Do you think Officers and NCO's should be allowed to date or get married as long as they are not in the same Chain of Command?

Unless they are in the same chain, then let them get married. And if they are in the same chain, let them get married and move one of them out of the same chain.

I don't really have an opinion for or against, but I DO think the Sergeant in the picture needs to get a haircut and straighten his bowtie.

We uphold a certain standard, by simply wearing the uniform. Marriage is a "right" not a privilege. The services, although I understand their rationale crosses the boundaries when we tell individual, whom they can't marry. As military members, we are to remain professional, no matter the circumstances... consequently, I truly don't see the issue with officers and enlisted personnel being married or dating. I have seen far more disruptive behavior from people whom are not fraternizing than those who simply want to have a personal life OUTSIDE of work or duty hours. The rule is antique and needs to change.

I am an E5 married to an O3 and it creates no problems for us.

My humble opinion is no, it shouldn't matter. Enlisted and officers are dating already "under the table". To think that they aren't is foolish.

I know several officer/enlisted couples who made it through the loopholes. One couple were both enlisted and got married before one of Soldier went to WOC. I've seen officers marry civilians who then enlisted. These people aren't detrimental to good order and discipline. Why would anyone else be?

Having said all that, I think dating ANYONE within the battalion is a mistake. I maintained that rule when I was single and dating, and I think it's the smart thing to do for anyone in order to avoid an unstable element in a professional work environment.

My husband and I are both in the TN Army National Guard. I'm an officer and he is enlisted. JAG signed off on our marriage since we have known each other since high school and have previously dated. We are in separate MACOMs in separate branches (I'm MI and he is both Infantry and Supply). We have no issues being together, and it's nice to have a spouse that understands the ups and downs of military life. It's not for everyone, but in carefully reviewed cases, it works for both the couple and the military.

As adults I feel we should be able to choose who we marry without dated regulations. Of course keeping in mind good order and discipline. The chain of command is more than direct supervision. I do believe that in order for this to work the members would need to be of separate expertise and overall chain of command. A nurse marrying a medic I have an issue with. The CGO could potentially use their authority over other enlisted and officers in support of bedroom talk. This is not just an officer marrying enlisted issue. I have unfortunately had to deal with policies that were the result of bedroom talk between married Senior Enlisted Leaders and junior enlisted. Of course no one had an issue with their matrimony because technically they weren't in the same chain of command, but same unit where the Senior Enlisted Leader had influence with and over other SNCO's and NCO's that were in the chain of command. Just my .02

I think you should be able to date who you want regardless of rank as long as it don't interfere with work

It's a very gray area. Morally in my opinion I don't give a damn. Professionally there are those that can, have, and do abuse their rank with preference to the one they're married to and in my opinion does take away from the professionalism expected while in uniform.

Now when the two are not in the same workplace, ie. different units or branches of service, at that point it really doesn't matter because there's no conflict of interest. I say in that case allow dating and relations and marriage.

Absolutely. I think we have moved on from Roman rule... if we expect our leaders to act better, set the example, etc. We should trust that they can be responsible in a relationship.