The Pentagon is looking at the varied fraternization policies of the military services to assess if they should be brought into line with one another, officials said Friday.
A team, formed of civilian Pentagon officials and members of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, "has begun reviewing each service's regulations and instructions on fraternization," a Pentagon statement said.In general, military personnel are barred from having a close relationship with someone of junior rank. But the policy has in some cases been poorly defined and has lead to some confusion, officials said.
For example, the Army allows dating between officers and enlisted persons assigned to different units. The other three services prohibit nearly all such relationships.
The panel is expected to make recommendations to Frederick Pang, assistant secretary of defense for force management policy.
The review comes amid allegations of sexual misconduct in the services, the most serious surfacing last fall at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. While drill sergeants at Aberdeen and several other bases have been accused of abusing trainees, repeated incidents of consensual sex have also been reported.
The case of Air Force's first female bomber pilot, Lt. Kelly Flynn, also has received much publicity in recent weeks. She is scheduled to be court-martialed for a variety of charges, including having sex with an enlisted man not in her command.