your hair curl and your stomach turn.
*WARNING....if you are a prude or have a weak consititution, read no further*
One game that was really popular among the guys was to play "cream on the cookie". This would basically be a game where the guys woulds all line up (out of the presense of the women, thank God) and have a ....how whould I say it....jerking off contest where they would deposit the outcome on crackers....the last one would have to eat the crackers. Wonderful.
Another (and I overheard this often as the mens' shower was attached to the women's with a very thin wall so you could hear everything) weaker quieter members of the company would become prey to groups of the more neanderthal amongst them and they would be ganged up on and raped/sodomized. It was a running joke called "drop the soap". Seeing as all the officers and people in authority are men, this is hardly something a woman would report....also, on occasion the perpetrators were some of the higher ranking NCOs (way to "bond" with the troops huh?) I suppose with sodomy there is no risk of pregnancy and as long as the rapers weren't actually GAY....well that makes it OK. Let's not let women in the military cramp aonyone's style for heaven's sake.
At least some of the relationships involving women had a little more class while the boys were being boys. I mean how low can you go when defining what a "detriment" to the military is?
Oh? Were these pregnancies all a result of ivf?
Edited 7/3/2004 1:45 pm ET ET by rayeellen
Are you suggesting only women should serve?
>>>It is a detriment to our military.<<
No the detriment is men who can't follow policy and orders and can't keep it in their pants.
alfie
"Women do not belong in combat or in isolated locations (ships and subs) for long periods of time with men. It is a detriment to our military."
It appears that your concern is not with women themselves, but, rather, with men's lack of restraint. In order to save face for "man" kind, however, you are putting the blame on your opposing gender. In the future, please don't be shy about your true concerns. You won't look so much like a prejudiced jackass!
~Isis~
How?
Gettingahandle
Ignorance is Nature's most abundant fuel for decision making.
No the embarrassment is because this exact thing was predict as a problem with women in the military along with several other problems. In order to be politically correct the military ignored it. Women do not belong in combat or in isolated locations (ships and subs) for long periods of time with men. It is a detriment to our military.
I think the only embarrasment to our country is that small minded people still spout things like this.
James
janderson_ny@yahoo.com
CL Ask A Guy
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