Why can’t an enlisted soldier date an officer?

There is an option for them if they are in love and will the option to exit the military. If they do not meet the criteria to be in the relation. If they do no meet the criteria, I question how the relationship came to be. They should have never been in the situation to let feelings come into play. No matter how you feel about somebody, we are charged to do the right thing. It's always easier to do what's not correct, own up to the promotion warrant and duties of a leader.

1stSgt,
This is off the subject, but I never thought I would hear a Marine talk about "love" and "feelings" when speaking about military members...I can imagine it if one is talking about country, but I didn't think Marine's had relationships unless directed by HQ... Great discussion..

VR
SFC (R) W

CPT Chowdhury,

I feel contrite for the short comment I made earlier. I do apologize. I did some reading in AR 600-2 and refer to:
“Sir, you are totally wrong!... The general, understandably hostile, asked, “Lieutenant, do you have any idea whom you are addressing?” ...“Sir, I am the nation’s expert in learning stations. I wrote the book that your people use to design them..., and most people defer to my judgment. In short, sir, I am the best that you can get, and you, sir,
are but the general who will make use of my knowledge.”
(3) Was he out of line? Of course he was. One reason some Armed Forces officers make flag rank, however, is their ability to recognize and develop their people’s talents."

As an officer you do not expect a "cheap shot" from the NCO Corps. As a profession NCO duty can be defined as training and mentoring every Soldier, Airmen, Sailor, and Marine officer or enlisted. It the sacred duty of an NCO to be seen as the SME on military standards and conduct. This is the ethical relationship I refer to when speaking about this subject. Every NCO has a duty and obligation to see all military service member as students, or possible mentors. That is what a professional environment entails. When that professional line is crossed we lose communication and tend to shut people down. Military members lose faith that leaders leaders are making professional decisions when professional lines are crossed. Every officer has the duty to ensure they are making decision based on sound judgment, and MUST at all times maintain an unbiased appearance. Fraternization will interfere with the proper order of any organization.

On the other side of the coin during WWII you will find the U.S. military service member didn't ask questions and just did what they believed was their duty. I think we should be proud of duty... Just doing the job no questions asked. If your troops believe you are giving ethical, professional, unbiased orders they will tend to fall back on their duty without getting stuck on "Why".

VR
W

I disagree with everything you typed!

Reserves and NG are just a different animal when it comes to fraternization since the service members have totally separate careers away from the military. I was working with some NG soldiers once where two of the lower enlisted in a squad were actually both bosses of the squad leader in the civilian world. If I remember correctly they were all cops in the same department as civilians.

LTC Stoneking, that can happen in ANY relationship regardless the ranks of the individuals.

Bear in mind, WHEN that happens, he/she with the most rank loses. Just a little Army fortune cookie wisdom.

SSG Redondo,
Yes it can. It's also 10x worse if you are an O, and there is a built in presumption of relative power (which is one of the reasons that fraternization in general is frowned on). CPT LaFlame hit it on the head.

As did CPT Hindrichs..... But I know which pattern I've seen more of.

Sir, I can definitely understand that since officers are held to a higher standard. Regardless of the pressure pushed, it is still wrong although I know many will disagree. :D

However, recently I have witnessed several NCO and Officer wedding anniversaries which are less than 4 years and well their ranks preclude that from being possible. It really depends on the chain and how they either look the other way or wish to get punitive in nature.

It is possible their chains of command are just looking the other way. Or they may have married prior to their ranks becoming an issue (married before the officer went through the commissioning program, or before one or both of them joined the service, etc.) Also, if they are Reserve Component Soldiers who primarily know each other outside of the unit, they may date as long as their relationship doesn't compromise good order and discipline of the unit (the Reserve Component has an exception because members can actually meet, fall in love, and marry each other based on their civilian status without impacting their units.)