Ed, suggesting enlisteds of any rank shouldn't get married without making a
similar statement about officers shows a bit of a bias. There was a time when
most officers thought of enlisteds as lesser beings (witness the periodic
letters to the Navy, Army and Air Force times where officers would write in
suggesting exactly that) and therefore should be treated differently. An
example of this was the "random" urinalysis for drug screening in the mid 70s
where the only people tested were enlisted.

My thoughts are no one should get married, let alone have children, unless they
are financially capable. This applies to officers and enlisteds as well as any
other segement of society.

The solution to the problem is to pay servicemen adequately and not deny people
their rights based soley on rank.

I would agree a large portion of first term enlisteds need some growing up to
do before marriage, but that applies also to WO 1and 2 as well as O-1,2 and 3.

Please try to show a little more respect for the people who could be trusted to
service your ejection seat but not to have a family.

Dan, U. S. Air Force, retired


Enlisted men (or women) shouldn't be allowed to have a family :-)

Shack!

At least that's true for first term enlisted. Mid and senior NCO's are
certainly reasonably compensated today. It's not a career to get rich,
but most folks don't enter the military for that reason.

There was a time when you couldn't be married without commander
approval below the rank of E-4. That makes sense. Why would you need
food stamps if you're provided clothing, live in the barracks/dorm,
and have a meal card??


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (ret)
***"When Thunder Rolled:
*** An F-105 Pilot Over N. Vietnam"
*** from Smithsonian Books
ISBN: 1588341038