US Army prevents marriage to Iraqis

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

So sham conversion to Islam to get some local *****? That'll go over well with everyone.

Getting local ***** and marrying it are not the same thing. All the boys out loving and leaving the Iraqis are doing more harm to US interests than these two guys.

Not many of them are out "loving and leaving" - there aren't enough Iraqi women around who (at least in their home country) shed their social and religious conservatism enough to be interested, and at the same time have enough escape from Iraqi male or familial supervision.

Nor are a majority of US forces based in situations where they can just stroll out the front gate of camp and make a left down Bangtail Boulevard. Their range of interaction of any kind with the locals when off duty is pretty limited.

In the case of these two, it's very likely they had to marry the women to get anything. And now, instead of whatever jobs they were supposed to be doing, they're spending their time trying to square away moving and immigration issues and everything else.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
Yet another MtG word that will find its way into my vocabulary, right next to "lima delta"...

What can I say, my brother, my DI and most of my senior NCO's all did time in 'Nam.

[Drake Tungsten]

And now, instead of whatever jobs they were supposed to be doing, they're spending their time trying to square away moving and immigration issues and everything else.

I understand this objection, at least.

[Dis]

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat


Or unmarried Iraqi males, or parents, or siblings, saying "They're stealing our women!!

If this becomes common practice (it won't), how long do you think it'll be, in an occupied country full of hotheads (and I'm talking about average Iraqis here, plus the US troops) with Kalashnikovs, before jealousy or family issues lead somebody to shoot a US troop, or try to, and then you get your response by US forces, in a "normal," previously non-hostile neighborhood.

Sorry to disappoint some of the "noble" civvy types, but the conduct of the mission of the United States in occupying Iraq is a higher priority than the ***** chase of some E3s and E4s.

so you are implying that if officers were marrying Iraqi women that would be okay?

I'm sorry, but ***** is very important. More important than the search fro imaginary weapons of mass destruction.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Dissident


so you are implying that if officers were marrying Iraqi women that would be okay?

I'm saying there's no regulation requiring commissioned or warrant officers to seek the permission of their CO's to marry foreign nationals when stationed overseas.

[chequita guevara]

Then maybe they should use professional soldiers and not the Florida National Guard.

[Kirnwaffen]

In military law, an order from proper authority is presumed to be valid and lawful unless shown otherwise, and the burden of proving the order invalid or unlawful is on the party who would disobey that order. That means that marginal or questionable orders will be viewed in favor of the command authority. There's always a line somewhere, between "questionable judgment" and "clearly unlawful" but where that line falls is a pain in the ass to determine.

So basically, these guys have 2 options:

1)Take the Artical 15 and move on.

2)Raise the stakes and request trial by court martial.

Number 1 is definitely the better option for the soldiers involved. Option 2 would be better for everyone else, if they were to win. Problem is the long odds. Last time I checked, conviction rates for courts martial was above 95%. If they lost that, they could appeal to CAAF, and hope to illicit sympathy from the civillian judges there (also not likely). If, by some miracle, they won, it would establish a precedent that would be better for service members. However, by losing, they're basically screwed for life.

Of course, the army could always stop being so goddamned assinine, and realize that this could create even more recruiting and retention problems than they already have...

[Alexander's Horse]

I love all this talk of the soldier's "mission".

The soldiers mission is get drunk, get laid, stay alive. It never changes.

[Theben]

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat
...the conduct of the mission of the United States in occupying Iraq is a higher priority than the ***** chase of some E3s and E4s.

They are occupying Iraq!!

One 'piece' at a time.

(sorry, couldn't resist)

[Alexander's Horse]

I'd like to see the rules of engagement