<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Courtesy of the <i>DuffelBlog</i> at:<div><br></div><div><a href="https://www.duffelblog.com/2019/11/marriage-prohibited-for-18-year-old-soldiers/?utm_source=Normal+Subscribers&utm_campaign=45f88c3c6e-Duffel_Blog_Daily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6d392bc034-45f88c3c6e-23783321&goal=0_6d392bc034-45f88c3c6e-23783321&mc_cid=45f88c3c6e&mc_eid=48e6937308">https://www.duffelblog.com/2019/11/marriage-prohibited-for-18-year-old-soldiers/?utm_source=Normal+Subscribers&utm_campaign=45f88c3c6e-Duffel_Blog_Daily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6d392bc034-45f88c3c6e-23783321&goal=0_6d392bc034-45f88c3c6e-23783321&mc_cid=45f88c3c6e&mc_eid=48e6937308</a><br><div><br></div><div>———————————————</div><div><h1 class="mvp-post-title left entry-title" itemprop="headline" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 3.5rem; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-backface-visibility: hidden; font-family: Anton, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.1; width: 633.03125px;">Army prohibits marriage for 18-year-old soldiers</h1></div><div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">FORT BRAGG. N.C. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol", sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">— Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville has officially forbidden soldiers 18- to 20-years old from getting married while in the Army.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The decision results from the study of decades’ worth of empirical evidence. Eighteen-year-olds throughout the ages have proposed to their high school sweethearts, only to deploy or PCS and for the relationship to not work out.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Off-post courthouses across the nation have cheered for the decision, but pawn shop owners are not happy about it. One owner said, “Listen, I don’t know how these generals think I’m going to make a living anymore. I had one wedding ring come back here five times in the same year.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“You know what kind of hit I’m going to take if I can’t sell these things to soldiers every few months anymore?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Gen. McConville told reporters, “We waste a lot of time dealing with the decisions of our lowest ranking individuals. This new regulation will empower the younger soldiers. We’re not limiting them from having relationships, and if the relationship is going to last, it will last a few extra years without the marriage license.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">He added, “Soldiers will no longer get married to escape living in the barracks, they won’t be able to get married at the last moment before their first deployment, and if they meet someone at 18 they’ll have to actually have an enduring relationship before proposing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“We honestly can’t see the negative aspects,” McConville said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Leaders throughout the Army are praising the decision, which they project will save billions of dollars in alimony. Divorce rates are also projected to drop dramatically within the first six months.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">McConville concluded, “Oh, and no powers of attorney to non-relatives.”<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><br></div><div>———————————————<br><br><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://www.MoscowCares.com</font></a></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></body></html>