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Does this sound like a bad idea to you?
Rack Ops
Member Posts: 18,597 ✭✭✭
Am I the only one who thinks this might now be a good idea?
Army lets soldiers take `I do' to Iraq war zone
Historic policy lets spouses serving together share the same bunk
Maya Alleruzzo / AP
U.S. Army Spc. Chelsea Adams and her husband, Sgt. Cameron Adams, are seen at Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul, Iraq, on Thursday.
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updated 4:05 p.m. ET, Mon., March. 31, 2008
BAGHDAD - When American soldiers get off duty in Iraq, the men usually return to their quarters, the women to theirs. But Staff Sgt. Marvin Frazier gets to go back to a small trailer with two pushed-together single beds that he shares with his wife.
In a historic but little-noticed change in policy, the Army is allowing scores of husband-and-wife soldiers to live and sleep together in the war zone - a move aimed at preserving marriages, boosting morale and perhaps bolstering re-enlistment rates at a time when the military is struggling to fill its ranks five years into the fighting.
"It makes a lot of things easier," said Frazier, 33, a helicopter maintenance supervisor in the 3rd Infantry Division. "It really adds a lot of stress, being separated. Now you can sit face-to-face and try to work out things and comfort each other."
Story continues below #8595;
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Long-standing Army rules barred soldiers of the opposite sex from sharing sleeping quarters in war zones. Even married troops lived only in all-male or all-female quarters and had no private living space.
But in May 2006, Army commanders in Iraq, with little fanfare, decided that it is in the military's interest to promote wedded bliss. In other words: What God has joined together, let no manual put asunder.
"It's better for the soldiers, which means overall it's better for the Army," said Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Thornton of the 3rd Infantry.
Military analysts said this is the first war in which the Army even gave the idea any serious consideration - a reflection not only of the large number of couples sent to war this time, but also of the way the fighting has dragged on and strained marriages with repeated 12- and 15-month tours of duty.
Army has 10,000-plus couples
While some couples were also sent into the 1991 Gulf War, the fighting was over before their living arrangements became an issue, said Lory Manning, a retired Navy captain who studies how military policies affect women for the nonprofit Women's Research and Education Institute.
More than 10,000 couples are in the Army. Exactly how many are serving in the war zone, and how many of those are living together, are not clear. The Army said it does not keep track.
But Frazier and his wife, Staff Sgt. Keisha Frazier, are among about 40 married Army couples living together on "Couples Row" at Camp Striker, which is on the oustkirts of Baghdad and is one of more than 150 U.S. military camps in Iraq. Similarly, a Couples Row opened in October at nearby Camp Victory, though it has trailers for only seven of the many couples who have requested them.
Husbands and wives are still prohibited from public displays of affection, under the same strict regulations that govern unmarried men and women in uniform. Holding hands and kissing, whether on duty or in the chow hall, are against the rules.
"It's rough on marriages when, over the course of years, you don't see each other," Manning said. "It would make sense, certainly from a morale perspective and for the Army, to try to preserve marriages."
Maya Alleruzzo / AP
U.S. Army Sgt. Jacqueline McCloud and her husband, Sgt. Jason McCloud, kiss Thursday in the doorway of the small cargo container they share at Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul.
The only downside of married soldiers sharing sleeping quarters, she said, would be an increased risk of pregnancies.
Whether the policy applies to troops in Afghanistan is unclear. Pentagon officials said that decision is up to individual commanders, but they did not return repeated calls for comment.
John Pike, director of the military think tank Globalsecurity.org., said: "I think they are looking under the sofa cushions for anything they can do to improve retention. They spend a lot of money getting these people trained up."
After spending the first five months of their 15-month deployment on separate bases in tents with up to 15 other soldiers, all of the same sex, the Fraziers prize the small degree of privacy and intimacy they gained after moving in together in October.
Still newlyweds, Sgt. Amanda Christopher, 25, and her husband, Sgt. Matthew Christopher, 22, said the change in rules has been a blessing for their nearly year-old marriage, four months of which has been spent in Iraq.
Both work at the military hospital in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, where Amanda is a licensed practical nurse and Matthew is in patient administration, which can include mortuary duties.
"Some of the stuff I've seen, if she weren't here, I'd be a lot less cool about it," Matthew said as the pair sat inside their potpourri-scented living quarters - a mere 120 square feet, with a TV set atop two black lockboxes, an impressive collection of stuffed animals and a Chicago Bears plaque. "There was one night in particular, I saw something and I just thought, `Oh, God.' I came in here, talked to her for a few minutes, went outside, took a deep breath and I was good to go."
Story continues below #8595;
advertisement
Because of the prohibition on public displays of affection, the Christophers declined even to put their arms around each other for a photo.
"It's not like in the civilian world where if you see your boyfriend at work you can just go, `Oh, hi, Babe,"' Amanda said. "We're in uniform, and we have to maintain a professional demeanor at work."
Capt. Jessica Hegenbart and her husband, Chief Warrant Officer Brian Hegenbart, had to live separately for two months when they arrived at Camp Striker because all the trailers for couples were full and were mostly allotted by rank. They finally moved in together in June.
"It's nice to come back to our trailer. I just feel bad for all those guys who don't have that to come home to every day," said Brian, a 32-year-old Black Hawk helicopter pilot.
Living together, however, doesn't stop the Hegenbarts from worrying about each other's safety. Sometimes, it can make it harder.
"Because we're so close out here, we know to the hour when our loved one's supposed to be home from a mission," Jessica said. "So if they're late, our brains starts going to that place where you start to wonder what went wrong. That happens more often than I'd like to admit."
Army lets soldiers take `I do' to Iraq war zone
Historic policy lets spouses serving together share the same bunk
Maya Alleruzzo / AP
U.S. Army Spc. Chelsea Adams and her husband, Sgt. Cameron Adams, are seen at Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul, Iraq, on Thursday.
View related photos
Video: Military news
Military wives spawn rise in surrogacy
March 31: Surrogate births, which are legal in only 12 states, have increased by 30 percent in the last three years. In California and Texas, half of those surrogate mothers are military wives. NBC's Chris Jansing reports.
Ohio family learns son is dead
Hayden: U.S. hasn't waterboarded in 5 years
Withdrawal from Iraq will `take years'
Iraqi government extends curfew
Photos of soldiers who've made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Pictures and messages from U.S. troops overseas and their friends, family at home.
Laid to rest at Arlington
Reuters
Each week in `The Daily Nightly,' NBC's John Rutherford pays tribute to the men and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Fact file
How big's a division? What's a battalion?
Most popular
Most viewed Top rated Most e-mailed
No mouth-to-mouth required in new CPR rules
Vatican official: Muslims outnumber Catholics
Army lets soldiers take `I do' to Iraq war zone
Meet the losers of the Joy Fit Club
White House plan offers little foreclosure relief
Most viewed on msnbc.com
A twist of fate
Solar farms to rise on California rooftops
Amateurs solve mysteries of the unnamed dead
Families write about shared tragedy
Remains of long-missing soldier finally ID'd
Most viewed on msnbc.com
No mouth-to-mouth required in new CPR rules
Vatican official: Muslims outnumber Catholics
Army lets soldiers take `I do' to Iraq war zone
Chronic heartburn triggers cancer, other ills
Giada De Laurentiis has a baby girl!
Most viewed on msnbc.com
updated 4:05 p.m. ET, Mon., March. 31, 2008
BAGHDAD - When American soldiers get off duty in Iraq, the men usually return to their quarters, the women to theirs. But Staff Sgt. Marvin Frazier gets to go back to a small trailer with two pushed-together single beds that he shares with his wife.
In a historic but little-noticed change in policy, the Army is allowing scores of husband-and-wife soldiers to live and sleep together in the war zone - a move aimed at preserving marriages, boosting morale and perhaps bolstering re-enlistment rates at a time when the military is struggling to fill its ranks five years into the fighting.
"It makes a lot of things easier," said Frazier, 33, a helicopter maintenance supervisor in the 3rd Infantry Division. "It really adds a lot of stress, being separated. Now you can sit face-to-face and try to work out things and comfort each other."
Story continues below #8595;
advertisement
Long-standing Army rules barred soldiers of the opposite sex from sharing sleeping quarters in war zones. Even married troops lived only in all-male or all-female quarters and had no private living space.
But in May 2006, Army commanders in Iraq, with little fanfare, decided that it is in the military's interest to promote wedded bliss. In other words: What God has joined together, let no manual put asunder.
"It's better for the soldiers, which means overall it's better for the Army," said Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Thornton of the 3rd Infantry.
Military analysts said this is the first war in which the Army even gave the idea any serious consideration - a reflection not only of the large number of couples sent to war this time, but also of the way the fighting has dragged on and strained marriages with repeated 12- and 15-month tours of duty.
Army has 10,000-plus couples
While some couples were also sent into the 1991 Gulf War, the fighting was over before their living arrangements became an issue, said Lory Manning, a retired Navy captain who studies how military policies affect women for the nonprofit Women's Research and Education Institute.
More than 10,000 couples are in the Army. Exactly how many are serving in the war zone, and how many of those are living together, are not clear. The Army said it does not keep track.
But Frazier and his wife, Staff Sgt. Keisha Frazier, are among about 40 married Army couples living together on "Couples Row" at Camp Striker, which is on the oustkirts of Baghdad and is one of more than 150 U.S. military camps in Iraq. Similarly, a Couples Row opened in October at nearby Camp Victory, though it has trailers for only seven of the many couples who have requested them.
Husbands and wives are still prohibited from public displays of affection, under the same strict regulations that govern unmarried men and women in uniform. Holding hands and kissing, whether on duty or in the chow hall, are against the rules.
"It's rough on marriages when, over the course of years, you don't see each other," Manning said. "It would make sense, certainly from a morale perspective and for the Army, to try to preserve marriages."
Maya Alleruzzo / AP
U.S. Army Sgt. Jacqueline McCloud and her husband, Sgt. Jason McCloud, kiss Thursday in the doorway of the small cargo container they share at Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul.
The only downside of married soldiers sharing sleeping quarters, she said, would be an increased risk of pregnancies.
Whether the policy applies to troops in Afghanistan is unclear. Pentagon officials said that decision is up to individual commanders, but they did not return repeated calls for comment.
John Pike, director of the military think tank Globalsecurity.org., said: "I think they are looking under the sofa cushions for anything they can do to improve retention. They spend a lot of money getting these people trained up."
After spending the first five months of their 15-month deployment on separate bases in tents with up to 15 other soldiers, all of the same sex, the Fraziers prize the small degree of privacy and intimacy they gained after moving in together in October.
Still newlyweds, Sgt. Amanda Christopher, 25, and her husband, Sgt. Matthew Christopher, 22, said the change in rules has been a blessing for their nearly year-old marriage, four months of which has been spent in Iraq.
Both work at the military hospital in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, where Amanda is a licensed practical nurse and Matthew is in patient administration, which can include mortuary duties.
"Some of the stuff I've seen, if she weren't here, I'd be a lot less cool about it," Matthew said as the pair sat inside their potpourri-scented living quarters - a mere 120 square feet, with a TV set atop two black lockboxes, an impressive collection of stuffed animals and a Chicago Bears plaque. "There was one night in particular, I saw something and I just thought, `Oh, God.' I came in here, talked to her for a few minutes, went outside, took a deep breath and I was good to go."
Story continues below #8595;
advertisement
Because of the prohibition on public displays of affection, the Christophers declined even to put their arms around each other for a photo.
"It's not like in the civilian world where if you see your boyfriend at work you can just go, `Oh, hi, Babe,"' Amanda said. "We're in uniform, and we have to maintain a professional demeanor at work."
Capt. Jessica Hegenbart and her husband, Chief Warrant Officer Brian Hegenbart, had to live separately for two months when they arrived at Camp Striker because all the trailers for couples were full and were mostly allotted by rank. They finally moved in together in June.
"It's nice to come back to our trailer. I just feel bad for all those guys who don't have that to come home to every day," said Brian, a 32-year-old Black Hawk helicopter pilot.
Living together, however, doesn't stop the Hegenbarts from worrying about each other's safety. Sometimes, it can make it harder.
"Because we're so close out here, we know to the hour when our loved one's supposed to be home from a mission," Jessica said. "So if they're late, our brains starts going to that place where you start to wonder what went wrong. That happens more often than I'd like to admit."
Comments
Wow I have mixed feelings about this one. Of course the soldiers would be able to see their spouses---but I have to ask-who will be providing security to the spouse as the soldier is out on duty? Would she/he be restricted to the safe zone-and eventhen have to be worried about an attack? Do they bring the kiddies too? Knowing that there are more Americans who are civilians to kill nearby might be a bonus to the bad guys. I think it would also make the soldier not have his/her mind on his/her work as he might be worried about his/her spouse back at the base in a war zone.
Again, you totally miss the reality. Both the Bride and Groom are Soldiers. They are serving in the same theater, in the same camp/base. They should be able to quarter together. TRhere are no kids in the war zone.
Where the heck are you coming from that you don't understand that???
I do hope future commanders would consider the threat level however, and keep spouses apart if the likelihood of heavy fighting is great. No sense in a kid losing both parents at the same time.
I know it would improve OUR morale if we were able to be on the same base. Heck, I'd be happy with being able to see her once a month.[V]
Rob, I understand your feelings and in your situation, I'd likely feel the same as you do.
Stepping back a bit makes me think its not as good as it sounds. A pregnancy, for example, takes a soldier out of the fight as surely as an injury.
Looking at the darker aspect, I feel its important to note that, in these situations, if one soldier goes down both are out of the fight.