I read the article yesterday and wondered the same thing myself. I understand why the General did it, to keep all of his soldiers in war ready condition. When you have to constantly turn over personnel due to pregnancy issues, this is a problem. You can't get the type of cohesive unit that you will need. But a woman is not going to get pregnant just because she is a woman and in the military. The media just likes to highlight the ones that do something to oppose what's going on (like that one female soldier that refused deployment some months ago because of her son. Mothers or Fathers in the military that have child care issues, that inform the military of the problem, are often worked with. You do not find out a week before you deploy that you are going. You find out months before and are given time to get your affairs in order, including child care issues.

Rape also happens to women soldiers in the military. 80% of rapes are acquaintance rapes. So should this happen to a soldier and she becomes pregnant then have to worry about going to jail because of it?

The interesting part too was that the General wasn't just targeting women. He is also targeting men that impregnate women. Though, I don't know how he will really prove that one. The "Maury Povitch" show is rife with men yellin "Dat ain't mah baby! You a hoe!" (sorry I may have watched one too many episodes while pregnant and sick in bed). But that is the mantra of many men when they find out that their girlfriend, fling, or whatever is carrying a child. To find out if the men or women are being truthful, you need a dna test. I want to see the Sgt. Major get a paternity test for every male accused of impregnating a woman. Of course, a pregnant woman is easy to target.

The General unfortunately does have a point. There are many woman who try to get out of deployment - not just to war zones - by becoming pregnant. Having been a Navy wife for over 12 years (hubby is retired now), I have heard all the stories.

The problem of course is also that the General also made it punishment for married couples in the same unit. How do you prove failed contraception over intentional impregnation for these soldiers? Should they then not be allowed to have sex as a married couple?

Overall, this will never fly. It's not legal and he is getting backlash from it already. The marines tried it once before and it didn't work then. I don't know why he thought it would work now. Military brass delusions of grandeur I imagine.