The Washington Times
  • Subscribe
  • Times News Services
  • RSS
  • Mobile Headlines
  • e-edition
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • REGISTER
  • LOG IN
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • WELCOME
  • Your Profile
  • Log Out
  • Front Page Image
  • Classifieds
  • Autos
  • Real Estate
  • Jobs
  • Special Sections
  • Customer Service
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Sports
    • NFL
    • NBA/WNBA
    • MLB
    • NHL
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • Motorsports
    • Soccer
    • NCAA
    • Olympics
    • Outdoors
    • Other
  • Culture
    • Home & Living
    • Family & Kids
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Washington Visitors
    • Books
    • Military History
    • Life
    • Auto
    • TV Listings
    • Movie Listings
    • Death Notices
    • Entertainment
  • Themes
  • Communities
  • Marketplace
    • Autos
    • Jobs
    • Real Estate
    • Classifieds
    • Shopping
    • Dining Out
    • Education
    • TWT Store
  • Videos
    • Two Guys
    • Birnbaum on Washington
    • Liz Glover
    • Amanda Carpenter
    • Morning Briefing
    • Documentaries
    • Joe Giganti
    • Video Game Minute
  • Podcasts
    • About Headlines
    • Audio and Radio
    • America's Morning News
  • Sports

    Offense erupts in Caps' victory

  • National

    KUHNHENN: 10% jobless rate is Obama's troubling world

  • World

    Joint forces probe NATO air strike

  • National

    Fla. shooting suspect 'mentally ill'

  • Business

    Parents buying homes for kids at college

  • Politics

    Looking to 2010, GOP focuses on fiscal restraint

  • National

    Sunshine vitamin stirs new debate

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Pregnant troops leave the war; Central Command not counting

Rate this story

Average 0.00
after 0 votes
Login or register to rate this story

  • Font Size -+
  • Print
  • Email
  • Comment
  • Tweet this!
  • Share
  • Article
  • Comments ()
  • Click-2-Listen
  • Videos

More Stories

  • Iran frees journalists swept up in protests
  • Fla. shooting suspect 'mentally ill'
  • Afghan ministry: NATO strike kills Afghan forces
  • Obama praises those who ended Fort Hood violence

By

U.S. Central Command is not tracking the number of troops who must leave the Iraq war theater due to pregnancy, prompting military advocates to charge the Pentagon wants to keep secret what could be an embarrassing statistic.

There have been anecdotal reports of unmarried soldiers becoming pregnant in Iraq. One military police unit reported losing three women for that reason. Pfc. Lynndie England, the 21-year-old photographed holding a leash attached to an Iraqi prisoner, became pregnant during an affair with another soldier at the Abu Ghraib prison compound in Iraq.

But overall numbers are hard to come by.

"We're definitely not tracking it," said a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, which runs the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "I've been attending operations briefings for two years, and I don't think I have heard once that pregnancy has come up."

As in the case of Pfc. England, pregnancies can be embarrassing to the military. In May 2003, the Marine Corps was forced to bring a Marine back home after she gave birth on a Navy warship in the Persian Gulf. She told superiors she did not know she was pregnant.

During the 1991 Persian Gulf war, the press branded the destroyer tender USS Acadia the "Love Boat" after 36 sailors -- 10 percent of the women aboard -- became pregnant while deployed in support of Operation Desert Storm.

Of British forces in southern Iraq, 82 women were sent home in 2003 after discovering they were pregnant, reported the London Daily Telegraph, which quoted government numbers.

Pregnancies can hamper readiness by creating hard-to-fill vacancies. A presidential commission in 1992 found that pregnancy was a main reason why the non-deployability rate for female troops was three times higher than for men during the 1990-91 Persian Gulf conflict.

Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, said she repeatedly asked the Pentagon to compile the statistics for the current war, but was rebuffed. She finally filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act in April.

Mrs. Donnelly said the issue is important because of changes in policy and attitudes in the early 1990s that put more women in key jobs, including ones closer to ground combat.

12Next »

Post a comment

There are comments on this article, submit your opinion!

Commenting is disabled for this entry.
If you feel there is still something worth mentioning about this entry please contact the author or the site admin.

Ask a Question

You Report

Do you have another point of view, photos, audio, video or more information about a story?

Top Stories

Most Read

  1. EXCLUSIVE: Rare virus poses new threat to troops
  2. Sniper's ex-wife speaks out on abuse
  3. PRUDEN: Corpse sits up, gets nice salute
  4. Inside the Beltway
  5. Armored troop carriers called unsafe for duty
More Top Stories »
  1. 13 killed at Texas army base; psychiatrist accused
  2. Aborted fetus cells used in beauty creams
  3. Army: Suspect said 'Allahu Akbar!' before shooting
  4. Can the 10th Amendment save us?
  5. 60 Plus leader: Senior 'tsunami' coming

Most Shared

  1. EXCLUSIVE: Rare virus poses new threat to troops
  2. Making fun of faith
  3. EDITORIAL: Too scared to recognize terrorism
  4. Aborted fetus cells used in beauty creams
  5. Parents buying homes for kids at college
More Top Stories »
  1. Sunshine vitamin stirs new debate
  2. Obama's new world order
  3. Martial mythologies
  4. PRUDEN: Corpse sits up, gets nice salute
  5. EDITORIAL: The grass roots keep growing

Most Commented

  1. Army: Suspect said 'Allahu Akbar!' before shooting
  2. Muslims stunned by Fort Hood shooting
  3. 13 killed at Texas army base; psychiatrist accused
  4. Furious scramble for health reform support
  5. 'Gentle' Army psychiatrist displayed worrisome signs
More Top Stories »
  1. PRUDEN: Corpse sits up, gets nice salute
  2. 60 Plus leader: Senior 'tsunami' coming
  3. EXCLUSIVE: Rare virus poses new threat to troops
  4. EDITORIAL: Greedy autoworkers
  5. Obama praises those who ended Fort Hood violence

Listen to Washington Times Radio

  • America's Morning News

    with John McCaslin and Melanie Morgan

Blogs & Columns

  • POTUS Notes

    New Dem talking point on Obama approval doesn't wash

  • The Back Story

    12 arrested at Pelosi's office

  • Belief Blog

    Washington goes Greek this week

  • Out of Context

    Foods that might kill libido

  • Technology

    Facebook wins round against phishing spammer

  • On the Fly

    United lifts some 'award' blocking

  • Redskins 360

    He Said, She Said Week 9

  • Tara's Two Cents

    On their way to summer vacation..

  • SNOBlog

    Beyond 'Woody'

Videos

Advertising Links
TWT Store
  • e-edition
  • Print Edition
  • Weekly Washington Times
TWT Affiliates
  • Middle East Times
  • Golf
  • UPI
  • Arbor Ballroom
  • Washington Times Global
  • About TWT
  • Press Room
  • F.A.Q.
  • Work for TWT
  • Advertise
  • Sponsors
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Map

All site contents © Copyright 2009 The Washington Times, LLC.