Bloggers and the general public tend to have plenty of opinions about the U.S. Military in general, but seldom do they have specific opinions about specific servicemen and servicewomen. Until late 2009, Major General Anthony Cucolo was only newsworthy for changing postions within the military and taking on the role of commander of all U.S. forces in Northern Iraq. This changed, however, when Maj. Gen. Cucolo revised policy for the units under his command to include a prohibition on pregnancy within his ranks. It's an interesting philosophical question: should female soldiers have the right to get pregnant if they wish, and if they do become pregnant (intentionally or not) should they be punished? Maj. Gen. claims yes: in a written statement repeated by FOXNews, Cucolo argued that every single one of his soldiers is invaluable, and losing one here or there to medical issues which are a matter of personal choice endangers the mission and goes against the oath one takes when entering the military that the mission always comes first. Maj. Gen. placed pregnancy under a list of offenses which could result in a court martial, though written reprimands are expected to be as severe a punishment as anyone receives under this polcity. Some pundits have agreed that this is the correct policy and, while not a decision anyone wants to have to make, a necessary evil. Others, however, from non-military related bloggers to pundits to veterans have questioned both the principle behind the policy and the fairness of it. Maj. Gen. Cucolo points out that males are also held accountable for impregnating a female soldier, but that is dependent on the male stepping forward or the pregnant woman being willing to name him. Essentially, women are guaranteed to be caught and punished while men are not; unsurprisingly, more women than men have been punished under these revised policies. Maj. Gen. has no plans to reverse his decision, and there is definitely an argument to be made either way, but the way the internet at large has reacted to Cucolo specifically damages his reputation. One of the last things a high-ranking military officer needs is a scathing editorial on VetVoice.com entitled "Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo III, You're Naive."
Bloggers and the general public tend to have plenty of opinions about the U.S. Military in general, but seldom do they have specific opinions about specific servicemen and servicewomen. Until late 2009, Major General Anthony Cucolo was only newsworthy for changing postions within the military and taking on the role of commander of all U.S. forces in Northern Iraq. This changed, however, when Maj. Gen. Cucolo revised policy for the units under his command to include a prohibition on pregnancy within his ranks. It's an interesting philosophical question: should female soldiers have the right to get pregnant if they wish, and if they do become pregnant (intentionally or not) should they be punished? Maj. Gen. claims yes: in a written statement repeated by FOXNews, Cucolo argued that every single one of his soldiers is invaluable, and losing one here or there to medical issues which are a matter of personal choice endangers the mission and goes against the oath one takes when entering the military that the mission always comes first. Maj. Gen. placed pregnancy under a list of offenses which could result in a court martial, though written reprimands are expected to be as severe a punishment as anyone receives under this polcity. Some pundits have agreed that this is the correct policy and, while not a decision anyone wants to have to make, a necessary evil. Others, however, from non-military related bloggers to pundits to veterans have questioned both the principle behind the policy and the fairness of it. Maj. Gen. Cucolo points out that males are also held accountable for impregnating a female soldier, but that is dependent on the male stepping forward or the pregnant woman being willing to name him. Essentially, women are guaranteed to be caught and punished while men are not; unsurprisingly, more women than men have been punished under these revised policies. Maj. Gen. has no plans to reverse his decision, and there is definitely an argument to be made either way, but the way the internet at large has reacted to Cucolo specifically damages his reputation. One of the last things a high-ranking military officer needs is a scathing editorial on VetVoice.com entitled "Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo III, You're Naive."