In the wake of controversy and criticism, Major General Anthony Cucolo III has qualified and defended a new military policy that would allow courts-martial for pregnancies.Last week, we reported that a new military policy that went into effect on November 4 would allow courts-martial and jail time for men and women serving in Iraq should they become pregnant or impregnate another solider.
Today, Cucolo tried to qualify the policy, telling ABC in a written statement: “I see absolutely no circumstance where I would punish a female soldier by court martial for a violation … none. I fully intend to handle these cases through lesser disciplinary action.”
He continued: “Applying this criteria is intended to promote thoughtful and responsible behavior. I wanted all my soldiers to think before they act, before they make a personal choice that has consequences.”
But Cucolo also defended the policy: “In this 22,000-soldier task force, I need every soldier I’ve got, especially since we are facing a drawdown of forces during our mission,” he said.
He continued:
I wanted to encourage my soldiers to think before they acted, and understand their behavior and actions have consequences — all of their behavior. I consider the male soldier as responsible for taking a soldier out of the fight just as responsible as the female soldier who must redeploy.
