Vice Adm. Dennis Blair says it's easy to see why the military doesn't want officers to be close friends or lovers with those they command.
"In war, they send them out to die," which a leader might hesitate to do with someone he or she knows too well, Blair said Wednesday as the Pentagon announced prohibitions on close or intimate relationships between officers and enlisted troops throughout the military.And in peacetime, as in the civilian workplace, a superior's decisions could "make the difference" between professional success and failure, Blair added, resulting in an unfair playing field for the rest of the troops.
Officers "have to be fair and impartial, and they have to be perceived to be," said Blair, director of the Joint Staff, which coordinates work of the military services.
After a yearlong review, Defense Secretary William Cohen ordered the ban on fraternization throughout the 1.4-million strong military as more women join the armed forces, making up 14 percent, compared with 1 percent 30 years ago.
The Army, where superiors and subordinates in many cases may now date, marry or even go into business together, will be affected the most. The Marines, Air Force and Navy already ban most relationships between officers and those they command. The hundreds of existing officer-enlisted marriages won't be affected by the change.
Army Col. John Smith said, "It will take some time for the Army to make this change to its 20-year culture while being fair and sensitive" to soldiers, but the service would submit a plan within 30 days and training material within 60 days as ordered.
Fraternization is punishable by a maximum of two years in prison and a dishonorable discharge for enlisted personnel and dismissal from the military for officers.
The Pentagon also issued new guidelines for handling cases of adultery, telling commanders that although the behavior is "unacceptable conduct" they shouldn't seek criminal charges unless the activity disrupts or discredits the armed forces.
"In today's military environment, we owe it to our forces to eliminate as many differences in disciplinary standards as possible and to adopt uniform, clear and readily understandable policies," Cohen wrote to military leaders.
Critics contend that officers are not always punished for affairs, including those with subordinates, while those in lower ranks are prosecuted. And the different Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines rules led to charges of unfairness.