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Morality in the Military: The Problem of Inconsistency

In OPNAVINST3120.32B, we see a few other, clear prohibitions.
Article 510.46 Profane language. No person will use profane, obscene, or vulgar words or gestures on board a naval unit.
Article 510.9 Card Games and Gambling. No person will: Gamble for money with playing cards, dice, or other apparatus or methods on board naval units.
If you have been been aboard U.S. Navy ships, you have probably encountered profanity, much of it in excess, by both the officers and enlisted men. We have been aboard ships which have had penny-ante gambling in the wardroom and high-stakes gambling on the mess decks. We have been aboard ships where officers and men frequented houses of prostitution (though attending separate houses).

I was once in the presence of a QM3 (who was on a fast attack submarine) and an admiral. The admiral asked the quartermaster how things were on the boat. The sailor responded that things were okay except for the drugs. The admiral got very upset and said firmly, very strongly, that there were no drugs on his submarines.

I mention these things to illustrate the disparity between regulations and practice. Are the regulations for show - as in many administrative inspections, where the logs are gundecked?

If we have no intention or no ability to bring the conduct of the crew into line with the requirements of OPNAV3120.32B, U.S. Navy Regulations, and the UCMJ, then we should change the rules to fit the situation. Refusal to do so merely encourages contempt for the regulations.

Two more specific laws, and one general law from the UCMJ, make the same point.
920 Art. 120 Rape and Carnal Knowledge
a. Any person subject to this chapter who commits an act of sexual intercourse with a female not his wife, by force and not her consent, is guilty of rape and shall be punished by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.
925. Art. 125 Sodomy a. Any person subject to this chapter who engages in unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal is guilty of sodomy. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the offence.
b. Any person found guilty of sodomy shall be punished as a court martial may direct.
933. Art. Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman. Any commissioned officer, cadet, or midshipman who is convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
With regard to this last regulation, the reason for the honor concept at the Naval Academy (begun in 1950-51) was to increase the moral character of the Brigade and cut down playing "cops and robbers" with the midshipmen.

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